What's new in Epic Systems EHR (Sep 2026): September Art, Emmie, Agent Factory, and Hello World updates to verify with your IS team

1. September items to check with your IS team (primary)

What it is: From Epic's dated September posts, five need an owner: (1) Chart with Art — Epic's native AI charting — cutting OLVG pediatricians' note-writing time per appointment by 31%, OLVG being the first organization to use it in Dutch (Epic newsroom post, 2 Sep); (2) Emmie answering Reid Health patients' questions in MyChart grounded in their health history (Epic newsroom post, 2 Sep); (3) Art drafting patient-friendly test-result comments in In Basket at Memorial Hermann, which clinicians review and edit (Epic newsroom post, 8 Sep); (4) the second Agent Factory Build-a-Thon, where 25 health systems built their own agents (Epic newsroom post, 15 Sep); and (5) Branded Calling in Hello World, showing the health system's name, logo, and call reason on patients' phones (Epic newsroom post, 23 Sep).

2. Chart with Art at OLVG (2 Sep)

What it is: The 2 September post says that at OLVG, a teaching hospital in Amsterdam, pediatricians cut note-writing time per appointment by 31% using Chart with Art, which “takes notes and queues up orders in the background,” and that time in the chart per appointment fell 27%, from almost 17 minutes to just over 12. OLVG's CMIO calls the well-being findings early. These are OLVG's and Epic's figures.

Queued orders are the part to watch. A drafted note can be edited after the fact; an order placed without a second look reaches the patient. Ask whether queued orders need a separate sign step in your build.

3. Art-drafted test-result comments at Memorial Hermann (8 Sep)

What it is: Per the 8 September post, as clinicians review lab and imaging results in In Basket, Art drafts a patient note “in clear, patient-friendly language” that clinicians review, edit, and personalize. Memorial Hermann reports 32% fewer follow-up messages about results when clinicians started from Art's draft, more than 55,000 messages written with Art, and nine seconds saved per result comment on average; it piloted the feature in December 2025. Its CMIO says the tool supports, not replaces, the clinician's judgment.

A plain-language result note is still a clinical message. The clinician who ordered the test decides what it means for this patient.

4. Emmie for patients at Reid Health (2 Sep)

What it is: The 2 September post says Reid Health, a rural system serving Eastern Indiana and Western Ohio, adopted Emmie so patients can use Ask Emmie for answers “grounded in their full health history, including past visits and test results.” Reid's CIO says Emmie draws on the conversation between patient and doctor and test results from the last 12 months, and that because Emmie is part of the Epic EHR, Reid did not build a custom solution.

Patients will ask Emmie things your clinicians would want to answer themselves. Decide which topics route to a person, and test with realistic questions before turning it on widely.

5. Agent Factory Build-a-Thon (15 Sep)

What it is: The 15 September post says teams from 25 health systems were in Verona for the second Agent Factory Build-a-Thon. Agent Factory is Epic's platform for health systems to build, monitor, and evaluate AI agents; examples included checking refill requests against protocols and charts, catching undocumented critical care time and drafting a note for a clinician to confirm, and flagging patients at risk of day-of-surgery cancellation. ECU Health's transfer-request agent is credited with saving 20 hours of staff time a week. Epic says training for the first group of early adopters begins in October 2026, “with broader availability planned for 2027.”

An agent your team builds is your team's responsibility. Before any idea goes further, name who reviews its output and how you would know it was wrong.

6. Hello World Branded Calling (23 Sep)

What it is: The 23 September post says Hello World's automated texts and calls helped prevent more than 3.4 million no-shows at U.S. health systems in the past 12 months (Epic's figure), and that its new Branded Calling feature shows the health system's name, logo, and reason for the call before the patient answers, working with all major U.S. mobile carriers through an integration with Vonage. Community Health Network reports a 54% improvement in voice reminder answer rates and a 6% improvement in its no-show rate. Epic says it is working with customers to enable the capability across the U.S.

A recognizable caller ID makes patients pick up — so the reason shown on the screen must be accurate and must not reveal sensitive details. Decide the wording before switching it on.