Epic EHR Integration Project

Healthcare Data Processing & Real-Time Reporting Optimization

Project Context

This project was developed at Quiktek to modernize and optimize how patient admission and lab result data was extracted, processed, and delivered from Epic EHR systems. The legacy process was a significant bottleneck, taking over 6 hours to generate critical reports needed for care coordination and clinical decision-making.

The challenge was to build a scalable, HIPAA-compliant system that could handle high-volume healthcare data while maintaining security and reliability standards required in clinical environments.

What This System Accomplishes

This Epic EHR Integration System transforms healthcare data processing through modern architecture and automation:

  • Epic EHR Integration: Secure REST API connections using FHIR/HL7 standards for real-time data access
  • Data Pipeline: Automated extraction of patient ADT (Admission, Discharge, Transfer) and lab results
  • Processing Engine: SSIS-based transformation and cleansing of raw healthcare data
  • Report Generation: SSRS-powered automated report creation with multiple output formats
  • Secure Delivery: SFTP-based distribution to authorized healthcare consumers
  • Monitoring & Compliance: Full audit trail and system health monitoring for HIPAA compliance

Technical Architecture

The system leverages cloud-native architecture and enterprise-grade technologies:

  • Containerization: Docker + Kubernetes (EKS on AWS) for scalable microservices deployment
  • Data Integration: SSIS packages for ETL operations and data transformation workflows
  • Reporting Platform: SSRS for automated report generation and formatting
  • Automation: PowerShell scripts for workflow orchestration and file delivery
  • Network Analysis: Wireshark for API troubleshooting and performance optimization
  • High Availability: Linux HA clusters ensuring 99.9% uptime for critical reporting
PowerShell - Automated SSIS Workflow Example
# Healthcare Data Processing Pipeline
# Automated SSIS package execution with monitoring

param(
    [string]$PackagePath = "C:\SSIS\EpicDataExtraction.dtsx",
    [string]$ConfigPath = "C:\Config\Epic.dtsConfig",
    [string]$LogPath = "C:\Logs\Epic_$(Get-Date -Format 'yyyyMMdd_HHmmss').log"
)

# HIPAA-compliant logging function
function Write-SecureLog {
    param([string]$Message, [string]$Level = "INFO")
    $timestamp = Get-Date -Format "yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss"
    $logEntry = "[$timestamp] [$Level] $Message"
    Add-Content -Path $LogPath -Value $logEntry
}

try {
    Write-SecureLog "Starting Epic EHR data extraction pipeline"
    
    # Execute SSIS package for Epic data extraction
    $dtexecArgs = @(
        "/FILE `"$PackagePath`"",
        "/CONFIGFILE `"$ConfigPath`"",
        "/REPORTING E",
        "/LOGGER `"DTS.LogProviderTextFile;$LogPath`""
    )
    
    $process = Start-Process -FilePath "dtexec.exe" -ArgumentList $dtexecArgs -Wait -PassThru
    
    if ($process.ExitCode -eq 0) {
        Write-SecureLog "SSIS package executed successfully"
        
        # Trigger SSRS report generation
        $reportParams = @{
            ReportPath = "/Epic/PatientAdmissionReport"
            Format = "PDF"
            OutputPath = "C:\Reports\Epic_$(Get-Date -Format 'yyyyMMdd').pdf"
        }
        
        Invoke-SSRSReport @reportParams
        
        # Secure file transfer to authorized endpoints
        $sftpParams = @{
            Server = $env:EPIC_SFTP_SERVER
            Username = $env:EPIC_SFTP_USER
            KeyFile = $env:EPIC_SSH_KEY
            LocalPath = $reportParams.OutputPath
            RemotePath = "/incoming/epic_reports/"
        }
        
        Send-SecureFile @sftpParams
        Write-SecureLog "Report delivered successfully via SFTP"
        
    } else {
        Write-SecureLog "SSIS package failed with exit code: $($process.ExitCode)" "ERROR"
        Send-AlertNotification -Type "SSIS_FAILURE" -Details "Epic data extraction failed"
    }
    
} catch {
    Write-SecureLog "Pipeline error: $($_.Exception.Message)" "ERROR"
    Send-AlertNotification -Type "PIPELINE_ERROR" -Details $_.Exception.Message
}

# Cleanup and audit trail
Write-SecureLog "Pipeline execution completed. Audit trail preserved."

Monitoring & Observability

Comprehensive monitoring ensures system reliability and compliance:

  • Splunk Integration: Centralized logging and HIPAA-compliant audit trails
  • Prometheus Metrics: Real-time system performance and health monitoring
  • Grafana Dashboards: Visual monitoring of delivery rates, processing times, and failure metrics
  • Nagios Alerting: Proactive notifications for system issues and SLA violations
  • Performance Analytics: Detailed insights into data processing efficiency and bottlenecks

Results & Impact

The implementation delivered transformative improvements to healthcare data processing:

  • Performance Optimization: Reduced report processing time from 6 hours to under 6 minutes (99% improvement)
  • Clinical Impact: Enabled near-real-time coordination between clinicians and laboratory teams
  • Compliance Achievement: Implemented comprehensive HIPAA-compliant logging and audit system
  • Scalability: Cloud-native architecture supports growth and additional Epic integrations
  • Reliability: High-availability design ensures consistent report delivery for critical healthcare operations

Technical Notes

Healthcare Integration: This system demonstrates enterprise-grade healthcare data integration following FHIR standards and HIPAA compliance requirements. The architecture supports multiple Epic instances and can be extended to other EHR systems.

Disclaimer: This is a representative example of work completed at Quiktek, designed to showcase technical capabilities and healthcare integration expertise. Code samples are illustrative and do not contain any protected health information (PHI) or proprietary system details.

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