FAQ

• Epic delivers value for everyone involved. As a health system that spans multiple geographies, patient demographics, and care teams, this single EHR will deliver:
  • Increased clinician satisfaction with an automation-driven process and seamless collaboration between care teams 
  • Enhanced patient safety with standardized protocols, workflows and tools 
    • Example: A single EHR will allow for continuous care coordination across multiple locations for patients served, standardizing care delivery and increasing visibility into patient diagnoses, treatment and follow-up. 
  • Improved care coordination through enterprise-wide integrated communications and patient record availability 
    • Example: Care teams will have access to all patient records for all visits across care facilities, streamlining care delivery and increasing visibility into the patient-care life cycle. 
  • Streamlined technical landscape by eliminating multiple data centers, more than 130 applications, and more than 260 system integrations 
    • Example: Standard Epic workflows and applications will eliminate the need for disparate third-party applications, allowing the care team to work from a single, core platform without excess.
  • One core platform for patients and clinicians to access information, scheduling, statements, and clinical resources 
    • Example: Patients can coordinate visits across all in-scope entities in one single platform, while the care team can coordinate follow-ups, appointments, and patient resources within a single system. 
  • More efficient research operations by using a seamlessly integrated solution with our existing clinical trial management system (OnCore) for optimized trial management and billing 
    • Example: Epic provides a robust billing protocol review process that will provide compliance while maximizing our research staff’s time.
  • Increased research opportunities via Epic Cosmos, including more than 260 million de-identified patient records to support research growth and clinical trials 
    • Example: Cosmos users can use data from many institutions to gain a better understanding of treatment outcomes across a broader population. 

• We are committed to aligning with over 90% of Epic’s Foundation System, meaning we will implement the standard Epic EHR and escalate decisions that require deviations from the Foundation System.  
  • See additional FAQs in the Epic Foundation System section. 

• Each entity will have representation in how Epic is built and configured, despite staggered launch (“go-live”) dates.
  • See additional FAQs in the Build Wave section. 

The entities in-scope for Epic include: 

From April 2025 to October 2025, Advisory Groups and Operational Workgroups will be making decisions that support the build and configuration of Epic’s Foundation System to meet the needs of each in-scope entity.

The Epic Journey phases include:

High-level training timelines are as follows and should be communicated to appropriate audiences as relevant:

• Epic’s Foundation System is the standard version upon which each in-scope entity will build the Epic EHR. It includes pre-defined settings, sample reports, and starter sets for clinical and specialty areas. This will be tailored to meet specific organizational needs and workflows.

• Our leaders have made the decision to align with more than 90% of Epic’s Foundation System, based on Epic-recommended best practices.

• The benefit is that Epic has been built to work for community and university-based medical centers similar to ours in size and function. 

• We are confident that the Foundation System will meet our needs but also understand certain workflows will need to be configured and personalized for individual, department, and specialty preferences.
  • See additional FAQs in the Build Wave section.

• For more information on Epic Foundation System principles and sources, click here.

Representatives from across all in-scope entities were nominated and appointed to Advisory Groups responsible for making decisions about the configuration (e.g., build) of the Epic EHR to meet the needs of our employees and patients. 

There are six different Advisory Group Workstreams guiding the build of Epic: 

• Analytics 
• Ambulatory 
• Physician and APP 
• Inpatient 
• Revenue Cycle 
• Technical 

There are 55 different Operational Workgroups, with representatives from across all in-scope entities, who are making key decisions about the build of Epic and validating the Foundation System, content, and workflows. Each Workgroup reports to an Advisory Group.

Operational Workgroup members are an extension of their specialty, role, and location. These members will solicit feedback from end-users on key decisions that need to be made outside of Epic’s Foundation System.

As necessary, Subject Matter Expert (SME) Groups will be activated to provide additional insight on the build of Epic. If you are selected as an SME, you will receive notification about your nomination, expectations of the role, a timeline for involvement, and desired outcomes.

