Epic’s UGM 2024: Innovations, insights, and the future of healthcare

Attending Epic’s User Group Meeting (UGM) is always a unique experience, and this year was no exception. With an impressive turnout of 44,000 attendees, including customers, staff, and virtual participants, and a campus that sprawls across 1,700 acres in Verona, Wisconsin, the event is as much a spectacle as it is an industry touchstone. As Epic continues to grow and expand its influence in healthcare (as well as its campus), UGM offers a glimpse into the future of healthcare IT and the broader direction of patient care.

This year’s UGM was packed with announcements that reflect Epic’s ongoing efforts to innovate and address the evolving needs of healthcare providers and patients alike. While I was struck by new functionality and workflows, I came away with an even stronger belief that both health IT startups and established vendors had better continue to aggressively move the ball down the field because Epic is expanding on all fronts.

The continued evolution of AI in healthcare

One of the most talked-about moments at this year’s UGM was the artificial intelligence (AI) demo during the opening keynote. Epic showcased an advanced AI assistant integrated with MyChart, their patient portal, designed to follow up with patients post-operatively. The demo, which involved assessing a fictional patient’s wrist recovery via video and using accumulated de-identified patient data to compare progress against similar cases, was nothing short of impressive. The AI even suggested canceling a follow-up appointment based on the patient’s accelerated recovery, demonstrating the potential for AI to streamline care and improve efficiency.

However, as exciting as these developments are, they also raise important questions about the readiness of the healthcare system to fully embrace AI-driven decisions. While the technology holds enormous promise, there’s a delicate balance that must be struck between leveraging AI for efficiency and ensuring that human clinical oversight remains paramount. The risk of over-reliance on AI could lead to scenarios where automated decisions overshadow the nuanced judgment of healthcare providers.

As AI continues to evolve, it will be crucial for healthcare organizations to implement these tools thoughtfully. The goal should be to enhance, not replace, the critical human elements of care. The American Medical Association has begun to define AI as “augmented intelligence” to emphasize the importance of the human as ultimate authority. Further, leading academic centers such as UCSD and Emory have named chief AI officers to ensure these tools are properly governed and used.

Garden Plot and the democratization of EHR access

Epic’s Garden Plot initiative, designed to make its EHR system more accessible to small and medium-sized practices, has been expanding steadily. Initially focused on primary care and orthopedics, the platform is now being extended to additional specialties. This move is part of Epic’s broader strategy to democratize access to its technology, enabling smaller practices to benefit from the same robust tools used by larger health systems.

The complexity of Epic’s EHR, even in a scaled-down form, could pose integration and usability challenges for practices with limited IT resources.

While this expansion is a positive step towards greater inclusivity, it’s important to recognize the challenges that smaller practices may face when adopting a system originally designed for large institutions. The complexity of Epic’s EHR, even in a scaled-down form, could pose integration and usability challenges for practices with limited IT resources. It will be essential for these organizations and Epic to leverage human-centered design principles to ensure the clinicians and operations folks are getting the most from the software.

Cosmos and the future of data-driven care

Epic’s Cosmos initiative continues to push the boundaries of data-driven care. By aggregating data from 270 million patients, Cosmos enables clinicians to make more informed decisions by comparing their patients’ cases with similar cases in the database. The Lookalikes feature, for example, allows clinicians to find patients with similar conditions and treatments, potentially offering new insights into rare or complex cases. A researcher recently noted that an initial Cosmos query for Down Syndrome patients yielded 100,000 records, about half of all such patients in the U.S. If this doesn’t impress you, I’m not sure what will. Of course, remember that these are de-identified data that can only be examined in the abstract, but still, it’s almost unbelievable.

This approach has the potential to revolutionize personalized medicine, but it also comes with challenges. Relying too heavily on aggregated data could lead to what some might call “cookbook medicine,” where decisions are driven more by statistical norms than by the individualized needs of the patient. It’s important for clinicians to use Cosmos as a tool to inform their decisions, rather than as a definitive guide.

The ongoing development of Cosmos, including its expansion to store genomics data, shows Epic’s commitment to staying at the forefront of healthcare innovation. However, as this tool becomes more integrated into clinical workflows, it’s essential to ensure that it enhances, rather than diminishes, the creativity and judgment of healthcare providers.

Conclusion

Epic’s UGM 2024 was a showcase of the commitment to innovation and vision for the future of healthcare. As we move forward, it will be crucial for the healthcare industry to embrace these innovations thoughtfully, ensuring that technology enhances rather than overshadows the human elements of care. With careful implementation, the tools and platforms unveiled at this year’s UGM have great potential to bring about meaningful improvements in patient care, operational efficiency, and clinician happiness.