Andrew MarshA regular day in hospital for Christopher from radiology team has turned into a nightmare because he started his day by juggling multiple logins. One for imaging, another for lab results, and another separate billing portal for insurance follow-ups.
Christopher needs to pull a patient’s 2011 scan record from these siloed systems, this means he has to wait for minutes or even hours for these outdated systems to just load, then start digging through cryptic file structures.
He is frustrated because the search bar freezes if he types too quickly. Since the data lives in silos, he is left with no easy way to see a full patient history in one place.
That makes Christopher realize that most legacy EHRs that the hospital used were built for a time when on-premise servers, isolated databases, and manual updates were the standard. As technology and healthcare demands have evolved, these systems have become a liability.
The major limitations of legacy EHR systems:
- Outdated technology – Slow, outdated interfaces, unsupported software, and security gaps create inefficiencies and risk
- High maintenance costs – Licensing fees, infrastructure upkeep, and specialized IT support consume resources that could fund modernization
- Limited integration capabilities – Inability to connect with modern interoperability frameworks leads to data silos, slowing clinical workflows and decision-making
- Compliance risk – Outdated systems often put the organization at risk of HIPAA violations, regulatory penalties, and failed audits
This is why many healthcare organizations are modernizing with Epic, a single, connected system that unifies patient data and streamlines workflows.
Why Are Hospitals Moving to Epic?
Epic is the most widely adopted EHR in the U.S., with over 3,620 hospitals and nearly 41% of the inpatient EHR market.
It’s known for:
- Integrated clinical workflows
- Strong interoperability with other healthcare systems
- Patient-facing portals and mobile apps
The problem for many hospitals is not deciding whether to move to Epic, it is figuring out how to handle the decades of patient records sitting in their legacy EHR systems. Migrating all of it can overwhelm Epic, increase storage costs, and slow performance.
Hence a more efficient approach is to move only active patient data into Epic while archiving historical clinical records in a secure, compliance-ready platform like Archon Suite. This ensures a faster migration, reduced costs, and full adherence to HIPAA, CMS, and state retention requirements, without sacrificing access to older records.
The Challenge of Historical Data in Epic Migration
Migrating to Epic from a legacy EHR means dealing with years (or decades) of stored data:
- Lab results
- Radiology images
- Clinical notes
- Billing records
This presents several challenges:
- Complex data: Legacy EHR systems often store millions of patient records, which include years of diagnostic imaging and extensive financial data that must be retained for compliance
- Governance requirements: HIPAA, CMS, and state laws mandate retention for 7–25 years, depending on record type
- Financial burden: Migrating all historical data to Epic can be overly expensive, often exceeding $500,000 for large healthcare organizations
- Performance concerns: Importing massive data volumes into Epic can slow system performance. This impacts user responsiveness while increasing maintenance complexity
What historical patient data often gets left behind during Epic data migration
| Data Type | Challenge |
|---|---|
| Historical imaging | DICOM files often don’t migrate due to size |
| Lab results | Legacy formats may not map to Epic’s data model |
| Clinical notes | Unstructured text is often truncated or lost |
| Patient encounters | Decades of visit history are typically not migrated |
| Financial records | Billing history rarely transfers completely |
Why you need a historical data strategy
Ignoring historical patient data can carry serious consequences:
- Non-compliance with HIPAA and other retention mandates
- Challenges in handling the malpractice claims or legal requests
- Gaps in patient care continuity due to an inaccessible history
- Ongoing costs from keeping legacy systems running just for reference access
These consequences highlight why a clear data migration and archival plan is essential.
Epic Data Migration Strategy: Data Migration vs. Data Archiving
One of the most important decisions in any Epic data migration process is determining which data should be migrated directly into the new platform, Epic, and which should be archived.
Migrating too much historical data can result in a “bad data in, bad data out” problem. Migrating too little can leave clinicians without essential patient history, leading to potential care delays or errors.
Hence the dual approach significantly reduces Epic licensing and storage costs while keeping the system lean. Even the retention requirements under HIPAA, HITECH, and state laws are met without overloading Epic with low-frequency data.
Data migration
Data migration moves “hot” data — the most recent 1–2 years of clinically relevant and frequently accessed patient records into Epic for day-to-day use. This ensures clinicians have what they need at the point of care without disruption.
Data archiving
Data archiving relocates “cold” data — older, less frequently accessed records into a secure, compliant platform, Archon Suite, where they remain accessible for audits, legal inquiries, or occasional clinical reference. This frees your Epic environment from performance drag while preserving compliance and accessibility.
How Archon Supports Epic Data Migration with Intelligent Archiving
Archon Data Store (ADS) is an AI-powered archive that captures, compresses, and secures all legacy EHR data you choose not to migrate to Epic.
ADS is purpose-built for healthcare data archival, supporting HIPAA, HITECH, and state retention mandates. It is designed to ingest and archive large volumes of patient and operational data from legacy EHRs, including structured and unstructured content, while integrating seamlessly into Epic workflows.
Here’s how ADS helps:
Compliance-ready archiving
ADS ensures that all archived patient records meet HIPAA, CMS, HITECH, and state-specific retention requirements (7–25 years, depending on record type). It enforces secure retention policies, tamper-proof audit trails, and jurisdiction-specific compliance controls.
Full-spectrum archival of patient data
ADS archives 100% of your selected legacy EHR data, both structured (lab results, allergies, medications, billing records) and unstructured (radiology images, clinical notes, scanned forms). From decades-old lab histories to imaging archives, nothing is left behind.