Approximately 75% of the decisions being made about Epic will be discussed during Operational Workgroup meetings. These decisions impact the configuration of Epic’s Foundation System.

Approximately 15% of the decisions being made about Epic are brought to Advisory Groups who provide guidance to the executive teams and workgroups with expertise in their respective areas. These decisions tend to have an impact on budget and scope of the Epic Journey. 

The remaining ~10% of decisions about Epic are made at the Executive Sponsor and Executive Steering Committee levels and pertain to overall direction, timing, and strategy of the Epic EHR Implementation.

Wave 1 users are those who go live on Epic on July 25, 2026. Go-live means you will switch from the current electronic health record (EHR) you are using to the Epic EHR platform.

This wave includes all UAB St. Vincent’s entities (including the UAB St. Vincent’s hospitals in Birmingham, East, St. Clair, Chilton, and Blount), community providers, affiliates, third-party groups, and superusers supporting the wave 1 go-live.

Wave 2 users are those who go live on Epic on Feb. 27, 2027. This wave includes entities such as:

• UAB Hospital and outpatient clinics 
• UAB Hospital-Highlands
• UAB Callahan Eye
• UAB Medical West
• Cooper Green Mercy Health Services
• UAB Heersink School of Medicine programs, such as the School of Dentistry, School of Nursing and UAB Medicine Huntsville
• University of Alabama College of Community Health Sciences
• Community providers, affiliates, and third-party groups

Epic will be used across UAB Hospital, UAB St. Vincent’s, UAB Medical West, and the University of Alabama. Our “one core platform” provides patients and clinicians with streamlined access to information, scheduling, statements, and clinical resources.

Users will use a new EHR system (Epic) for patient information, scheduling, and clinical/administrative tasks. Some daily workflows will change, but the more streamlined technical experience will improve patient safety, clinician satisfaction, and care coordination.

The instance of Epic being implemented at UAB Medicine will follow Epic Foundations >90%. The interface for the remaining 10% will be customized for our unique needs.

Super user training: April 27–May 22, 2026
There are a few group exceptions that will begin training on May 26 (i.e. pharmacy super users)

End user training: May 26–July 24

Provider training: June 1–July 24

Managers will sign up their direct reports, so no action is needed from you.

Providers will register themselves. This includes physicians/surgeons, community practice providers, CRNAs, NPs, Pas, and residents.

Managers and providers can register for training at journeytoepic.org/training.

To access EpicU, you will need your UABMC username (username@uabmc.edu), which is also called the AD login.

EpicU platforms have not been tested on tablets or mobile phones, so please use a desktop or laptop computer to complete registration and e-learning modules.

If you need assistance with your UABMC username, resetting your password, or setting up multifactor authentication (MFA), please call the UAB St. Vincent’s Helpdesk at 205-502-9990.

• If you never claimed your UABMC username, you must use an onsite computer at a UAB or UAB St. Vincent’s location to do so.
  • MFA enrollment instructions
• Providers who submitted their mobile phone number to the Medical Staff will not need to register for MFA.
  • Providers who have NOT submitted their mobile phone number to the Medical Staff will need to register for MFA onsite using a UAB network computer at a UAB or UAB St. Vincent’s location. Visit myprofile.microsoft.com or submit your mobile phone number to the Medical Staff to be pre-registered.
• Non-providers must register for MFA onsite using a UAB network computer at a UAB or UAB St. Vincent’s location by visiting myprofile.microsoft.com.
  • UAB St. Vincent’s Account Claiming Process
• EpicU platforms have not been tested on tablets or mobile phones, so please use a desktop or laptop computer to complete registration and e-learning modules.

If you are a UAB St. Vincent’s employee, please call the UAB St. Vincent’s Help Desk at 202-502-9990.

If you are a UAB employee, please call the UAB Heath System IT Help Desk at 205-934-8888.

