athenahealth to Epic Migration Guide
A complete step-by-step guide for migrating your EMR system from athenahealth to Epic. Includes data migration checklist, timeline estimates, cost projections, common challenges, and expert tips.
How do I migrate from athenahealth to Epic?
Migrating from athenahealth to Epic is a high-difficulty process that typically takes 9-18 months and costs $500K-$5M+ depending on practice size. Key steps include: evaluate readiness and build the business case, engage epic and plan the implementation, extract data from athenahealth, and more. The migration involves transferring 10 categories of clinical and administrative data.
Timeline
Estimated Cost
Migration Process
Difficulty Level
Estimated Cost
Includes licensing, data migration, implementation services, training, and contingency. Actual costs vary based on organization size, data complexity, and customization requirements.
Data Migration Checklist
The following data categories can be migrated from athenahealth to Epic:
Step-by-Step Migration Process
Evaluate Readiness and Build the Business Case
Document reasons for switching (growth to hospital-based care, health system acquisition, need for inpatient capabilities). Assess IT infrastructure readiness for Epic, which typically requires on-premise servers or Epic-hosted cloud.
Engage Epic and Plan the Implementation
Contact Epic sales for practice-size-appropriate licensing (Community Connect, Epic hosting, or full license). Assign Epic-certified project managers and begin the Foundation System build, which defines your clinical and billing configuration.
Extract Data from athenahealth
Request data exports from athenahealth in CCDA and flat-file formats. athenahealth provides data extraction as part of their offboarding process, though timelines vary. Supplement with API-based extraction for recent data using athena FHIR APIs.
Map and Transform Data
Map athena data fields to Epic equivalents. Pay special attention to clinical notes (athena uses a structured note model that differs from Epic), medication histories, and billing configurations. Build and validate ETL transformation logic.
Configure Epic for Ambulatory Workflows
Build EpicCare Ambulatory workflows including scheduling templates, clinical documentation templates (SmartPhrases), order sets, and billing rules. Replicate your most efficient athena workflows while taking advantage of Epic capabilities.
Train All Staff
Plan thorough role-based training. Physicians typically need 16-24 hours, clinical staff 12-16 hours, and billing staff 20-40 hours. Designate super-users for each department to provide peer support.
Execute Migration and Go Live
Perform the final data migration during a planned downtime window (typically a weekend). Validate migrated data including patient charts, upcoming appointments, and open orders. Go live with at-the-elbow support for the first 1-2 weeks.
Common Challenges
Moving from cloud-based athenahealth to on-premise/hosted Epic is a fundamentally different IT model
Athenahealth percentage-of-collections billing model makes cost comparison with Epic difficult
Network-based billing rules and auto-updated content in athena do not transfer to Epic
Custom athena reports and dashboards must be rebuilt in Epic Reporting Workbench or Caboodle
Staff accustomed to athena simplicity often struggle with Epic initial complexity
Athena contract early termination fees can be significant -- review contract terms carefully
Integration with third-party clearinghouses changes when moving to Epic Resolute billing
Expert Migration Tips
If joining a health system already on Epic, leverage their Community Connect or Epic-hosted model to reduce costs
Export all athena report templates and billing rules documentation before terminating -- you will need them for Epic configuration
Plan a 30-day overlap where you maintain read-only athena access for historical reference
Athena percentage-of-collections pricing means your final months are still billed -- factor this into migration budget
Start with your highest-volume providers for training to build internal expertise early
Frequently Asked Questions
Why switch from athenahealth to Epic?
The most common reasons are acquisition by a health system running Epic, growth into hospital or inpatient care that athenahealth does not support, need for deeper analytics and population health tools, or desire for a unified enterprise platform.
How much does it cost to switch from athena to Epic?
For a mid-sized ambulatory practice (10-50 providers), expect $500K-$5M including Epic licensing, implementation services, hardware, training, and data migration. Health system-affiliated practices using Community Connect may have lower costs.
What happens to our athenahealth billing during migration?
You will continue paying athenahealth percentage-of-collections fees until your contract ends or you complete the migration. Plan for 2-3 months of overlap where you may be paying both athena fees and Epic implementation costs.
Can we keep using athena while implementing Epic?
Yes, most practices run both systems during the transition. New patients are typically entered in Epic starting on go-live day, while legacy data is migrated in the background over 1-2 months.
Migration Summary
- From
- athenahealth
- To
- Epic
- Difficulty
- High
- Timeline
- 9-18 months
- Est. Cost
- $500K-$5M+ depending on practice size
- Steps
- 7 steps
- Data Types
- 10 categories
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