Vail Health Goes Live on Epic, Uniting Patient Records Under MyChart
On October 3, the health system switched its electronic medical records to Epic in partnership with UCHealth, giving patients a single portal across its hospital, clinics and specialty centers.
Vail Health flipped the switch on a years-long technology project on October 3, 2026, moving its electronic medical records to Epic after years of planning, training and coordination across departments, and bringing patients onto the MyChart portal.
For years, patients getting care across Vail Health, Colorado Mountain Medical and Howard Head Sports Medicine juggled multiple systems and chased records from place to place. The new platform unites records across the system's service lines: a patient referred from a primary care physician at Colorado Mountain Medical to Shaw Cancer Center will have records visible to both care teams in one place.
Epic is the best-in-class electronic medical record software. It will allow us to better connect within the organization and with other hospitals.
Julie Jackson, chief information officer at Vail Health
The connection matters in a mountain community that treats visitors as well as locals. Epic links more than 300 million patient records nationwide, giving providers a better chance of pulling a visitor's history immediately instead of waiting for records to be sent. Chief medical information officer Marshall Davis notes that in a remote mountain destination, the odds of accessing a visitor's records and understanding their health history go up. The system works in reverse as well: when residents travel or seek specialty care outside the valley, their records can follow them to other Epic-using providers.
Vail Health partnered with UCHealth to bring Epic to the valley, giving the independent health system access to the technology, expertise and resources of a larger system while care stays local.
This is a major undertaking. It's also a commitment to keeping Vail Health's care close to home.
Julie Jackson, chief information officer at Vail Health
What patients will see
MyChart, the portal and mobile app, lets patients view medications, medical records, test results, upcoming appointments and bills across service lines, with online scheduling, provider messaging and consolidated bill pay.
Leaders caution the changeover will take time. Some information from existing records may not appear in MyChart right away as data is transferred and verified, and some online scheduling will be limited at first, with patients possibly needing to call to book a first appointment with an established provider.
A recognized hospital
The launch follows other recent milestones. On September 2, 2026, Vail Health was named one of 381 American hospitals earning a five-star cleanliness rating from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, based on patient surveys conducted from October 2024 through September 2025. The system's September 29 news feed also featured 'The Partnership Podcast: Vail Health, Epic and a new era of connected healthcare,' pegged to the October 3 launch.
Vail Health runs a 520,000-square-foot, 56-bed hospital at 180 South Frontage Road West in Vail, a Level III trauma center that traces its roots to a one-doctor clinic founded in 1965.
