Epic Launches Connectors for Healthcare AI

Epic launched Connectors, a capability that lets its AI agents access information and perform tasks in third-party applications, the company announced Wednesday morning ahead of its Open@Epic conference. Developers can link apps with patient assistant Emmie, clinician assistant Art and revenue-cycle and operations assistant Penny, as well as custom AI built by health organizations in Agent Factory. Epic says Connectors can help coordinate workflows that span multiple systems.

Epic cited examples including an ambulance app sending a patient’s arrival time to an emergency department, and Emmie ordering a hospitalized patient’s meal through a dietary management app. Emmie could also provide hospital wayfinding instructions. For a surgical team, Epic could check an equipment app for assistive devices needed during recovery. The company says these integrations could reduce the need for patients, clinicians and administrative staff to switch between separate apps and portals.

Agent Factory, which debuted at Epic’s User Group Meeting in August, is a platform to build, run and monitor agents that reason and act across workflows. It launched with more than 100 pre-built AI features that health organizations can adapt to local policies, clinical protocols and guidelines. Epic says its assistants already retrieve information from electronic health records; Connectors extend their reach to third-party apps, and several Connectors can be used in one multi-step workflow. One proposed example is Emmie helping an older adult arrange a follow-up appointment while gathering transportation options and the day’s weather forecast. Epic says it already connects to outside services through API-based interfaces and that Connectors extend this work to agentic AI.

Epic plans to list developer-created Connectors in Epic Showroom starting in March 2027 and to test the capability with some health system partners by the end of the year. It will initially use the Model Context Protocol (MCP), an open standard for connecting AI systems with tools, to build them. Epic says developers will create capabilities while each health system decides which to enable. Before activation, organizations can review what a Connector can do, what information it can read and what it can change; permissions remain under health system control, with security, legal and compliance teams reviewing data flows. Epic will charge developers to distribute Connectors through Showroom but has not disclosed prices.

Epic says Connectors will not give its assistants new autonomous actions: Emmie, Art and Penny remain subject to human oversight, established protocols and local health system governance. Johnston Thayer, Epic’s vice president of health informatics, said the company regularly runs thousands of test cases and evaluations to check that Emmie stays within its safety guardrails. He said the capability is intended to bring together information that supports existing tasks, such as booking appointments or directing patients in MyChart. Availity CEO Russ Thomas said connections could help with coverage, prior authorization and claims management; Gozio Health cited patient wayfinding, while VPL said connecting its VPLRx prescription software could give care teams real-time medication delivery information. Epic also reported health systems’ interest in linking agents to document management and IT ticketing systems.

Epic launched Connectors, a capability that lets its AI agents access information and perform tasks in third-party applications, the company announced Wednesday morning ahead of its Open@Epic conference. Developers can link apps with patient assistant Emmie, clinician assistant Art and revenue-cycle and operations assistant Penny, as well as custom AI built by health organizations in Agent Factory. Epic says Connectors can help coordinate workflows that span multiple systems.

Epic cited examples including an ambulance app sending a patient’s arrival time to an emergency department, and Emmie ordering a hospitalized patient’s meal through a dietary management app. Emmie could also provide hospital wayfinding instructions. For a surgical team, Epic could check an equipment app for assistive devices needed during recovery. The company says these integrations could reduce the need for patients, clinicians and administrative staff to switch between separate apps and portals.

Agent Factory, which debuted at Epic’s User Group Meeting in August, is a platform to build, run and monitor agents that reason and act across workflows. It launched with more than 100 pre-built AI features that health organizations can adapt to local policies, clinical protocols and guidelines. Epic says its assistants already retrieve information from electronic health records; Connectors extend their reach to third-party apps, and several Connectors can be used in one multi-step workflow. One proposed example is Emmie helping an older adult arrange a follow-up appointment while gathering transportation options and the day’s weather forecast. Epic says it already connects to outside services through API-based interfaces and that Connectors extend this work to agentic AI.

Epic plans to list developer-created Connectors in Epic Showroom starting in March 2027 and to test the capability with some health system partners by the end of the year. It will initially use the Model Context Protocol (MCP), an open standard for connecting AI systems with tools, to build them. Epic says developers will create capabilities while each health system decides which to enable. Before activation, organizations can review what a Connector can do, what information it can read and what it can change; permissions remain under health system control, with security, legal and compliance teams reviewing data flows. Epic will charge developers to distribute Connectors through Showroom but has not disclosed prices.

Epic says Connectors will not give its assistants new autonomous actions: Emmie, Art and Penny remain subject to human oversight, established protocols and local health system governance. Johnston Thayer, Epic’s vice president of health informatics, said the company regularly runs thousands of test cases and evaluations to check that Emmie stays within its safety guardrails. He said the capability is intended to bring together information that supports existing tasks, such as booking appointments or directing patients in MyChart. Availity CEO Russ Thomas said connections could help with coverage, prior authorization and claims management; Gozio Health cited patient wayfinding, while VPL said connecting its VPLRx prescription software could give care teams real-time medication delivery information. Epic also reported health systems’ interest in linking agents to document management and IT ticketing systems.