AI-enriched metadata for fast retrieval
Every record is indexed with intelligent metadata, allowing clinicians and authorized staff to search, filter, and retrieve patient information instantly, even years after the legacy system is retired. Archived data remains accessible directly within Epic via Single Sign-On (SSO).
Seamless Epic integration
ADS integrates with Epic’s interface, so archived records are retrievable without leaving the EHR. This enables clinicians to maintain continuity of care without navigating multiple systems, while IT teams can fully decommission legacy platforms.
Low-cost storage
ADS uses automated storage tiering (hot, warm, cold) to shift infrequently accessed records into lower-cost storage while keeping them readily available. This ensures affordability, scalability, and compliance alignment over decades.
Data bunker architecture for long-term security
Built on a secure, logically isolated environment, ADS protects sensitive patient data with encryption at rest and in transit, role-based access controls, WORM (write-once-read-many) support, and immutable audit logs. This helps in guarding against unauthorized access, accidental edits, and compliance risks.
Flexible integration with analytics & legal workflows
ADS connects to business intelligence, legal, and compliance tools, enabling advanced reporting, research, and discovery processes using archived data. Whether for an audit, clinical research, or malpractice defense, archived records remain fully usable — not just stored.
The Role of Archon Suite in Epic Data Migration
Archon Suite provides an integrated, compliant platform to handle all the historical EHR data you choose not to migrate into Epic. This ensures your new Epic environment stays high-performing while still meeting all compliance, audit, and operational needs.
Archon Data Store™
HIPAA-compliant, encrypted data storage with automated retention policies for different record types (7–25 years).
Archon ETL™
Securely extracts and transforms data from any legacy EHR, including Cerner, Meditech, Allscripts, and HL7/FHIR-based systems, preserving both structured and unstructured content.
Archon Analyzer™
Advanced search, reporting, and legal hold capabilities for rapid retrieval of archived patient records during audits, legal discovery, or clinical research.
Legacy EHR to Epic Data Migration: End-to-End Execution Blueprint
Migrating from a legacy EHR to Epic is a complex, multi-stage project that requires precise execution to protect data integrity, meet compliance standards, and keep clinical workflows running smoothly. Below is a comprehensive end-to-end blueprint for a compliant, cost-optimized Epic data migration.
1. Strategic Planning & Team Formation
- Assemble a cross-functional team including IT, clinical leadership, compliance, and vendor partners
- Define goals, project scope, timelines, risk management plans, and budgets
- Plan stakeholder communication to ensure buy-in and smooth operational continuity
2. Data Inventory & Assessment
- Audit all legacy systems and data sources
- Document system names, database specifications, volumes, formats, and quality
- Identify compliance requirements such as HIPAA, CMS, and state retention mandates
3. Data Cleaning & Qualification
- Apply pre-defined criteria to remove duplicates, correct errors, and standardize formats
- Validate critical information for accuracy
- Use automated tools for scalable, auditable remediation
4. Data Extraction & Mapping
- Utilize Epic-approved tools like the Epic Patient Abstractor Tool for structured and unstructured data
- Map legacy fields to Epic’s schema, resolving mismatches and documenting transformation rules
5. Data Conversion & Transformation
- Convert extracted data into Epic-compatible formats, applying coding transformations (HL7, FHIR, etc.)
- Reconcile master data and update references for Epic workflows
6. Migration Execution (ETL)
- Use secure ETL processes to extract, transform, and load validated data into Epic
- Employ rule-based cleansing, failover, and rollback mechanisms for protection
- Execute in phased waves to minimize operational disruption
7. Historical Data Archiving
- Archive historical (inactive) records in a compliant repository, Archon Data Store
- Enable robust search, sort, and filter capabilities with full audit logging.
- Decommission obsolete systems post-archival to reduce costs and risk exposure.
8. Post-Migration Performance Evaluation
- Review technical and user satisfaction metrics.
- Monitor KPIs such as data quality, adoption rates, system response, and compliance reporting.
- Implement continuous optimization cycles based on feedback, audits, and system performance.
Large-Scale Archival in Action: Lessons from United Health Group
United Health Group’s rapid growth, fueled by multiple acquisitions, led to redundant systems and skyrocketing tech debt. With every new acquisition came more databases and applications, making it expensive and complex to maintain compliance while keeping operations efficient.
We implemented a compliance-first archival and application retirement program. This strategy allowed the team to systematically decommission thousands of applications and databases while ensuring all industry regulations remained intact.
Results:
- 75% reduction in claims systems footprint
- Tens of millions of dollars in cost savings
- Archival and retirement of HR, finance, claims, pricing, and clinical systems
- Ongoing compliance with healthcare regulations such as HIPAA
Don’t let legacy data put your Epic migration at risk
With Archon Suite’s AI-powered archival, you can meet HIPAA retention rules, keep Epic running at top speed, and shut down costly legacy systems. Book a free strategy session
Frequently Asked Questions
Successful Epic migrations require:
- A thorough data inventory and quality assessment
- Mapping and transformation to Epic’s data schema
- Selective migration to avoid performance issues
- Comprehensive archival of non-migrated data for compliance and future access
A seasoned IT leader with 20+ years of experience across legacy systems and modern enterprise technologies. Specializes in digital transformation, cloud architecture, and enterprise content strategy, with a proven track record of building high-performing teams and long-term customer partnerships.
