What is Epic Vendor Services?

For digital health innovators looking to integrate their solutions into NHS Trusts across England, one of the most critical questions you may face is: what is Epic Vendor Services and how can it support your journey to interoperability and implementation? Epic Vendor Services is a specialised programme offered by Epic Systems, designed to help third‑party developers build, test, and deploy products that integrate seamlessly with Epic’s Electronic Patient Record (EPR) platform — widely adopted across the NHS.

This article explains what Epic Vendor Services is, why it matters, and how your product can leverage it to achieve successful Epic integration within NHS Trusts.

Understanding Epic Vendor Services

Epic Vendor Services is a membership‑based programme that provides developers with the tools, resources, and technical support needed to integrate products and services directly into the Epic EPR ecosystem. Its purpose is to bridge the gap between innovative digital health solutions and the operational needs of healthcare providers, ensuring safe, efficient, and standards‑based interoperability.

Through this membership, vendors gain access to a suite of interoperability technologies, testing environments, and expert support designed to make integration with Epic both secure and efficient. For NHS Trusts using Epic, this means new digital health tools can be embedded within existing clinical workflows without disrupting patient care.

Why Epic Vendor Services Matters for NHS Health Integration

As NHS Trusts across England continue to roll out Epic as their enterprise‑wide EPR, the ability for third‑party applications to connect securely and effectively has become a strategic priority. Without an established integration framework like Epic Vendor Services, products may face significant barriers to adoption, including:

• Compliance with Epic requirements
• Ensuring patient safety and data security
• Gaining clinician trust through seamless workflow integration
• Navigating technical complexity in interoperability
• Epic Vendor Services addresses these challenges by offering a structured route for developers to test, refine, and deploy their products in partnership with healthcare organisations.

Key Features of Epic Vendor Services

When considering what is Epic Vendor Services, it is useful to explore the practical resources and benefits it provides to digital health innovators.

Access to Industry‑Standard and Epic‑Specific APIs

Vendor Services offers support for a wide range of standards‑based APIs, including HL7 FHIR, SMART on FHIR (OAuth 2.0), and CDS Hooks, alongside Epic‑specific APIs for areas not yet covered by industry standards. These APIs allow you to embed your solution into Epic workflows, exchange data securely, and enhance the functionality of NHS Trusts’ EPR systems.

Testing Sandboxes and Client Harnesses

To ensure that your solution integrates smoothly, Epic Vendor Services provides sandbox environments and test harnesses that simulate live Epic workflows. For example, the Hyperspace Simulator can test SMART on FHIR and CDS Hooks integrations, while mobile app harnesses allow testing within Epic’s iOS and Android apps.

Expert Design Consultation and Support

Subscribers benefit from design and technical consultation to refine workflow integration. This ensures that your product aligns with NHS priorities, enhances clinician usability, and meets Epic’s interoperability standards.

Deployment and Installation Assistance

Beyond testing, Vendor Services also supports deployment and installation of your solution within live NHS Trust environments. This reduces delays and helps ensure your product can move from pilot to production more quickly.

Access to Epic’s Kit for Data and Analytics

For developers building analytics or machine learning tools, Epic’s Kit enables access to the health system’s reporting databases, allowing your product to connect with clinical, operational, and financial data for advanced insights.

Epic Vendor Services Membership and Costs

To enrol in Epic Vendor Services, developers must complete a registration form via Epic’s Vendor Services site. Once approved, membership provides immediate access to a provisional account, with full access granted after agreeing to the terms of service.

Pricing starts at $1,900 per year, with a three‑month trial period available. If you cancel within the first three months, you can receive a refund (less any used services). For a digital health innovator targeting NHS Trusts, this fee represents an investment into a streamlined integration process that can accelerate adoption and trust from healthcare providers.

Open.Epic and Epic on FHIR vs Vendor Services

A common point of confusion for developers is the difference between open.epic, Epic on FHIR, and Epic Vendor Services.

• Open.epic is a free self‑service resource providing documentation on Epic’s implementation of standards such as FHIR and HL7 v2. It also includes a FHIR sandbox for testing.
• Epic on FHIR is a subset of open.epic that specifically supports developers creating FHIR‑based applications.
• Epic Vendor Services is a paid membership service that goes beyond open resources to offer advanced tools, expert support, testing harnesses, and direct assistance with deployment into Epic environments.

For NHS adoption, Vendor Services is generally the route you will want to take, as it ensures compliance with Epic’s integration requirements and provides the support necessary for scaling your product within Trust workflows.

The Role of Epic Showroom and Epic Connection Hub

In addition to technical integration, Vendor Services provides a pathway to commercial visibility within Epic’s ecosystem.

Epic Showroom functions as a marketplace where NHS Trusts and other healthcare providers (internationally) can discover approved third‑party solutions. Products listed in Showroom are categorised by tiers, including Workshop, Toolbox, and Connection Hub.

For a digital health innovator, achieving a listing on Connection Hub — which requires at least one live connection with an Epic customer — can significantly enhance credibility and visibility when approaching additional NHS Trusts.

How Epic Vendor Services Supports NHS Health Priorities

NHS Trusts are under increasing pressure to improve interoperability, patient safety, and digital innovation in line with the NHS Long Term Plan and What Good Looks Like (WGLL) framework. By integrating your solution through Epic Vendor Services, you align with these national priorities by:

• Enabling data sharing across care settings through industry standards like FHIR.
• Embedding decision support tools into clinician workflows using CDS Hooks.
• Facilitating predictive analytics and machine learning for population health.
• Improving patient engagement through MyChart integration and mobile‑friendly workflows.

For innovators, this means your product is not just technically compatible but strategically aligned with NHS digital transformation goals.

Epic Vendor Services Steps for Digital Health Innovators

If you are considering integration with NHS Trusts running Epic, here is a roadmap using Vendor Services:

1. Register for Vendor Services to access programme details and begin the enrolment process.
2. Identify interoperability needs — whether your solution requires SMART on FHIR, HL7 v2, or Epic‑specific APIs.
3. Leverage the sandbox environment to test integration scenarios and refine workflows.
4. Engage with Epic’s design consultation to ensure your solution meets NHS clinician usability standards.
5. Pilot with a partner NHS Trust, using Vendor Services’ installation and deployment support.
6. Apply for Connection Hub listing once you achieve a live connection, boosting your product’s visibility and credibility.

Final Thoughts: Is Epic Vendor Services Right for You?

So, what is Epic Vendor Services in practice? For digital health innovators aiming to break into the NHS market, it is the essential gateway to integration with one of the most widely used EPR systems in England. By offering technical resources, standards‑based APIs, expert support, and visibility via Showroom, Vendor Services provides the foundation you need to bring your product into NHS Trust workflows safely, effectively, and at scale.