EpicCare Link is a web-based portal that gives outside healthcare providers secure, real-time access to their patients’ medical records at a hospital or health system that runs Epic, one of the largest electronic health record platforms in the country. If you’re a community physician, specialist, or staff member who refers patients to or shares patients with a larger health system, EpicCare Link is how you view those patients’ charts, place orders, and communicate with the teams caring for them, all without needing Epic’s full software installed at your practice.
Who Uses EpicCare Link
The portal is designed for “community” providers, meaning clinicians and staff who work outside the health system but still need to coordinate care with it. That includes referring primary care physicians, specialists receiving consults, post-acute care facilities, independent labs, and imaging centers. Essentially, any external provider who shares patients with an Epic-based organization is a candidate for access.
Within a practice, different staff members can have different levels of access based on their role. A physician might see full patient charts and place orders, while front-desk staff might only manage referrals and appointment scheduling.
What You Can Do in the Portal
EpicCare Link is more than a read-only chart viewer. Its core features include:
- View patient records: Lab results, diagnostic test reports, hospitalization records, discharge instructions, progress notes, medications, allergies, problem lists, and medical history are all available in real time.
- Place orders: You can order labs, radiology studies, and ambulatory referrals directly through the portal, with faster result turnaround than traditional fax-based workflows.
- Manage referrals: Send, track, and manage referrals in one place. You can create a referral from the home page or from within a patient’s chart, specify the department, attach notes and files, and then check the referral’s status afterward.
- Receive notifications: Real-time alerts for patient events like hospital admissions and discharges keep you informed without requiring you to check the portal manually.
- Send secure messages: Communicate directly with providers and staff at the health system through Epic’s InBasket messaging, replacing phone tag and faxes for routine care coordination.
- Schedule procedures: Depending on the health system, you can schedule OR cases, GI procedures, bronchoscopies, catheterizations, and other appointments.
How the Referral Process Works
Referral management is one of the most-used features. From the EpicCare Link home page, you select “Create Referral,” find your patient either from your patient list or by searching their name, and fill in the referral details: the referring provider, the receiving department (which is required), a diagnosis explaining the reason, and the specific service being requested. You can add clinical notes and attach files before submitting.
Once submitted, you track the referral by going to Chart Review and selecting the Referrals section. You can check its status, review the referral report, and confirm the loop has been closed. This replaces the old workflow of faxing referral letters and calling to confirm they were received.
Technical Requirements
Because EpicCare Link is entirely web-based, it requires no software installation. You access it through a standard browser. Supported browsers include Google Chrome 118 or later, Microsoft Edge 118 or later, Mozilla Firefox 115 or later, and Apple Safari 17 or later. On tablets, you’ll need Safari or Android Chrome.
The minimum screen resolution is 1024×768 pixels, and a high-speed internet connection is recommended for smooth performance. You may also need the latest version of Java enabled to display graphs and scanned images, plus Adobe Reader for viewing certain documents.
How Access Is Set Up
EpicCare Link access is granted by the health system, not purchased independently. Each outside organization designates a site administrator who serves as the primary point of contact between the practice and the health system. This person submits access requests for their colleagues, distributes login credentials once the health system’s security team processes them, and handles ongoing account maintenance.
The site administrator role comes with real responsibilities. On a quarterly basis (February, May, August, and November at some systems), the administrator must verify that every user at their organization is still employed and still needs access. They’re also responsible for notifying the health system when a physician leaves the practice or a new one joins, so that patient assignments stay accurate. If a site administrator leaves, the organization is expected to name a replacement promptly.
Site administrators also serve as the communication channel for system upgrades, new features, and any changes that affect how the portal works. When the health system updates its Epic environment, the site administrator receives advance notice and passes relevant information to their team.
How It Differs From MyChart
People sometimes confuse EpicCare Link with MyChart, since both are Epic portals accessed through a browser. The distinction is straightforward: MyChart is for patients to view their own health records, while EpicCare Link is for external clinicians and staff to view their patients’ records at another organization. EpicCare Link offers clinical tools like order placement, referral management, and provider-to-provider messaging that MyChart does not.
If you’ve been told your practice needs to start using EpicCare Link, the first step is contacting the health system you work with and asking about their enrollment process. They’ll walk you through designating a site administrator and getting your team set up with credentials.