A leading U.S. healthcare company knew that fragmented systems were holding back both efficiency and care delivery. Multiple EMRs created duplication, technical debt, and escalating costs, while clinicians lacked the tools and scale to support patients effectively. The organization saw an urgent need to consolidate and modernize its technology to enable better outcomes, lower costs, and sustainable growth.
The Challenges
A fragmented EMR landscape straining people and systems
The client faced a cluster of operational and technology challenges in managing multiple EMRs, increased maintenance cost, multiple EMR applications with redundant functionalities, performance issues, growing technical debt, missing desired features, and non-scalable architecture. Compounding those problems was the business imperative to consolidate and modernize multiple EMRs so the organization could start delivering better care. The scattered systems drove inefficiency across clinical workflows and operations, and the lack of a unified, scalable platform limited the client’s ability to serve more patients or add the capabilities clinicians and care teams needed.
The Turning Point
A single, modern EMR — built for scale and speed with Persistent
The client turned to Persistent to lead a broad consolidation and modernization effort. Persistent consolidated all existing EMR applications into one modernized EMR and designed a scalable architecture with a clear development roadmap that aligned to enterprise standards. To ensure uniformity with enterprise strategy and to guarantee scalability, Persistent adopted Azure as the cloud platform. Persistent built reusable components and a microservices-based architecture to accelerate adoption and speed time to market and the approach prioritized rapid, repeatable delivery so new features could be rolled out without reintroducing technical debt.
The Outcomes
Cleaner data, lower costs, better care
The consolidation work delivered measurable results. Multiple EMR systems were consolidated into a single platform, and automated microservices were used to update 1.1 million patient logs and 70,000 external encounters, ensuring records were accurate and consistent. The program removed 100,000 incorrect ICD codes, saving significant manual effort for operations teams and improving clinical data quality. The scalable architecture redesign on Azure reduced technical debt and assured scalability, positioning the platform to support up to 2 million lives. Business teams gained self-service capabilities, allowing them to add new roles and build patient assessment survey forms. Operationally, maintenance costs fell by 30 percent as Opex was reduced through integration and higher reusability of components. Most importantly, the modernization contributed to better clinical outcomes, with a 25 percent reduction in patient readmissions — a direct reflection of improved care coordination and data quality.
By consolidating and modernizing its EMR estate with Persistent, the client not only simplified operations and cut costs but also created a durable, scalable foundation that improves care delivery and supports future innovation.