Yes, Epic Training offers virtual office hours on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 7 a.m. to 8 a.m. and from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Join virtual office hours
Meeting ID: 212 839 866 586 17
Passcode: Kv6y7Ei3

See a list of all wave 1 training locations and directions to classrooms.

• Epic instructor-led classroom foundational training
• Workflow training (i.e., day-in-the-life scenarios)
• Self-paced virtual e-learning (Users can practice on their own until they feel comfortable.)
• Providers also will attend:
  • User settings labs during the training window
  • THRIVE post-live

Super users are peers who support colleagues before, during, and after the Epic transition. They receive early training and specific guidance on effectively helping their teams. Super users will assist in the facilitation of classroom training and provide hands-on support to peers navigating go-live.

 Super users based on their influence among peers, comfort with technology, expertise in clinical/operational workflows, and adaptability with change.

Super users and specialty trainers receive early training and support peers during and after the Epic transition, including during classroom training. However, specialty trainers are providers, while super users are non-provider end users.

Super users also will provide at-the-elbow support to end users, while specialty trainers will lead provider user settings labs following classroom training.

Specialty trainers are providers who support fellow providers within their specific specialty/role. They support Epic trainers in delivering in-person classroom training and lead provider user settings labs after classroom training.

End users are all of our people who will use Epic after go-live. This includes clinical and administrative staff, ancillary staff, and more. End users do NOT include Epic analysts or technical folks. End users include:

• Ancillary support (i.e. unit clerks, transporters, and dietary staff who interact with the system)
• Clinical staff (i.e. nurses, doctors, pharmacists, therapists, lab technicians, radiology techs)
• Administrative staff (i.e. registration, scheduling, medical records, case managers)

Admin Conversion is the migration of future-facing administrative data from our current systems into Epic prior to Go-Live. These are the data that allow patient care to be coordinated. UAB St. Vincent’s will be the first UAB Medicine entity to complete this process, and others will follow a similar approach ahead of their Go-Live in February 2027. 

The data included in admin conversion consist of: 

• Appointments 
• Schedulable orders 
• Wait lists 
• Recalls 
• Surgical cases 
• Registration 
• Coverages 
• Referrals 
• Authorizations 
• Guarantors 
• Financial assistance cases 
• Links to treatment and therapy plans 
• Prepayment plans 
• Hospital accounts 
• Preadmissions 

Admin Conversion is separate from clinical data migration, which involves clinical documentation such as notes, lab results, imaging, medications, and vital signs. 

If the types of data listed above are not kept up to date during soft-live, then: 

• Appointments might be missing on day one of Go-Live. 
• Orders may be marked as unscheduled in Epic but are completed or scheduled in legacy systems. 
• Patients might have to spend time waiting around during visits while their registration information is updated. 

Staff involved in creating and managing these types of data will need to be diligent in dual-entering and updating data during the soft-live. We’ll make sure that those affected are further notified and prepared. Your hard work will set the stage for improved patient care and administrative efficiency with Epic. 

July 10: Electronic migration of administrative data into Epic begins.

July 11–12: Designated teams will support manual validation and entry for items that cannot migrate electronically. Data are reviewed and confirmed.

Between Admin Conversion and Go-Live, administrative records will exist in current systems as well as Epic. During this period, teams will need to enter new records, complete certain records, and make changes to existing records in legacy systems and Epic. Dual-system work will continue through July 24.

Gaps can cause real problems on Go-Live day — appointments may be missing, orders may appear unscheduled in Epic even if completed elsewhere, and patients may face delays while registration information is corrected. 

Cutover is the technical and operational transition of users and operations to Epic for Go-Live.

Inpatient Backload and Hospital Cutover weekend will occur Friday, July 24, from 7 a.m. through Monday, July 27, at 7 a.m. 

