What We Know 

The HCMACS Program and Projects continue to receive funding under both the Senate and House proposals, signaling ongoing legislative commitment to implementing an enterprise electronic health record to support Washington’s care coordination and case management needs. 

While the Senate proposal introduces a due diligence feasibility assessment by the University of Washington, both House and Senate proposals support advancement of the statewide EHR known as HCMACS. In the Senate budget proposal, it is not clear if HCMACS Program and Projects would need to wait on the UW assessment or can proceed with implementation plans. The House budget proposal advances the HCMACS Program and Project implementation efforts and aligns with recent planning and analysis.  

Final decisions will be made once the Legislature adopts a negotiated supplemental budget. Regardless of the final outcome, the program remains active and moving forward as we continue planning for the next phase of statewide EHR implementation.  

What Happens Next 

HCMACS leadership continues to monitor legislative developments closely. Once a final budget is enacted, we will request approval from leadership on the program and project’s scope and schedule. 

With budget clarity, we can begin to advance implementation efforts. This includes contracting with key vendors to resource, host, configure, and provide training for our enterprise EHR. As soon as these vendors are contracted and onboarded, we can officially start phase 1 of our implementation efforts.  

As efforts advance from planning to implementation, partners will have the opportunity to participate in advisory councils and working groups to inform our configurations, best practices and related policies. More details to come.  

In the immediate term, we will keep our partners informed of budget decisions and impacts. Implementing a statewide EHR is not a small task, and neither is modernizing how care is delivered for Washington’s safety-net populations. Through our due diligence and commitment, we can achieve our goals to improve clinician and patient experience, reduce costs of health care, and promote population health.  

We thank our partners for your patience and tenacity in this journey. 

 

Sincerely, 

 

During this legislative session, several elements of our EHR effort are still being finalized, including how the project work will be organized across agencies and how the University of Washington (UW) will be incorporated as a partner.  

Meanwhile EHR readiness efforts and our prior momentum continues at DOC. As we continue to determine cross-agency governance, timeline, and implementation planning, we acknowledge the critical role staff play in the success of this project. Our Cross Functional Leadership Team at DOC met in February and identified more than a dozen additional impacted partner groups that will be engaged in the EHR implementation efforts to ensure a smooth and informed roll out.  

Why this matters

Moving to a modern, integrated EHR is not simply a technology upgrade. It is a foundational shift in how we deliver, document, and coordinate care. This project will directly affect the daily work of our clinical and operational staff and the experience of our patients and partner healthcare facilities. The quality of the system we build and how well it supports patient care will depend heavily on staff engagement, input and expertise throughout the project.   

DSHS is continuing to prepare for the Epic Electronic Health Record implementation. Our teams are focused on essential groundwork that will ensure a smooth transition including mapping current workflows and equipment, ensuring data accuracy, governance standards, and technical information gathering and planning. 

The project team continues to mature Jira project planning and tracking, while waiting for the final Fiscal year 2027 legislative budget. Organizational Change Management (OCM) and communication efforts include collaboration with facility communication staff to identify and leverage channels for ensuring BHHA staff receive program updates and information. The monthly project update meeting and newsletter are ongoing and information for both is accessible on the DSHS EHR Project Hub. 

Our Revenue Cycle and Clinical Project teams have achieved important milestones in standardizing Medicare Part D workflows and medication processes. The Revenue Cycle workgroup has documented all Part D workflows and policies, with Eastern State Hospital leading policy updates that will serve as templates for other facilities. Epic representatives met with the Revenue Cycle team to gather information about current processes and potential future state solutions. Meanwhile, our medication ordering systems have evolved from handwritten paper orders to standardized electronic entry, creating a stronger foundation for Epic implementation. These standardization efforts will reduce future configuration complexity, enhance safety through consistent processes, and support more effective training as we transition to the new system. 

Technical information gathering continues with EHR Wi-Fi/mobility support planning. Equipment inventory efforts are beginning to build standard reports for tracking in preparation for hardware testing, determining specialized equipment placement and priority for track boards, printers, scanners, and radio-frequency identification (RFID) systems. These efforts represent more than just a technology upgrade—they're part of an organizational transformation that will streamline care delivery and create more consistent, efficient processes across our facilities.