How Epic Radiant Transforms Radiology Workflows for Providers

Radiology sits at the center of modern care delivery, touching everything from emergency medicine to oncology. Yet inefficiencies in scheduling, image access, and reporting often create costly delays. Diagnostic imaging represented nearly 40% of all imaging performed per patient in 2021, making streamlined workflows critical for both providers and patients.

Epic Radiant is Epic’s dedicated radiology module, built to support imaging departments in hospitals and clinics. It connects ordering physicians, radiologists, and technologists through a shared platform, eliminating duplicate steps and ensuring information flows consistently. The result is faster diagnosis, smoother coordination of care, and more reliable reporting for providers working under increasing time and cost pressures.

I. What is Epic Radiant?

Epic Radiant is the radiology module within the Epic EHR ecosystem. It was designed to simplify the management of orders, scheduling, image review, and reporting in imaging departments. Instead of relying on separate systems for each task, Radiant brings these functions into one integrated platform that works in sync with the rest of Epic.

At its core, Radiant manages the full imaging workflow:

1. Imaging Orders: Physicians place orders directly within the patient’s chart. These orders flow seamlessly into Radiant, eliminating the need for duplicate entry and reducing errors.
2. Scheduling: Radiant allows staff to view the availability of imaging rooms, equipment, and technologists in real time. This ensures patients are scheduled quickly and resources are used efficiently.
3. Image Storage and Access: Radiant integrates with Picture Archiving and Communication Systems (PACS) so images can be retrieved and reviewed directly from the EHR. Radiologists no longer have to toggle between multiple applications, which speeds up interpretation and reporting.
4. Reporting: The system supports structured reporting with customizable templates. Radiologists can document findings within the EHR and share results instantly with referring providers.
5. Interoperability: Radiant supports standards like DICOM and HL7, making it easier to connect with external imaging systems and exchange data across different departments or facilities.

For radiologists, Radiant centralizes images and patient data, cutting down the time spent searching across disconnected systems. For technologists, it provides clear worklists and visibility into scheduling. For referring physicians, it ensures timely results are delivered directly into the patient’s record, supporting faster clinical decisions.

By embedding radiology directly into the Epic workflow, Radiant reduces friction across the care continuum and strengthens collaboration among care teams.

II. Common Radiology Workflow Challenges Providers Face

Radiology plays a vital role in patient care; however, many imaging departments still face persistent challenges that slow down operations and impact outcomes. Providers often encounter issues stemming from disconnected systems, inefficient processes, and communication gaps. Four of the most common challenges include:

A. Fragmented communication between departments

When radiology departments operate in silos, communication with referring physicians and other care teams often suffers. Missing information, unclear requisitions, or delayed updates can lead to confusion, additional phone calls, and unnecessary back-and-forth, all of which slow down patient care.

B. Scheduling delays causing patient backlog

Imaging services are in high demand, but many facilities still rely on manual scheduling processes or outdated tools. This creates bottlenecks, resulting in patients waiting longer than necessary for scans. Delays not only frustrate patients but also affect downstream clinical decisions and treatment plans.

C. Manual data entry errors in imaging orders

Paper forms or poorly integrated systems increase the risk of transcription errors and incomplete information. A single mistake in entering patient demographics, exam type, or clinical indication can result in wasted time, repeated imaging, or even incorrect billing.

D. Limited integration with PACS and imaging modalities

Many radiology teams still log in to separate systems to view images, manage reports, and update patient records. This constant switching between platforms takes time and increases the chance of oversight. Without seamless integration, radiologists spend more time navigating systems than interpreting studies.

These challenges collectively result in longer turnaround times, increased operational costs, and lower satisfaction for both patients and providers. Addressing them requires a system that can unify workflows, improve accuracy, and give teams the tools to work more efficiently together.

III. How Epic Radiant Streamlines Radiology Workflows

Epic Radiant was designed to tackle the inefficiencies that imaging departments face every day. By unifying radiology within the Epic ecosystem, it eliminates duplicate steps, improves visibility, and speeds up the flow of information across teams. Several features stand out in how it reshapes radiology operations:

A. Centralized Imaging Order Management

Radiant captures imaging orders directly within the patient’s chart, ensuring accuracy from the start. Instead of re-entering information across multiple systems, providers see a single order that flows from the physician to the technologist and ultimately to the radiologist. This reduces duplicate testing, minimizes data entry errors, and ensures the right study is performed for the right patient.

