EpicCare Link Frequently Asked Questions

EpicCare Link is UMass Memorial Health’ssecure online tool for connecting community providers, with whom we share patients to UMass Memorial’s Epic electronic health record systems, enabling them to view information about their patients’ care at UMass Memorial Health (UMMH). EpicCare Link offers access to a patient’s information such as hospitalizations, specialist referrals, and real-time clinical data and is compliant with state and federal regulations for the release of Protected Health Information (PHI).

EpicCare Link is an intuitive, easy-to-use, web-based application that offers:

• The ability to view a patient’s clinical history, including discreet results, reports, and images.
• Event notification (e.g., patient’s Emergency Department visit, admission, discharge). The provider must be identified on the patient’s registration.
• Secure messaging to/from UMMH staff regarding patient care, including referral requests.
• Referral order placement and tracking. Online ordering of Diagnostic Imaging exams for patients who have their exams at UMMH Radiology departments

Yes. Using EpicCare Link, you can access clinical data for your patients, regardless of which UMMH facility they visit.

With EpicCare Link you can view your patient’s lab results, diagnostic test results and reports including Radiology PACS images, hospitalization records, procedural information, discharge instructions, progress notes, medications, allergies, problem lists, medical history and more.

EpicCare Link is available to:

• Staff at our affiliated practices, whose physicians have full Epic access.
• Referring physicians and their support staff.
• Post-acute providers, such as nursing homes and long-term care facilities

EpicCare Link is a web-based portal that can be accessed at epiccarelink.umassmemorial.org.

No, there is no fee associated with EpicCare Link. If you decide you would like to purchase UMMH’s full Epic system for use in your office, a fee would be incurred. This program is called Community Connect

To access EpicCare Link, you need a computer, a high-speed internet connection and an up-to-date browser (e.g., Microsoft Edge, Chrome, Firefox or Safari). You may access EpicCare Link via a tablet (e.g. iPad using the Safari browser and Android tablets using the Chrome browser). Access via a smartphone is not recommended as it is not optimized for smaller screens. Please know that EpicCare Link uses industry standard encryption technology

You can download additional information, such as the EpicCare Link User Guide and other helpful information from the Quick Links section of the EpicCare Link home page after login at epiccarelink.umassmemorial.org.

You will have access to your patient’s information for as long as you are listed as his/her Primary Care Provider (PCP) in UMMH’s Epic system. If your relationship with the patient is something other than as PCP, your automatic access may vary. However, you may at any time look up a patient — provided you are able to identify key demographic fields. In these cases, the patient will remain on your list for 15 days.

Please note that you must log into UMMH’s EpicCare Link portal at least once every 6 months for your account to remain active. If your account becomes inactive, please contact your Site Administrator who is your first point of contact for any questions or problems. If your Site Administrator is not able to assist you, please email epiccarelinkadmin@umassmemorial.org or call the UMMH IS Support Center at 508-334-8800 to request reactivation. 

For sign-up information, please visit our EpicCare Link webpage. For questions, if you are from a private provider practice, please contact Physician Referral Services at 800-431-5151. If you are a post-acute care provider or facility, please email epiccarelinkadmin@umassmemorial.org.

If you are at a site where others already have access to EpicCare Link and you would like to sign up, simply reach out to your Site Administrator who can arrange access for you.

Please contact your Site Administrator, who is your EpicCare Link subject matter expert and will be your first point of contact for any questions/problems. If the Site Administrator is not able to assist you:

• Contact the UMMH IS Support Center (if access related) at 508-334-8800
• Contact the ECL Admin (if content related) at epiccarelinkadmin@umassmemorial.org.

Once your Site Administrator submits the request to the UMMH EpicCare Link Administrator, it may take up to 2 weeks to process the account. Once set up, the request will be completed in the system for the Site Administrator to view. Please follow up with your Site Administrator for login instructions.

A site may be a provider practice or a group of providers that provides coverage for each other. Lists of patients that a group of providers and their staff has access to are organized by the “Site Definition”, so be sure to have the site reflect the coverage group, but not necessarily the whole group. If defined too large, the site’s event monitor lists will be difficult to manage. A site could also be a Post Discharge facility or service. Each site must have a Site Administrator, however a Site Administrator may be responsible for more than one site.

Each site must identify a Site Administrator prior to signing up any of their staff or physicians for EpicCare Link. The Site Administrator will coordinate and manage your site's access to EpicCare Link.

Your Site Administrator can request EpicCare Link access for your staff. Each staff member will need to be enrolled in EpicCare Link and abide by rules of patient confidentiality by accepting the Terms and Conditions presented at first login. You and your staff will have appropriate access to your patients' health records based on role. At all times, at least one person at your site must be designated as the Site Administrator who will have certain additional administrative responsibilities.

You will receive a message in your EpicCare Link “In Basket”, our EHR messaging system. If you do not open it for 7 days (this is customizable), the system will send a reminder to your business email address (provided on the End User Confidentiality Agreement when you signed up).

EpicCare Link gives you real-time access to your patients' health records, including test results, imaging reports and notification of outpatient visits, admissions, and discharges. You can also send messages, including referrals to providers within the UMMH system (via a secure messaging system called “In Basket”). Lastly, our most recently added feature is the ability to place orders for your patients’ Diagnostic Imaging exams as well as COVID-19 lab testing . Scheduling of the imaging exams is not included in this release, but we do plan to add this functionality in the future. If the patient is a user of UMass Memorial Health’s secure patient portal myChart, they can schedule their own COVID-19 lab test appointment at the busy testing sites. The advantages of placing Diagnostic Imaging orders and COVID-19 lab tests versus faxing the orders is that your orders will be received in line with orders from internal providers. Additionally, you can easily monitor to see if/when your patient has been scheduled for the exam.

No, training is not required. However, after enrolling in EpicCare Link, you can access online training at any time via the “Quick Links” section on the EpicCare Link home page. EpicCare Link was designed so that community clinicians and staff need minimal training to use it successfully. Users are trained on-the-fly with onscreen instructions and efficiency tips that guide users through their workflows the first time they access certain activities.

No, if you have access to EpicCare Link as a part of your job, it is so you can perform your duties in support of caring for patients. When you enrolled and accepted the Terms and Conditions, you agreed to keep this information private and not allow anyone else to use this information. You are responsible for any activity that occurs using your user ID and password. Even if you are called away from your computer and someone else accesses this information, you are responsible. If others at your site need EpicCare Link access, they can request their own account via the Site Administrator.

No, EpicCare Link does not address specific Meaningful Use criteria, but it is a valuable tool for physician office practices and chart reviewers.

Benefits include: