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First Data + Epic Integration

Clarity Connect™ integrates First Data with Epic, automating business processes and data sharing. This robust integration connects your critical business systems to automate order processing, inventory management, and customer data synchronization.

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The Challenge

Connecting with Clarity Connect™

Clarity Connect™ links First Data and Epic through automation and data sharing. Integrating these platforms benefits businesses by streamlining processes and connecting front-end and back-end systems.

Considerations when connecting these applications include security, performance, and physical access. We support both SaaS (Cloud) and On-Premises connection types.

Integration Diagram
Solution Illustration
The Solution

Seamless Integration

Our middleware platform ensures robust and reliable data transfer between First Data and Epic.

  • Epic: Custom fields within Patient, Encounter, or Claim entities (e.g., 'First Data Customer ID', 'Payment Token Reference', 'Reconciliation Status').
  • First Data: Custom fields or metadata within Transaction objects (e.g., 'Epic Encounter ID', 'Epic Claim ID', 'Patient MRN').
Implementation Timeline

Go live with First Data + Epic in as little as 2–4 weeks.

A proven, repeatable implementation approach that minimizes risk while getting your team to value quickly.

1

Access Enabled

Secure connections established to both First Data and Epic, with credentials and environments confirmed.

2

Configuration & Mapping

Field mappings, business rules, and workflows configured using visual tools and pre-built templates.

3

Go Live

Launch production-ready integration with monitoring, alerting, and support in place—typically within 2–4 weeks.

Time to Value

2–4 weeks

Typical implementation window from access granted to production go-live for most First Data + Epic deployments.

Project Phases

Discovery
Configure & Map
Validate
Launch

Engagement Model

Guided by Clarity experts with your team involved at key milestones.

Comprehensive Solution Details

  • Epic: Custom fields within Patient, Encounter, or Claim entities (e.g., 'First Data Customer ID', 'Payment Token Reference', 'Reconciliation Status').
  • First Data: Custom fields or metadata within Transaction objects (e.g., 'Epic Encounter ID', 'Epic Claim ID', 'Patient MRN').

Integration Architecture: First Data & Epic via iPaaS

The integration leverages a modern Integration Platform as a Service (iPaaS) as the central hub, orchestrating secure, real-time, and batch data exchange between First Data and Epic.

Data Flow Steps

Event-Driven Architecture: Utilizing webhooks from First Data for transaction status and Epic's Open Epic events for patient/claim updates to enable real-time reactions.

API-First Integration: Prioritizing native API calls (FHIR for Epic, REST for First Data) for robust and scalable connectivity.

Canonical Data Model: Defining a standardized data model within the iPaaS for key entities (Patient, Transaction, Payment) to ensure consistency across systems.

Batch Processing for Reconciliation: Using scheduled batch jobs for daily settlement report ingestion and GL posting to optimize resource usage.

Data Touchpoints

iPaaS Core Engine: Orchestrates workflows, handles data routing, transformation, and error management.
First Data Connector: Pre-built connector for secure API access to First Data's payment endpoints.
Epic FHIR Connector: Dedicated connector for interacting with Epic's FHIR R4 APIs and Open Epic events.
API Gateway: Secures and manages API traffic, enforces policies, and handles rate limiting.
Message Queues: Facilitates asynchronous processing for high-volume transactions and event-driven workflows.
Data Transformation Engine: Maps and transforms data schemas between First Data and Epic formats.
Monitoring & Alerting Module: Provides real-time dashboards, logs, and anomaly detection.
Secrets Manager: Securely stores API keys, OAuth tokens, and other credentials.
AI Co-pilot: Assists with mapping, validation, and anomaly detection.

"Visual representation would show Epic and First Data as endpoints, with the iPaaS in the center. The iPaaS would depict connectors for each system, a visual workflow engine, data transformation capabilities, AI co-pilot, monitoring, and a secure data pipeline. External systems like patient portals or GL/ERP would also be shown interacting with Epic or the iPaaS."

Pricing

Simple, transparent pricing for First Data + Epic.

Start with a single integration pair and scale as your business grows—without surprise fees or transaction penalties.

Connect™ Plan

Clarity Connect

$595 /mo

Billed annually • Includes one production integration pair

  • Unlimited transactions and API calls within fair-use limits.
  • Visual workflow designer and reusable mapping templates.
  • Monitoring, alerting, and access to Clarity’s support team.
View full pricing & options
Innovative & Robust

How Middleware Integration Works

Benefits of Integrating First Data

Integrating First Data fosters greater efficiency and data accuracy. Automate your critical business processes to deliver consistently outstanding results.