B. Smart Scheduling and Resource Allocation

With Radiant, scheduling staff can see real-time availability of rooms, machines, and technologists. The system optimizes appointment slots, allowing patients to be seen sooner and ensuring resources are fully utilized. For patients, this means shorter wait times. For providers, it translates into higher throughput and fewer scheduling conflicts.

C. Structured Reporting and Decision Support

Radiologists often face the challenge of balancing speed with accuracy. Radiant provides structured templates that standardize reporting while allowing customization when needed. Reports are linked directly to the patient’s EHR and shared instantly with referring providers. The system can also connect with AI-driven tools for preliminary reads, helping radiologists focus on complex cases without delaying results.

By combining order entry, scheduling, image access, and reporting in one environment, Epic Radiant streamlines the entire imaging journey. Each step flows into the next without the friction of switching systems, which not only improves efficiency but also strengthens the accuracy and reliability of radiology services.

IV. Epic Radiant and PACS Integration

One of the biggest strengths of Epic Radiant is how it integrates with Picture Archiving and Communication Systems (PACS). Radiologists rely on PACS for image storage and retrieval, but when PACS operates as a standalone system, it often slows down workflow. Radiant closes this gap by connecting directly with PACS to create a unified imaging environment.

A. Direct connection for unified image access

Radiant allows clinicians to pull up images directly from the EHR without opening a separate system. This integration reduces delays and provides radiologists with immediate access to studies alongside patient records, supporting faster clinical decision-making.

B. Eliminating system switching

Switching between multiple platforms wastes valuable time and increases the chance of oversight. With PACS data linked into Radiant, radiologists can review images, dictate reports, and finalize results within the same environment where patient information is stored.

C. Support for DICOM standards

Radiant is built to work with DICOM, the global standard for medical imaging. This ensures that images from different scanners and vendors can be accessed without compatibility issues. For hospitals with multiple modalities and vendors, standardization is crucial for maintaining consistency and efficiency.

D. Enabling remote reading and collaboration

By integrating PACS directly into the EHR, Radiant also supports remote access. Radiologists can review studies and collaborate with colleagues across sites without extra steps. This is particularly valuable for multi-location practices and health systems looking to centralize radiology services.

Through PACS integration, Epic Radiant transforms imaging from a fragmented process into a single connected workflow. Radiologists gain back time, referring providers get results faster, and patients benefit from reduced delays in care.

V. Integrating Epic Radiant with Other Epic Modules

Epic Radiant is powerful on its own, but its full value comes from how it integrates with other Epic modules. By connecting radiology workflows with laboratory data, cardiology imaging, and broader clinical systems, Radiant helps providers see the complete patient picture. Two integrations are especially impactful:

A. Epic Beaker (Laboratory Information System)

Radiology and laboratory testing often go hand in hand, especially in complex cases like oncology or infectious disease. Epic Radiant integrates smoothly with Beaker to bring imaging and lab data into the same patient record.

1. Combined diagnostic workflows: Providers can order lab tests and imaging studies together, reducing redundant steps and avoiding missed results.
2. Collaboration across specialties: Radiologists and pathologists can work from the same record, improving coordination for cases that require input from both fields.
3. Faster multidisciplinary reviews: Having imaging and lab data side by side makes it easier to conduct tumor boards or infectious disease case reviews without delays caused by separate systems.

B. Epic Cupid (Cardiology Information System)

Cardiology imaging requires high levels of coordination, and patients often undergo both radiology and cardiology studies. Radiant’s integration with Cupid ensures that cardiovascular imaging data is connected to the broader radiology record.

1. Shared imaging histories: Cardiologists and radiologists can review a comprehensive timeline of a patient’s imaging, including echocardiograms, cardiac CT scans, and MRIs.
2. Unified clinical view: Combining radiology and cardiology imaging results gives physicians a more comprehensive assessment of cardiovascular health.
3. Reduced duplication: By having cardiology and radiology connected, duplicate scans are avoided, saving both time and cost for patients and providers.

