Background
A rapidly expanding multi-state health system, growing through significant acquisitions, faced a critical technological and operational challenge: consolidating multiple legacy Electronic Health Record (EHR) systems, including a full system deconversion and migrations from Athena and NextGen, onto its single, enterprise Epic platform.
The objective was clear, but complex: deliver clean, accurate, and validated clinical data to support safe patient care and operational readiness across all newly acquired sites at go-live.
The Challenge of Consolidation
Consolidating three disparate systems presented unique and complex risks to patient continuity and data quality. The health system needed a partner capable of managing the full lifecycle of system retirement, from secure data extraction to final data validation.
Each transition presented unique complexities:
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A full legacy system deconversion required compliant user access removal and the development of robust MRN crosswalks to ensure patient identity continuity.
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The Athena migration involved extracting a wide range of clinical data types but was complicated by system-specific deficiencies in CCD formatting, threatening data integrity.
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The NextGen migration required precise mapping and validation, closely aligned with Epic provider build timelines, to avoid downstream rework.
The primary risk across all three initiatives was the potential for data quality errors, chart clutter, and security gaps, which could directly impede clinical workflows and compromise patient safety at transition.
HDM’s Integrated Solution
HDM combined deep technical expertise with a structured governance framework to ensure clarity, quality, and seamless coordination across technical, clinical, and leadership stakeholders.
Project Governance and Coordination
HDM employed a formal governance model where all issues, risks, and critical decisions were documented using an SBAR (Situation, Background, Assessment, Recommendation) outline. This ensured rapid alignment and secured timely approvals from the appropriate governance groups, maintaining accountability and pace across the multi-system project. HDM served as the crucial liaison, facilitating communication and alignment among all integration teams, technical analysts, and clinical stakeholders.
Technical Mastery and Innovation
Beyond standard conversion tasks, HDM delivered custom solutions to solve system-specific data anomalies and improve chart usability:
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Addressing Athena Data Gaps: When inconsistencies appeared in standard Athena extracts, HDM used custom-built tools and EHI exports to fill data gaps, standardize malformed values, and ensure complete, reliable patient records were imported into Epic.
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Reducing Chart Clutter: During the scanned document conversion process, the team used creative metadata filtering, such as specific fax numbers and source indicators, to identify and prevent duplicate documents from flooding patient charts. This innovative approach dramatically improved chart usability for clinicians at go-live.
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Ensuring Secure Decommissioning: During the legacy system deconversion, HDM managed the complex, compliance-focused offboarding process, including the secure and controlled decommissioning of user accounts.
Quantifiable Impact and Outcome
Through precise execution and collaborative partnership, HDM delivered transitions that supported the health system’s strategic M&A and EHR consolidation efforts.
The measurable results included:
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Secure Offboarding: Successfully assessed and decommissioned 600+ user accounts during the system deconversion, ensuring full compliance and security standards were met.
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Data Integrity: Successfully completed multiple scoping cycles, rigorous validation rounds, and governance reviews across all three systems.
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Scale: Managed migration efforts supporting millions of clinical data records across Athena and NextGen systems into the unified Epic platform.
Ultimately, HDM ensured that the health system received high-quality, validated clinical data ready for immediate use at go-live, allowing for safe and smooth operations during a period of complex organizational change.
Want to learn more? Reach out to our Delivery Director Mehul Malhotra for any questions.