• Cutover activities begin Friday, July 24, at 3:30 a.m. 
• Downtime begins Saturday, July 25, at 12 a.m.
• Epic Go-Live and Acute Activation is Saturday, July 25, at 4 a.m.
• Ambulatory Activation occurs Monday, July 27, at 7 a.m. 

Cutover Downtime requires that all users must stop using Ascension Technology (AT) Cerner at 11:59 p.m. on Friday, July 24, (Hands-Off Computers During Downtime) to ensure consistency in timing, patient safety, and clinical processes.

• Downtime begins Saturday, July 25, at 12 a.m. Due to the shared environment, the AT Cerner system cannot be moved to “read-only” mode.
• During Downtime on Saturday, July 25, from 12 a.m. to 4 a.m., users should follow established downtime procedures. Cerner 724’s will be available in offline mode for reference documentation, but the AT network will be unavailable. 
• Post-Downtime beginning on Saturday, July 25, at 4 a.m., users should follow established recovery procedures and data should be recovered into Epic. Users should continue to use the Cerner 724’s for reference documentation and utilize the Command Center structure for any issues. 

Our current systems will be retired after Go-Live, with certain applications having gradual retirement ramp downs. Legacy systems will be in read-only status until archival completion in February 2027.

Advisory and Operational Workgroups have been hard at work reviewing current and future processes and workflows to ensure standardization and alignment with what best supports end-users’ needs.

No. Admin Conversion Weekend (July 11 – 12) is the movement of administrative from legacy systems into Epic for Wave 1. Admin Conversion Weekend will involve the conversion / import of appointments and orders and conversion of case / registration data.

• For Dates of Service through July 25: Operate in legacy system; reconcile in Epic 
• For Dates of Service on and after July 26: Operate in Epic 

View more Admin Conversion information.

During and after Go-Live, patient care will continue as usual. Prior to go-live, Appointment / Admin Conversion into Epic, scheduling in Epic (Soft Go-Live), patient registration in Epic, and additional steps will ensure that Acute Clinical Backload is completed before Go-Live – ensuring patient care experiences little to no interruptions at Go-Live. Schedules will be reduced for the initial few days following Go-Live.

Admin Conversion is the migration of future-facing administrative data from current systems into Epic before Go-Live. It ensures scheduling, referrals, and other coordination data aren’t lost in the transition. 

• Appointments 
• Schedulable orders 
• Wait lists 
• Recalls 
• Surgical cases 
• Registration 
• Coverages 
• Referrals 
• Authorizations 
• Guarantors 
• Financial assistance cases 
• Links to treatment and therapy plans 
• Prepayment plans 
• Hospital accounts 
• Preadmissions 

No. Admin Conversion covers administrative records only. Clinical data migration handles documentation like notes, lab results, imaging, medications, and vital signs — that’s a separate process.

July 10: Electronic migration of administrative data into Epic begins.

July 11–12: Designated teams will support manual validation and entry for items that cannot migrate electronically. Data are reviewed and confirmed.

July 13–24: Dual-system “soft-live” period where data must be maintained in both legacy systems and Epic 

July 25: Epic Go-Live 

Between July 13–24, administrative records will exist in both the current system and Epic. Staff will need to enter new records and update existing ones in both systems simultaneously. This applies to referrals, appointments, authorizations, registration changes, and surgical cases. 

Gaps can cause real problems on go-live day — appointments may be missing, orders may appear unscheduled in Epic even if completed elsewhere, and patients may face delays while registration information is corrected.

Employees working in scheduling, referrals, registration, authorizations, order entry, and surgical case management will be most directly involved and will need to be especially diligent during the soft-live period.

Friday, July 24, between 8 and 11 p.m. 

Yes, support staff, super users and at the elbow support will be physically present in departments, following what is outlined on the Super User schedule. Site Leads will have access to this schedule and were consulted when developing the number of support staff and shifts to best support your teams come Go-Live. 

There will also be Super Users available at the Command Center to answer any questions that your teams may have. 

Please download this In House Backload Executive Summary PDF.