Through its integration with Beaker and Cupid, Epic Radiant ensures that radiology is not an isolated process. Instead, it becomes an integral part of the clinical workflow, enabling providers to make more informed decisions across disciplines.

Related read: 5 Ways Custom EHR Development Bridges the Gaps in Epic Cupid

VI. Role of Mindbowser as an Epic Vendor Program Partner

Mindbowser is part of the Epic Vendor Program, which ensures that technology partners meet Epic’s technical, security, and compliance standards. This gives providers confidence that integrations built with our team align with Epic’s framework and support long-term reliability.

Our expertise goes beyond simple module integration. We help hospitals and health systems build custom EHR platforms with Epic integration capabilities, providing them with the flexibility to extend functionality while maintaining fully connected workflows to Radiant. This approach is particularly valuable for organizations that need to tailor their imaging workflows, billing processes, or reporting structures without stepping outside Epic’s ecosystem.

To achieve this, our team leverages modern healthcare interoperability standards:

1. FHIR and HL7 for data exchange across clinical systems.
2. SMART on FHIR apps that allow providers to launch custom applications directly from Epic Radiant.
3. DICOM and CCDA standards to ensure imaging and clinical data flow seamlessly across modalities and external platforms.

We also bring deep experience working with provider organizations on module optimization, workflow customization, and interoperability design. This includes aligning Radiant workflows with operational requirements such as staff scheduling, clinical documentation, and compliance mandates.

Compliance is at the center of our builds. By maintaining HIPAA and SOC 2 standards throughout the development lifecycle, we ensure that radiology data is secure, private, and audit-ready. Our work enables providers to enhance the functionality of Epic Radiant while maintaining compliance with the stringent regulations governing healthcare IT.

Through our role in the Epic Vendor Program, Mindbowser provides healthcare organizations with a trusted partner to customize, integrate, and extend Radiant in ways that directly improve efficiency and care delivery.

VII. Benefits of Epic Radiant for Providers

Epic Radiant offers a direct path to more efficient, accurate, and patient-centered imaging services. By unifying radiology workflows within the Epic ecosystem, providers achieve measurable improvements in both clinical and operational performance.

1. Faster turnaround for imaging results: When images, orders, and reports all flow through Radiant, results reach referring physicians more quickly. Studies show that hospitals integrating Epic with PACS have achieved turnaround times of under 2.5 hours for most radiology cases, with emergency cases completed in under 45 minutes. Faster results improve clinical decision-making and reduce treatment delays.
2. Improved diagnostic accuracy: Structured reporting templates standardize documentation while still allowing radiologists to add clinical detail. Combined with direct access to a complete patient record, this reduces the risk of misinterpretation or missed findings. Referring providers receive reports that are both consistent and clinically rich.
3. Reduced operational costs by cutting redundancies: Duplicate imaging and manual data entry errors are costly. Radiant minimizes these risks by linking imaging orders directly to the EHR and ensuring prior studies are easily accessible. Eliminating repeat scans lowers costs for both patients and health systems while improving resource utilization.
4. Better patient satisfaction through streamlined care: Patients benefit when imaging is performed on time and results are shared quickly. Shorter scheduling windows, reduced waiting room times, and faster reporting all contribute to a smoother care experience. For patients managing chronic conditions or undergoing complex treatments, timely imaging results can significantly improve confidence in their care.

In combination, these benefits position Epic Radiant as more than just a radiology information system. It becomes a tool that strengthens collaboration, supports clinical accuracy, and creates value for patients, providers, and payers alike.

VIII. Real-World Use Cases of Epic Radiant in Hospitals

Hospitals and health systems that adopt Epic Radiant often see measurable improvements in how radiology supports patient care and operations. Two examples highlight its impact in real-world settings.

1. Mid-sized hospital improving turnaround time by 30 percent: A community hospital implemented Epic Radiant to address delays in its imaging workflow. Before Radiant, technologists and radiologists relied on separate systems for scheduling, image access, and reporting, which created bottlenecks. After integration, orders flowed directly from the physician’s EHR entry to the imaging department, and completed reports were automatically returned to the chart. Within six months, the hospital reported a 30% improvement in imaging turnaround times, providing clinicians with faster access to results and reducing treatment delays.
2. Multi-location radiology group unifying reporting: A large radiology practice serving multiple hospitals and outpatient sites faced challenges with fragmented reporting. Each location used its own workflow, which made it difficult to ensure consistency across reports. With Epic Radiant integrated into the broader Epic system, the group was able to standardize reporting templates, centralize image access, and share results seamlessly across sites. This not only improved quality but also enabled radiologists in different locations to collaborate on complex cases in real-time.

