St. Luke\u2019s took a major step toward a digitally connected future\u00a0on January 9, 2016,\u00a0when\u00a0the\u00a0Network launched 18 of\u00a0Epic\u2019s inpatient modules across six campuses,\u00a0laying the foundation for a modern electronic health record (EHR) system.<\/p>\n
Today, St. Luke\u2019s uses 42\u00a0Epic\u00a0modules system\u2011wide,\u00a0strengthening care quality, enhancing value, and seamlessly connecting our clinicians with health systems across the nation, helping St. Luke\u2019s to be ranked No. 1 in quality, safety and patient experience by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.<\/p>\n
This decade of growth has been powered by people. St. Luke\u2019s has delivered more than 121,000\u00a0Epic\u00a0training classes for\u00a0more than\u00a041,000 employees\u00a0and providers, preparing every nurse, provider,\u00a0scheduler\u00a0and revenue cycle specialist to care for patients in a fully digital environment.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis milestone reflects more than a decade of technology rollout\u2014it represents our commitment to using digital innovation to support our clinicians and continuously improve care for our patients,\u201d said Chad Brisendine, Chief Information Officer at St. Luke\u2019s. \u201cBy investing early in Epic, cloud infrastructure, interoperability, and now artificial intelligence, we\u2019ve built a foundation that helps our teams deliver safer, smarter, and more connected care every day.\u201d<\/p>\n
From the beginning, St. Luke\u2019s invested in a resilient technology infrastructure.\u00a0Epic\u00a0was initially hosted across two on\u2011premise data centers to support critical workflows. A few\u00a0years later, St. Luke\u2019s became one of the first health networks in the country to migrate\u00a0Epic\u00a0to the Cloud, improving performance, strengthening\u00a0security\u00a0and advancing disaster recovery times from hours to just minutes.<\/p>\n
Data sharing has grown dramatically as well. In 2016, St. Luke\u2019s exchanged just over one million patient records with other health care organizations. Today, that number has\u00a0surged to\u00a013 million outgoing records each year,\u00a0and more than 22 million incoming. St. Luke\u2019s clinicians have also closed 3.3 million care gaps through\u00a0Epic\u2019s Care Everywhere interoperability network.<\/p>\n
Patients\u00a0have\u00a0benefited\u00a0from this digital transformation through\u00a0the\u00a0MyChart\u00a0patient portal, which empowers them to manage their care anytime, anywhere.\u00a0Nearly one\u00a0million patients now use MyChart to schedule appointments, join virtual\u00a0visits\u00a0and access their medical information.\u00a0Over the past decade, patients completed more than 5 million e\u2011check-ins, viewed 37.5 million test results,\u00a0and submitted\u00a01.5 million medication renewal\u00a0requests.<\/p>\n
Epic\u2019s Hello World platform, launched at St. Luke\u2019s last\u00a0year, has further modernized communication through two\u2011way text messaging for appointments, billing, scheduling and more.<\/p>\n
Epic\u2019s advanced artificial intelligence is powering St. Luke\u2019s next leap forward. By combining\u00a0Epic\u2019s Sepsis Model with real\u2011time Sepsis Time Zero alerts, St. Luke\u2019s has reduced septic shock cases, lowered\u00a0mortality\u00a0and increased CMS sepsis bundle compliance from 82% to 92%.<\/p>\n
Epic\u2019s Deterioration Index has strengthened patient safety by reducing ICU transfers by 11%, increasing survival\u2011to\u2011discharge to 36%,\u00a0and driving code events to top\u2011decile performance across the\u00a0Network. These innovations earned St. Luke\u2019s a HAP Achievement Award and contributed to three HIMSS Davies Award,\u00a0an honor achieved by only a few organizations nationwide.<\/p>\n
