Sentara put a predictive model inside Epic’s nursing workflow

According to Healthcare IT News, Sentara embedded a predictive risk model into Epic and redesigned nursing workflows, reducing hospital-onset MRSA bacteremia by about 45%.

For operators who live and die by throughput, staffing and quality metrics, the detail that matters is where the model runs: in the EHR, in the worklist, in the shift.

The repeatable pattern: model plus workflow, not model plus dashboard

Healthcare IT News described Sentara’s effort as embedding a predictive risk model into Epic, redesigning nursing workflows and standardizing infection prevention across its hospitals. With the model inside the EHR workflow, leaders can use existing Epic processes for training and change control.

A similar theme appears in Healthcare IT News’ July 2026 coverage of DaVita: CIO Madhu Narasimhan said embedding AI-powered insights into clinical workflows, not simply collecting more data, is helping clinicians better coordinate care.

Budgets are still growing, but the bar is “near-term return”

Healthcare Finance News, citing Bain and Company’s 2023 healthcare provider IT report, said nearly 80% of healthcare executive respondents increased spending materially over the past year. In that survey, 56% cited software and technology as one of their top three strategic priorities, up from 34% in 2022, and around 75% expected software and technology spending growth to continue over the next 12 months.

Bain’s survey also pointed to where those dollars go first when margins feel tight: revenue cycle management and clinical workflow optimization, according to Healthcare Finance News. That matters for clinical IT leaders trying to fund predictive models, because the easiest approvals tend to follow the same rule RCM does, show labor saved or dollars recovered with metrics a CFO will recognize.

Why the CFO conversation changed in 2026

HFMA contributor Marcus Whitney wrote that rapid change is hitting healthcare, driven by the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) along with other forces. He wrote that the Congressional Budget Office projects the OBBBA will cut federal health programs by $1 trillion over the next decade, plus an additional projected Medicare sequestration of nearly $500 billion through 2034.

Margin context still shapes how boards hear IT payback claims. A 2023 Forbes analysis by Seth Joseph cited Kaufman Hall’s median year-to-date hospital operating margin index of -0.2% through November 2022 for roughly 900 hospitals. The operational implication is that “IT ROI” will be judged differently depending on scale and financial flexibility, even when the same Epic build is technically feasible.

Where EHR optimization work tends to bog down

Execution is still the hard part. In a Healthcare IT News HIMSSCast episode, Stoltenberg Consulting’s Joncé Smith focused on the unglamorous work: assessing the current EHR state and coordinated applications, planning version upgrades, enabling enhanced functionality, and training staff to optimize workflows. For teams trying to replicate outcomes like Sentara’s, that checklist is the difference between a model that’s “available” and one that’s actually used on Tuesday night when staffing is thin.

Questions to put into Epic governance and FY2027 planning

• Where will the model’s output live in Epic, and what is the exact user action it triggers (worklist item, BPA, order set change)? If it’s a dashboard, plan for low adoption.
• What baseline and numerator/denominator definitions will infection prevention and analytics use to measure impact, and how will those definitions be standardized across facilities?
• What is the training plan tied to the build: which roles, which shift coverage, and what metrics will confirm use within 30 to 60 days post-go-live?
• If the system is also funding RCM or workforce automation, what shared infrastructure is being reused (integration engine, identity, data model) so the portfolio adds up operationally, not just financially?