UMass Memorial Ranks Among Top 4% for Advanced Technology

UMass Memorial Health is using technology to make care safer, more efficient and more patient-centered — from reducing medication errors to giving nurses more time at the bedside. In 2025, for the fourth consecutive year, we achieved Epic Gold Stars Level 10, an honor held by just 4% of health systems nationwide, signifying our leadership in health care information technology and excellence in patient care and operational efficiency.

Epic, the electronic medical record (EMR) UMass Memorial Health uses across our system, stores nearly all clinical, administrative and patient data in one platform.

Regarding the award, Robin Sodano, Senior Vice President, Information Services and Chief Information Officer, emphasized that consistency is key. The team holds regular, structured meetings with stakeholder groups to discuss Epic capabilities, making adoption of new tools smoother. Stakeholders include everyone from physicians and nurses to revenue cycle and radiology staff, ensuring technology decisions reflect actual needs.

The award highlights real improvements in patient care. “One example is providers placing their own orders, which reduces errors,” said Robin. “Medication administration is now much safer: nurses scan the medication, the patient’s wristband and their own badge — creating a three-way match.”

Epic also supports health equity. “We capture social drivers of health, such as access to transportation or food access, and then share information and resources that can help patients. Centralizing this data helps ensure patients receive equitable care,” Robin added.

This year, Epic added a Gold Star “Utilization” metric, measuring how effectively health systems use technology to improve patient care and operations. UMass Memorial earned Level 9, one of only seven systems nationwide to reach the top score, reflecting exceptional adoption, impact and efficiency. Moreover, we were one of only five organizations in the world that received both the 9-star and 10-star recognitions this year.

Looking ahead, UMass Memorial is expanding our digital therapeutics, remote patient monitoring and medication adherence programs. “The EMR holds far more data now than 20 years ago, which will be a game-changer for AI [artificial intelligence] and analytics,” commented Robin. “More data can reveal insights we might otherwise miss.” •

UMass Memorial Health team members with Epic team members receiving recognition. From left: Robin Sodano, Senior Vice President, Chief Information Officer; Matt Dunham, Epic; Kristen Cox, Vice President, Chief Applications Officer; Erica Smith, Associate Vice President, Chief Nursing Informatics Officer; Angela Confoey, Senior Vice President, Revenue Cycle; Alec Lamb, Epic; and Eric Alper, MD, Senior Vice President, Chief Quality Officer and Chief Informatics Officer.