The Dominant Hospital EHR
Over 300 major health systems run Epic — Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Clinic, Kaiser Permanente. Data-heavy clinical products connect here.
Award-Winning Epic Integration
What Is Epic Integration
Epic integration connects your app to Epic's EHR to exchange records, appointments, medications and labs through a compliant ecosystem.
An Ecosystem, Not One Endpoint
Epic exposes multiple frameworks — App Orchard, FHIR APIs, Bridges and MyChart — each built for a different level of data access.
Review & Certification First
Epic requires external apps to pass formal review and certification before touching production — plan for it early to save months.
Integration Pathways
How External Applications Connect to Epic
Epic offers several integration frameworks — we build to the pathway your product needs.
App Orchard
Epic's marketplace for certified apps — hospitals activate your integration without custom work.
FHIR APIs
FHIR R4 REST endpoints for patient data and scheduling, secured with SMART on FHIR.
Bridges
System-to-system HL7 v2 messaging for admissions, lab results and ADT alerts.
MyChart Open Platform
Epic's patient portal — third-party tools embed in or launch from MyChart.
The Epic Integration Process
From public sandbox to a live production connection at a customer health system. Tap a step to see what it involves.
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Step 1 — Sandbox Access
Step 1 — Sandbox Access
Test FHIR API calls against synthetic patient data on Epic's public sandbox at open.epic.com — no formal agreement required.
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Step 2 — App Orchard Application
Step 2 — App Orchard Application
Submit an application describing your app, its data use, and security practices; Epic reviews it before certification access.
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Step 3 — Certification Testing
Step 3 — Certification Testing
Epic tests your app against defined scenarios — resource queries, edge cases, error handling, and SMART on FHIR auth flows.
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Step 4 — Health System Activation
Step 4 — Health System Activation
Once certified, customer health systems can activate the app; each system's IT team reviews and configures the connection.
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Step 5 — Production Connection
Step 5 — Production Connection
The app connects to the health system's production Epic using issued credentials; monitor for FHIR version changes.
Understanding Epic's Role in U.S. and Canadian Healthcare
Epic's footprint in large hospitals makes it unavoidable for any product targeting hospital-based care.
Unavoidable Market Share in Large Hospitals
Over 250 million U.S. patients have an Epic record, most seen at large health systems and academic medical centers.
Rapid Expansion Across Canada
Ontario Health chose Epic for its provincial network — making integration increasingly relevant in Canada.
Certification as a Commercial Signal
Health system IT buyers treat App Orchard certification as proof an app is Epic-reviewed and safe to deploy.
Epic Rarely Stands Alone
Most products that integrate with Epic also need one or more of these. Each links to how we build it.
Oracle Health (Cerner) Integration
The other platform hospital buyers ask about. Ignite FHIR R4, CareAware and Millennium HL7 v2.
FHIR R4 Integration
The standard behind Epic on FHIR: resources, profiles, SMART on FHIR authorization and bulk export.
HL7 v2 Interfaces
What Epic Bridges speaks. ADT, ORU and ORM messaging for everything FHIR does not yet cover.
HIPAA Compliant Development
Encryption, access control and audit logging designed in before a health system security review.
Universal EHR Integration Layer
One internal data model behind Epic, Oracle Health and athenahealth so each new EHR is configuration.
Healthcare IT Consulting
Not sure which pathway fits? Start with an assessment of your systems and integration roadmap, or see the full <a href="/healthcare-software-development">healthcare software development</a> practice.
Selling Into Hospitals Means Connecting to Epic. We Build That Connection.
App Orchard, FHIR R4, Bridges or MyChart, server- and client-side. Book a consultation to scope a certifiable Epic implementation.
Book an Epic Consult
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Frequently Asked Questions
[ 1 ]
How long does Epic integration typically take?
It depends on scope and App Orchard review speed. Basic FHIR work in the open sandbox takes a few weeks; certification and a production connection typically take three to six months.
[ 2 ]
How do you integrate with Epic EHR?
Four pathways cover almost every case. Register on the Epic developer program and build against the open FHIR R4 sandbox; use SMART on FHIR for launch and authorization inside Epic; use Bridges HL7 v2 interfaces for messaging that FHIR does not cover; and publish through App Orchard or Showroom when you need distribution to health systems. Production access always requires a sponsoring health system.
[ 3 ]
What is Epic App Orchard and do we need to be listed?
App Orchard, now part of Epic Showroom, is Epic's marketplace for third party applications. Listing is not required for a private integration at a single health system, but it is the practical route to distribution because hospital buyers look there first and it standardizes the technical review.
[ 4 ]
Can AI scribes and ambient documentation tools integrate with Epic?
Yes. Ambient documentation tools launch inside Epic via SMART on FHIR, read encounter context through FHIR R4 APIs, and write finished notes back into the chart. Epic also ships native and partner options, so third party tools are evaluated against that baseline in most hospital deals.
[ 5 ]
What does Epic integration cost?
The Epic developer sandbox is free. Real cost sits in engineering: a focused FHIR integration is typically a few weeks of work, while certification, security review and a production connection at a health system run three to six months of effort. Budget for the health system's own review cycle, which is usually the longest pole.
[ 6 ]
Is Epic integration required for every digital health product?
Not necessarily — it matters most for products exchanging clinical data with large hospital systems. Anything selling into hospital markets usually needs it.
[ 7 ]
What data can an application access through Epic FHIR APIs?
Epic's FHIR R4 APIs expose demographics, conditions, medications, labs, vitals, notes and encounters — with availability set by authorized SMART on FHIR scopes under USCDI.
[ 8 ]
How does Epic integration compare to Oracle Health (Cerner)?
Both use HL7 FHIR R4 and SMART on FHIR, but the profiles, search parameters and developer programs differ. An application built for Epic will not work against Oracle Health without integration layer changes, so teams selling into both markets should plan a vendor neutral internal data model.
[ 9 ]
Does Epic work the same way in Canada as in the United States?
The core Epic platform and FHIR APIs work the same in both countries. Canadian implementations may differ in patient identifiers, provincial code sets and governance like Ontario's PHIPA.
Global presence
