Verifying a person’s COVID-19 vaccination status or test results at local businesses may have just become more convenient thanks to a new technology developed by Verona-based Epic Systems Corp..
The technology could change how government entities, event venues, health care providers and even airports ensure people have received jabs without violating a patient’s privacy, and support industries that have experienced the worst of the pandemic’s financial fallout. It could also be used for other health conditions.
“If we could take this (software) — tied to one discrete piece of information — this is a repeatable technology,” said Epic implementation executive Nick Frenzer.
A growing number of Madison businesses are now accepting machine-readable QR codes from patients who use Epic’s MyChart app. Confirmed businesses include Downtown Madison’s Overture Center for the Arts, The Sylvee and the Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce, said Barb Hernandez, Epic public relations director.
Healthcare providers UnityPoint Health, SSM Health and Group Health Cooperative of South Central Wisconsin allow patients to access their QR codes through MyChart as well.
The technology is currently live for 25 million patients, Frenzer said Thursday, but 70 million to 80 million people will have access by the end of the year. More than 100 million will be able to use the tech in 2022, he said.
Epic also plans to take the tech beyond Madison borders, as Frenzer said the software giant has connected with the Federal Aviation Administration, a few states including California and New York, and even the White House. The company is additionally in talks with the Food and Drug Administration, as well as the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
But getting to this point took a while for the health care software giant.
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