Evaluating an EHR conversion partner requires extensive due diligence — from assessing experience and references to reviewing methodology and team structure. Most organizations come prepared for those questions. What often receives less attention are the Epic‑specific questions that can make or break your implementation.
Here are six to include in your evaluation process:
- Do You Hold Epic‑Bridges Certification?
Epic‑Bridges is the interface engine required for loading data into Epic and managing conversions. Any vendor performing Epic conversion work must hold this certification. It is a fundamental requirement — and any partner without it should be removed from consideration immediately.
- How Do You Work Alongside Epic During a Conversion?
Epic is an active, hands‑on participant in these projects, with defined requirements, established processes, and clear expectations for how data conversions must be executed. Experienced Epic conversion partners know how to operate within that framework. Ask prospective partners how they coordinate with Epic throughout the engagement.
- What Experience Do You Have With Our Legacy EHR?
Each source system — whether Cerner, MEDITECH, Allscripts, or another platform — has its own data architecture, extraction nuances, and challenges. A partner with deep experience in your specific legacy system will anticipate issues that a generalist may encounter for the first time during your conversion. Request references from organizations that completed the same source‑to‑Epic transition you are planning.
- Can You Support Both Conversion and Archiving?
Conversion and archiving are closely connected, and organizations that plan them in parallel often see better results than those that treat them as sequential or unrelated workstreams. A vendor experienced in both offers meaningful advantages:
Archive strategy can be finalized early.
Key decisions — such as Single Sign‑On (SSO) access from Epic — can be made deliberately rather than under time pressure.
Clinical and operational teams gain early visibility into how historical data will be accessed.
A well‑defined archive plan supports a faster and more confident legacy system decommissioning timeline.
Cost and time efficiencies are experienced since a shared team has knowledge throughout the migration phase that cascades through to archival.
- What Epic Integration Capabilities Does Your Archive Support?
While migration and archiving are distinct, they share technical foundations. If your partner will provide both, it’s important to understand the robustness of their archive capabilities — especially the integrations that impact daily usability. Key capabilities to confirm include:
SSO to allow clinicians easy access to historical records from within Epic
Secure Record Delivery for direct release of records from the archive to Epic and Epic MyChart
MPI synchronization to maintain consistent patient identity
Legacy Record Indicator to advise users when archived records are present to save clicks
Reporting and auditing tools
A/R wind down capabilities
- Within Your Recommended Timeline, Will All Data Types — Including Unstructured Documents — Be Migrated Prior to Go‑Live?
The Epic conversion vendor landscape has expanded significantly, creating more choice — but also more variability in expertise, comprehensiveness, and approach. Some vendors offer accelerated timelines that may be appropriate in certain scenarios, but those timelines often come with trade‑offs.
Limited‑scope approaches may migrate or archive only certain data types while excluding others — such as unstructured documents, scans, and images — or treating them as a separate workstream altogether. An experienced partner understands these gaps and can help ensure your project covers what’s most critical to your organization while maintaining data integrity.
If you’re evaluating Epic conversion partners and would like to discuss whether Harmony Healthcare IT may be the right fit for your organization, contact us today.
