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Healthcare · head to head

Epic Systems vs Included Health

Epic Systems logo

Epic Systems

Healthcare

Leading electronic health records system for healthcare organizations

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Included Health logo

Included Health

Healthcare

Care navigation and virtual care in one contract for self funded employers and health plans

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Epic Systems no free version or trial; enterprise pricing only with custom negotiation required; Included Health owning both the navigation recommendations and the virtual care delivery creates a structural incentive to steer members to the vendor own clinicians, and an employer should require disclosure and measurement of how often that happens.
  • They diverge on capability: Epic Systems covers Electronic Health Records, Included Health covers Care navigation.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Epic Systems and Included Health actually diverge.

Attributes where Epic Systems and Included Health differ
AttributeEpic SystemsIncluded Health
PlatformsWeb, Desktop, MobileWeb, iOS, Android
Founded1979Unknown

Identical on both: starting price (On request), pricing model (quote), free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Healthcare).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Epic Systems

  • Electronic Health Records
  • Revenue Cycle Management
  • Patient Portal
  • Clinical Decision Support
  • Population Health
  • Lab Systems
  • Imaging Systems
  • Pharmacy Systems

Only in Included Health

  • Care navigation
  • Provider quality steerage
  • Expert medical opinion
  • Virtual primary care
  • Virtual behavioural health
  • Virtual urgent care
  • Benefits integration
  • Employer reporting

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Epic Systems

  • Patient Carenot Included Health
  • Medical Recordsnot Included Health
  • Practice Managementnot Included Health
  • Telehealthnot Included Health

Included Health

  • A large self funded employer whose members cannot tell which specialist to see and who currently absorbs the cost of poor referral decisionsnot Epic Systems
  • An employer that has bought several point solutions and needs one front door that routes members to the ones already paid fornot Epic Systems
  • A self funded plan wanting expert second opinions before high cost elective surgery, where a changed recommendation pays for the programmenot Epic Systems
  • An employer replacing separate navigation and telehealth vendors with one contract and one member experiencenot Epic Systems

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Epic Systems

  • No free version or trial; enterprise pricing only with custom negotiation required
  • Lengthy implementation timeline: 12-24 months for single hospitals, 3-5 years for multi-system rollouts
  • Customization and workflow adaptation requires extensive consulting services
  • Very high licensing costs ranging from 100,000 to 30 million USD depending on organization size

Included Health

  • Owning both the navigation recommendations and the virtual care delivery creates a structural incentive to steer members to the vendor own clinicians, and an employer should require disclosure and measurement of how often that happens.
  • Pricing is per employee per month across the whole eligible population, so a plan with low navigation engagement pays for everyone to serve the minority who call.
  • Savings claims rest on avoided costs and changed referral decisions, which are counterfactual by nature, so performance guarantees need very careful definition or they measure activity rather than money.
  • The company is a merger of three organisations with different origins, and members and benefits teams still encounter seams between navigation, virtual primary care and behavioural health that the single brand implies are absent.
  • It sells primarily to large self funded employers, so mid market employers and fully insured plans find both the pricing and the implementation effort disproportionate to their size.

Pricing, plan by plan

Epic Systems

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the Epic Systems review.

Included Health

On request
  • Included Health$undefined/year
    • Per employee per month across the eligible population, quoted not published
    • Navigation and virtual care modules priced separately or bundled
    • Some components offered with performance guarantees tied to measured savings

Which should you pick?

Choose Epic Systems if

  • You need electronic health records.
  • You work on Web, Desktop, Mobile.
  • You also want revenue cycle management.
Epic Systems review

Choose Included Health if

  • You need care navigation.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want provider quality steerage.
Included Health review

Questions people ask

Is Epic Systems or Included Health better?
Neither clearly leads. Epic Systems starts at On request and Included Health at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Epic Systems or Included Health?
Epic Systems starts at On request and Included Health at On request.
Does Epic Systems or Included Health run on more platforms?
Epic Systems runs on Web, Desktop, Mobile. Included Health runs on Web, iOS, Android.
What is Epic Systems best used for?
Epic Systems is most often used for patient care, medical records, practice management, telehealth. Of those, patient care and medical records are not what Included Health is typically brought in for.
What can Epic Systems do that Included Health cannot?
Epic Systems covers Electronic Health Records, Revenue Cycle Management, Patient Portal, Clinical Decision Support. Included Health covers Care navigation, Provider quality steerage, Expert medical opinion, Virtual primary care.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Epic Systems: What is Epic's market position?

Epic holds 36 percent of the U.S. EHR market and manages over 280 million patient records across 1,200+ healthcare organizations. Among hospitals with over 300 beds, Epic has 52 percent market share, and 71 percent market share in major academic medical centers as of 2026.

Source
Included Health: What exactly is Included Health?

The combination of Grand Rounds Health navigation, Doctor On Demand virtual care and the original Included Health concierge service, operating under one brand since late 2021.

Epic Systems: Is there a free trial or demo available?

Epic does not offer a free version or trial. The software is enterprise-only with custom pricing negotiated directly with organizations. Typical implementation timelines for single hospitals range from 12 to 24 months, and multi-hospital systems can take 3 to 5 years for phased rollouts.

Source
Included Health: Who pays for it?

The self funded employer or the health plan pays a per employee per month fee. Virtual care visits may also carry member cost sharing depending on plan design.

Epic Systems: How does Epic integrate with third-party systems?

Epic provides multiple integration pathways: FHIR R4 APIs, HL7 v2 messaging, CCDA document exchange, and proprietary APIs through Epic Showroom (formerly App Orchard). Over 1,000 certified apps are available in the marketplace, enabling real-time data synchronization and interoperability.

Source
Included Health: Is there a minimum size?

No published minimum, but it sells primarily to large self funded employers and the pricing and implementation effort do not suit small organisations.

Epic Systems: What is included in Epic's unified platform?

Epic provides a truly unified system spanning inpatient, outpatient, emergency department, surgical, pharmacy, laboratory, radiology, billing, and population health on a single database. It includes appointment scheduling, medical billing, clinical decision support, patient portal (MyChart), telehealth capabilities, and analytics.

Source
Included Health: How does it recommend providers?

Through data driven quality analysis rather than a plain directory. Ask specifically how those recommendations are produced and how often they resolve to the company own virtual clinicians.

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