These examples demonstrate how Radiant addresses real-world provider challenges, including turnaround delays and fragmented reporting. By bringing radiology into the larger Epic ecosystem, hospitals and practices gain consistency, speed, and collaboration that directly improve both patient care and operational performance.

IX. Integrating Epic Radiant with Other Healthcare Systems

While Epic Radiant is built to work seamlessly within the Epic ecosystem, most hospitals and health systems need their radiology workflows to connect with other technologies as well. This is especially true for organizations that rely on multiple vendors for imaging, data exchange, and care coordination. Radiant supports this need through its ability to integrate with external systems and advanced interoperability frameworks.

1. Leveraging HealthConnect CoPilot for smoother data exchange: HealthConnect CoPilot acts as a workflow accelerator for Epic integrations. It supports more than 20 major EHRs and 100-plus wearable devices, enabling imaging data to flow alongside other clinical information. By using HealthConnect CoPilot with Epic Radiant, providers can share imaging results across different systems without losing time on manual transfers or workarounds. This helps organizations that manage multi-vendor environments maintain a unified view of the patient record.
2. Ensuring compliance with healthcare data standards: Epic Radiant supports widely adopted interoperability standards such as HL7, FHIR, and DICOM. This ensures that images, orders, and reports can be shared with other systems securely and consistently. For example, DICOM standards allow Radiant to pull images directly from scanners, while HL7 and FHIR enable data exchange with third-party applications or external health networks. These standards protect providers from vendor lock-in and make it easier to maintain compliance with HIPAA and other regulatory frameworks.
3. Supporting broader care delivery networks: Radiology often crosses institutional boundaries. A patient may receive imaging at a community hospital, follow-up at a tertiary center, and share results with a primary care physician. Epic Radiant’s interoperability features make this possible by allowing images and reports to be exchanged securely between organizations. This ensures continuity of care and reduces the risk of repeated imaging due to missing data.

Through these integrations, Epic Radiant extends its value beyond the Epic platform. Hospitals and radiology groups can connect imaging workflows to a larger digital health ecosystem, making data more accessible and care more coordinated.

X. Key Takeaways for Providers Considering Epic Radiant

Epic Radiant has become a vital tool for hospitals and radiology groups seeking to enhance efficiency, accuracy, and care coordination. For organizations evaluating their imaging workflows, several lessons stand out:

1. Radiant is ideal for providers seeking an EHR-integrated imaging solution: Instead of operating as a separate radiology information system, Radiant works inside Epic. Orders, images, and reports are integrated directly into the patient chart, eliminating silos and reducing friction across departments. This is particularly valuable for providers already using Epic, who want radiology to integrate seamlessly into their existing workflows.
2. Radiant delivers measurable improvements in efficiency and throughput: Hospitals that adopt Radiant often see reduced turnaround times, faster scheduling, and fewer redundant tests. For radiology groups managing high volumes, these gains translate into shorter wait times for patients, quicker access to results for physicians, and more consistent utilization of imaging equipment and staff.
3. Clinical decision-making becomes stronger with connected data: By linking radiology with Epic Beaker, Epic Cupid, and PACS, Radiant ensures that imaging data does not exist in isolation. Providers can review lab results, cardiology studies, and imaging findings together in one record. This broader view improves diagnostic accuracy and supports multidisciplinary collaboration.
4. Compliance and interoperability remain supported: With built-in support for HIPAA, HL7, FHIR, and DICOM standards, Radiant aligns with regulatory requirements and protects providers from integration challenges. Imaging workflows remain compliant while still flexible enough to connect with third-party systems and external networks.

For hospitals and practices, the takeaway is clear: Radiant is not just another imaging tool. It is a strategic investment in improving the speed, accuracy, and reliability of radiology while ensuring integration with the broader EHR environment.