MinuteClinic, a division of CVS Caremark Corporation, will switch to the Epic electronic medical record (EMR) called EpicCare, abandoning proprietary EMR
By Rebecca McCurry, contributing writer
CVS announced that they will be transitioning their current EMR system to EpicCare. The official CVS press release explains, "EpicCare's rich platform will allow us to continue to provide the highest quality of care and advance our services through a robust, world class EMR."
Also explained in the press release, "Epic - the most widely used EMR in the U.S. - will support MinuteClinic's evidence based model of care and facilitate connectivity with healthcare providers nationwide that currently use Epic, including many major health systems, hospital networks and physician groups currently affiliated with MinuteClinic. An estimated 274,000 physicians will use Epic and about 51 percent of the U.S. population will have a record in Epic when its current customer rollouts are complete."
Meriter Medical Clinic deployed the EpicCare EHR System three years ago. According to an article on InformationWeek HealthCare, Dr. Kenneth Felz said he “uses every automation tool available, including voice recognition, to streamline data entry into the system."
As explained by Digital Journal, Epic's president Carl Dvorak said, "Retail clinics play an important role in community-wide care delivery. Patients receive the most value in terms of quality, cost, and overall wellness when care is well-coordinated across disciplines and locations so we're glad to have CVS MinuteClinic join the nation's largest network of care organizations securely sharing patient information."
Also explained in the article, "MinuteClinic nurse practitioners and physician assistants specialize in family health care and can diagnose, treat, and write prescriptions for common illnesses such as strep throat and ear, eye, sinus, bladder, and bronchial infections. Minor wounds, abrasions, skin conditions, and joint sprains are treated."
