Business Challenge
In 2023, Broward Health, the 10th largest healthcare system in the U.S., with five hospitals, nearly 30 clinics serving South Florida, and 11,000 team members, determined that its existing EMR was not able to meet growing needs.
Broward’s existing EMR system posed mounting challenges, such as:
- Inefficiency due to outdated technology
- Difficulty with data migration
- Poor interoperability with newer systems
- Lack of compliance with current regulations
- Increased security vulnerabilities
- High maintenance costs
- Potential data loss due to outdated software
- Legacy systems that were not compatible with new AI functions
Solution
To address these problems, Broward selected Epic as its new electronic healthcare record system. Epic brought its reputation for advanced functionality, seamless integration with other healthcare systems, and ability to improve patient care coordination by facilitating easier information exchange with other local hospitals. Broward also wanted to launch MyChart, giving patients direct access to their health information.
Broward recognized, further, that because of the project’s complexity and high-stakes investment ($250 million), they would benefit from outside support to ensure a seamless transition and successful go-live. To that end, in August 2023, as Broward prepared to transition to Epic, the healthcare system contracted with Innovative to provide Broward’s Epic engagement team with help for:
- Functions spanning clinical executive oversight
- Project management
- Clinical, ancillary, and financial analysis
- Reporting
- Application testing
- Digital transformation
- Application integration
- Legacy support
- Training
Results
The project of transitioning to Epic with Innovative was a success. In fact, Broward was able to go live in November 2024, on schedule, just in time to help launch Broward’s recently announced “year of innovation.”
“Our professional services delivered exceptional results across every impacted area,” says Rachel Reiter, VP of client success at Innovative. “This was a complex transition that involved support staff, doctors and nurses, and, ultimately, patients. To that end, we were committed to getting it right for all the stakeholders.”
Marc Hirshfield, managing partner at Innovative, concurs. “The Innovative/Broward team did a great job,” he says. “We are very proud of the hard work and steadfast dedication to Broward’s success. The combination of our strong consultants and client success leadership helped make this happen.”
Innovative’s engagement continues in a variety of post-live roles and projects. In the near term, Broward plans to leverage Epic for innovation, particularly AI.