Overview of the Investment
Sarasota Memorial Health Care System is embarking on one of the most significant digital transformations in its history with a planned $160 million investment in Epic EHR over the next five years. The two-hospital, $2.1 billion Florida-based public health system is positioning itself for enhanced patient care, improved operational efficiency, and strengthened competitive positioning in the healthcare market.
According to Pam Ramhofer, the organization’s Chief Information Officer who is cosponsoring the EHR project alongside the health system’s COO, the return on investment extends far beyond traditional financial metrics. The initiative promises to revolutionize workflow efficiency, patient safety protocols, and overall clinician experience across the entire enterprise.
Timeline and Implementation Strategy
Launch Schedule
The health system kicked off the implementation process in June 2024, with an ambitious enterprise-wide go-live date scheduled for October 2026. This comprehensive rollout represents the largest IT project in Ms. Ramhofer’s four-decade tenure at Sarasota Memorial and stands as one of the organization’s biggest capital investments overall.
Big Bang Approach
Sarasota Memorial has chosen to implement Epic using a “big bang” approach, meaning the entire system will go live simultaneously across all facilities and departments. While this strategy can be challenging, it allows for immediate standardization and eliminates the complexities of maintaining dual systems during a phased rollout.
Benefits Beyond Dollar Value
“In terms of what this means to the staff, and how they work, and our community — in terms of access and data and sharing information — I just don’t think you can put a price on it,” Ms. Ramhofer explained. The intangible benefits of improved information sharing, enhanced care coordination, and streamlined workflows represent value that transcends traditional financial analysis.
Clinician Experience and Recruitment Advantages
Evolution of Technology Adoption
The healthcare landscape has dramatically transformed since Sarasota Memorial installed its first EHR in the late 1990s. Back then, the organization was “dragging people along” and teaching basic computer skills. Today’s clinicians are actively pushing for more advanced technology and sophisticated tools.
Recruitment and Retention Benefits
Most physicians and many nurses receive Epic training during their education, making the platform familiar and desirable. Staff members were often disappointed to discover the organization used a different EHR system, creating recruitment challenges. The switch to Epic now serves as a significant recruitment advantage, attracting top talent who are already proficient with the platform.
“They’re pushing the technology to move faster and have more tools,” Ms. Ramhofer noted. “So it’s very, very different.”
AI-Enabled Capabilities and Innovation
Ambient Clinical Documentation
The new Epic implementation will incorporate cutting-edge AI capabilities, including ambient clinical documentation tools. These features leverage artificial intelligence to automatically capture and document clinical encounters, reducing the administrative burden on healthcare providers and allowing them to focus more time on direct patient care.
Strategic Timing Advantage
“I think we’re the beneficiaries of coming in a little later in the game,” Ms. Ramhofer observed. “So we’ll be standing [the EHR] up with all the latest and greatest as long as we’re doing those workflows that are AI-enabled.” This strategic timing allows Sarasota Memorial to benefit from mature, proven AI technologies without the risks of early adoption.
Epic Cosmos Research Network Access
Sarasota Memorial plans to join Epic’s Cosmos research network, which aggregates anonymized data from over 300 million unique patient records. This powerful resource will provide unprecedented access to clinical insights and research capabilities.
“The physicians are going to be thrilled to have access to that, as well as our research department and our medical residents,” Ms. Ramhofer said. The Cosmos network enables comparative effectiveness research, population health insights, and evidence-based clinical decision support at scale.
System Consolidation and Cybersecurity
Application Rationalization
After outgrowing its current platform over the past decade, Sarasota Memorial will consolidate three separate patient portals into one unified system. The health system also plans to retire nearly a quarter of its approximately 380 applications—a significant reduction in system complexity.
Enhanced Security Posture
This consolidation strategy is expected to substantially enhance cybersecurity by reducing the organization’s digital footprint. Fewer applications mean fewer potential vulnerability points, simplified patch management, and more focused security resources.
Project Team and Resource Management
Workforce Dedication
Approximately 1,000 Sarasota Memorial staff members are working on the Epic project, including 30 new full-time employees hired specifically for the implementation. The health system has also engaged project management consultants to support the massive undertaking.
Knowledge Retention Strategy
“We try to use our own staff as much as possible, because there’s a lot of knowledge that’s gained when you build a system, and I don’t want that walking out the door,” Ms. Ramhofer explained. This approach ensures institutional knowledge remains within the organization long after go-live.
Return on Investment Considerations
Cost Structure
Software costs will remain comparable to current expenditures, with the bulk of the $160 million investment directed toward implementation activities. While the return won’t be easily measurable in traditional financial terms, the benefits will manifest through strengthened safety protocols and operational efficiencies.
Efficiency Gains
Ms. Ramhofer illustrated the efficiency improvements with a concrete example: “Every time we transfer a patient within the hospital, somebody has to document that transfer in three different applications. And from now on, it’s going to be either seamless or one.” These types of workflow optimizations, multiplied across thousands of daily interactions, will yield substantial time savings and reduce errors.
Looking Ahead: The Big Bang Approach
The Epic implementation will touch 80-90% of Sarasota Memorial’s staff, as well as the entire community that uses the health system’s services. This widespread impact makes it the organization’s most people-centric project to date.
“It’s been a long road, and we’re excited,” Ms. Ramhofer said. “Going up with a big system, going ‘big bang’ like this can be a little scary, and you do everything you can to mitigate anything unexpected. But we’ll get through it, and we’ll be all the better for it.”
The transformation represents not just a technology upgrade, but a fundamental reimagining of how Sarasota Memorial delivers care, manages information, and serves its community in an increasingly digital healthcare landscape.
Discover the latest Provider news updates with a single click. Follow DistilINFO HospitalIT and stay ahead with updates. Join our community today!
Leave a Reply