Wolters Kluwer Expands Epic Integration for Patient Education Access via EHR

This content is now available through Epic’s electronic health record (EHR) system and the MyChart patient portal.

Wolters Kluwer Health has expanded its integration with Epic Systems, allowing UpToDate Enterprise Suite users and their patients to access a comprehensive library of multilingual patient education materials directly.

This content is now available through Epic’s electronic health record (EHR) system and the MyChart patient portal.

The development aims to support clinicians in delivering standardized, evidence-based patient information during routine workflows. According to the company, the expanded integration provides access to over 7,000 educational topics in multiple languages.

Julie Frey, Vice President of Provider for Clinical Effectiveness at Wolters Kluwer Health, said, “If you are an UpToDate Enterprise customer, which means you get access to our full range of professional content for clinical decision support, we are closing that loop on that harmonization offer, and we're saying you cannot do the clinical part and the professional part without the patient piece.”

Clinicians can retrieve content via Epic’s Clinical Reference tool, with options to print or share digitally through their preferred patient education workflow. For patients, the materials will be accessible 24/7 through MyChart, enabling continuous access to condition-specific information.

"If a patient has an app on their phone, they will get it there, and that will be available anytime," Frey said. "Patients are taking a different role in their care. And there is this whole theme of a more patient-centric approach."

Multilingual Access and Analytics Capabilities

The integration also incorporates analytics tools to help healthcare organizations monitor how clinicians and patients use educational materials. This includes data on topic engagement and language preferences.

"The analytics are giving health administrators unprecedented insights into how clinicians and patients are using the patient education content," Frey said. She further added, "We're also going to launch an analytics dashboard, which will display the usage through different methods and help you, as an administrator, understand where and how the content is used, and that ultimately will give them visibility into opportunities to close gaps."

Moreover, Wolters Kluwer confirmed that UpToDate Enterprise customers using Epic’s EHR to access this material will not be charged additional fees. While some health systems have already deployed the tool, others are currently working to integrate it.

Long-Term Expansion Plans

Although Epic remains Wolters Kluwer’s largest EHR customer base, the company is looking to expand the availability of its educational library across other platforms.

"Ultimately, the goal of the strategy is to have patient education material, the vast library, and all the languages be ubiquitous, regardless of what kind of workflow tool a clinician is using," Frey said.

Frey also noted that the company is evaluating partnerships with ambient documentation tools to reduce administrative tasks and personalize patient education delivery.