Case Study: CentraCare achieves reliable Epic integration and saves 1.5 hours/day with InterSystems Ensemble

CentraCare upgrades from eGate to InterSystems ensemble ® for strategic integration and interfacing needs

CentraCare, a St. Cloud, Minnesota healthcare network that includes hospitals, clinics and specialty services, faced integration problems after deploying the Epic EMR. Its legacy interface engine, eGate, sometimes delivered Epic admissions messages out of sequence—causing lab orders to fail—and lacked the flexibility to connect Epic with the diverse systems used by affiliated physicians.

After a proof-of-concept with InterSystems Ensemble, CentraCare adopted Ensemble as its enterprise integration platform. Ensemble’s embedded Caché database and HL7 sequence manager ensured correct message ordering, eliminated the daily 90-minute burden of fixing errors, and enabled rapid interface development—migrating 120 interfaces in about five months—and smooth integration of outside providers and flat-file data into Epic, freeing staff for higher-value projects.

CentraCare

Amy Porwoll

Chief Information Officer