Clinicians have also\u00a0benefited\u00a0from\u00a0Epic\u2019s AI tools, which have decreased documentation time and reduced inbox burden. Over the past decade,\u00a0Epic\u00a0alerts have helped clinicians adjust care plans 1.2 million times, eliminated 19 million\u00a0inBasket\u00a0messages,\u00a0and generated 1.3 million note summaries by analyzing 22 million clinical notes. Note entry time has dropped from about seven minutes to just over 15 seconds.<\/p>\n
\u201c<\/em>St. Luke\u2019s exemplifies how technology can help clinicians provide high-quality, patient-centered care,\u201d said Rob Klootwyk, Director of Interoperability at\u00a0Epic. \u201cThrough MyChart, St. Luke’s has made it simpler for patients to stay informed, engaged, and confident in their care. Through Care Everywhere, they’ve\u00a0helped ensure that when patients travel across town or across the country, their medical history travels with them\u2014reducing uncertainty and inefficiency and ultimately improving health outcomes.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n St. Luke\u2019s\u00a0remains\u00a0one of the nation\u2019s most digitally advanced health systems, consistently earning CHIME\u2019s Most Wired Level 9 distinction.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n About St. Luke\u2019s<\/strong><\/p>\n Founded in 1872, St. Luke\u2019s University Health Network (SLUHN) is a fully integrated, regional, non-profit network with annual net revenue of more than $4.5 billion. With 23,000+ employees at 16 hospital campuses and 350+ outpatient sites, it is the Lehigh Valley\u2019s biggest employer.<\/p>\n The Network\u2019s service area includes 11 counties in two states: Lehigh, Northampton, Berks, Bucks, Carbon, Montgomery, Monroe, Schuylkill and Luzerne counties in Pennsylvania and Warren and Hunterdon counties in New Jersey. St. Luke\u2019s Children\u2019s Hospital is based at the Bethlehem Campus.<\/p>\n Dedicated to advancing medical education, St. Luke\u2019s is the preeminent teaching hospital in central-eastern Pennsylvania. In partnership with Temple University, the Network established the Lehigh Valley\u2019s first and only four-year medical school. It also operates the nation\u2019s oldest continuously operated School of Nursing, established in 1884, and 60+ fully accredited graduate medical educational programs with 550+ residents and fellows.<\/p>\n In 2025, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services ranked St. Luke\u2019s #1 \u2013 ahead of Houston Methodist and Mayo Clinic, two of the nation\u2019s most prestigious institutions \u2013 as the nation\u2019s top health system for quality, safety and patient experience. This objective recognition, based on public data reported to the government, reaffirms St. Luke\u2019s preeminent position as THE BEST OF THE BEST among the most respected health care systems in the United States.<\/p>\n St. Luke\u2019s has been named a Leapfrog Group and Healthgrades Top Hospital and a Newsweek World\u2019s Best Hospital. It is the only Lehigh Valley-based health care system to earn Medicare\u2019s five-star ratings (the highest) for quality, efficiency and patient satisfaction. In 2026, the Network earned straight A\u2019s from Leapfrog across all of its acute care hospitals. It has earned 100 Top Hospital designations from Premier 12 years in a row, including in 2021 when its flagship University Hospital was identified as THE #1 TEACHING HOSPITAL IN THE COUNTRY. Utilizing the Epic electronic medical record (EMR) system for both inpatient and outpatient services, the Network is a multi-year recipient of the Most Wired award recognizing the breadth of SLUHN\u2019s information technology applications such as telehealth, online scheduling and online pricing information.<\/p>\n Information provided to TVL by: <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" St. Luke\u2019s took a major step toward a digitally connected future\u00a0on January 9, 2016,\u00a0when\u00a0the\u00a0Network launched 18 of\u00a0Epic\u2019s inpatient modules across six campuses,\u00a0laying the foundation for a modern electronic health record … Continue reading St. Luke\u2019s Marks a Decade of Epic Innovation, Transforming Care for Patients<\/span>
\nSam Kennedy<\/p>\n