Epic secures a £222m federated EPR contract across Somerset and Dorset

In aboriginal March 2026, a conglomerate of 4 NHS Trusts crossed Somerset and Dorset announced that they had signed a £222m declaration with US-based physics diligent records (EPR) giant, Epic, successful a sweeping determination looking to regenerate bequest EPR and objective systems with one, federated, enterprise-wide solution. The 4 trusts (Somerset NHS FT, Dorset Country Hospital NHS FT, University Hospitals Dorset NHS FT and Dorset Healthcare University NHS FT) articulation a roster of 14 different NHS trusts presently employing an Epic EPR. Epic has been reasonably palmy successful immoderate of the country’s bigger, municipality NHS Trusts, specified arsenic Greater Manchester, and Guy's and St Thomas’, arsenic good arsenic having a steadfast beingness crossed the remainder of the London trusts. However, picking up this postulation of much agrarian providers is simply a flimsy measurement alteration for the vendor, though not Epic’s archetypal foray into the Southwest, having won a declaration with Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS FT and Torbay, and South Devon NHS FT.

EPRs play a cardinal relation successful the integer strategy of each trusts crossed the NHS, and arsenic such, a large woody of attraction is paid to picking the close spouse for this captious integer infrastructure. The absorption of question for the NHS’s EPR marketplace is clear, with a displacement towards larger enterprise-wide solutions, and adjacent determination implementation successful immoderate instances. This aligns with the wider inclination of consolidation ongoing crossed England’s NHS, with the merger of six ICBs effectual from April, further mergers expected up of NHS England’s abolition successful April 2027, and the clustering of ICBs for improved efficiency. As healthcare bodies crossed the state consolidate, procurement of integer systems volition likewise consolidate.

This latest illustration from Epic is simply a cleanable illustration of this shift. Epic did person an vantage successful the region, since it already had immoderate determination beingness with past year’s Devon & Torbay win. As is often the lawsuit with the NHS, organisations are influenced successful their prime of exertion by their neighbours. This has enactment Epic’s EPR successful a beardown presumption to triumph crossed much trusts successful the Southwest.

A unified EPR crossed aggregate trusts promises benefits: less systems to log into; streamlined workflows for clinicians; shared integer tools to trim duplicate information entry; much accordant entree to diligent records. These efficiencies are particularly meaningful successful agrarian settings wherever site-to-site interoperability has historically been patchy.

But further worth comes erstwhile information is easy shareable and accessible betwixt each trusts connected a azygous EPR vendor. Epic’s implementation of abstracted instances of its EPR tin beryllium a stumbling artifact for information sharing betwixt antithetic geographic areas. Other difficulties besides arise, specified arsenic antithetic diligent engagement apps required crossed antithetic instances of its EPR, which hinders diligent experience.