Hover over the steps on the right to see detailed integration points.
Data Mapping

Data Entity Mapping

Explore how data flows between systems with intelligent field mapping and transformation logic.

Patient / Customer

Synchronizing patient demographic and payment-related customer information between Epic and First Data for accurate billing and transaction linking.

First Data Fields

[field, customerId (internal)],[description, Unique identifier for the customer in First Data's vault.] [field, firstName],[description, Customer's first name.] [field, lastName],[description, Customer's last name.] [field, email],[description, Customer's email for communication.] [field, billingAddress],[description, Customer's billing address for AVS checks.]

Epic Fields

[field, id (FHIR Patient.id)],[description, Epic's internal patient ID.] [field, identifier (MRN)],[description, Medical Record Number, primary patient identifier.] [field, name (given, family)],[description, Patient's full name.] [field, telecom (phone, email)],[description, Patient's contact information.] [field, address],[description, Patient's primary address.]

Mapping Notes

The Epic 'Patient' entity maps to the 'Customer' contextually within First Data for payment association. While First Data doesn't store extensive clinical demographics, a customer ID (often generated and stored in First Data's Customer Vault) must be linked back to the Epic Patient record (e.g., as an external identifier) for seamless payment processing and lookups. Billing address from Epic is crucial for AVS in First Data.

Next Steps

See First Data + Epic integration in action.

Explore a guided demo, start a sandbox integration, or speak directly with our solution architects about your specific use cases.

Start Free Trial Request Live Demo
Real-World Applications

Integration Use Cases

Explore how the integration behaves in real business scenarios, with clearly defined steps, outcomes, and execution patterns.

Patient Self-Pay & Co-pay Processing

Automate the collection of patient co-pays, deductibles, and self-pay balances at the point of service or through patient portals, with immediate posting to Epic.

Integration Steps:

  1. 0 Patient checks in via Epic's MyChart or at a kiosk, or staff processes payment.
  2. 1 Payment amount from Epic's billing module is sent to First Data via iPaaS.
  3. 2 First Data securely processes the payment (credit card, ACH) and tokenizes details.
  4. 3 First Data returns transaction status to iPaaS.
  5. 4 iPaaS updates Epic patient account with payment details and status.
  6. 5 Confirmation is sent to the patient and relevant Epic modules are updated.

Business Outcome

Accelerated payment collection, reduced manual payment posting errors, improved patient satisfaction with a streamlined payment experience.

Frequency

Real-time

Implementation Timeline

Go live with First Data + Epic in as little as 2–4 weeks.

A proven, repeatable implementation approach that minimizes risk while getting your team to value quickly.

1

Access Enabled

Secure connections established to both First Data and Epic, with credentials and environments confirmed.

2

Configuration & Mapping

Field mappings, business rules, and workflows configured using visual tools and pre-built templates.

3

Go Live

Launch production-ready integration with monitoring, alerting, and support in place—typically within 2–4 weeks.

Time to Value

2–4 weeks

Typical implementation window from access granted to production go-live for most First Data + Epic deployments.

Project Phases

Discovery
Configure & Map
Validate
Launch

Engagement Model

Guided by Clarity experts with your team involved at key milestones.

Technical Documentation

API Endpoints & Data Logic

Technical details for developers and architects.

Method Endpoint Purpose
POST /v1/payments/token Generate secure tokens for card data, reducing PCI scope for Epic.
POST /v1/payments/authorization Authorize payment for a patient service against a tokenized card.
POST /v1/payments/capture Capture authorized funds after a patient service is rendered.
POST /v1/payments/refund Process full or partial refunds for patient overpayments.
GET /v1/settlements/daily Retrieve daily settlement reports for financial reconciliation with Epic's billing.
GET /v1/payments/status/{transactionId} Query the real-time status of a patient payment transaction.

⚡ Transformation Logic

  • FHIR to First Data Mapping: Translate Epic's FHIR Patient and Encounter/Claim IDs to First Data's Customer ID and 'orderId' respectively.
  • Currency Formatting: Ensure consistent currency formats (`USD`, `EUR`) between both systems.
  • Status Normalization: Map First Data's transaction statuses (e.g., 'APPROVED', 'DECLINED') to Epic's payment status codes (e.g., 'Paid', 'Rejected').
  • Address Standardization: Cleanse and standardize patient billing addresses for AVS checks in First Data.
  • Fee Allocation: Apply business rules to correctly allocate First Data processing fees to appropriate GL accounts in Epic/ERP.

🛡️ Error Handling

  • First Data API is temporarily unavailable (retry with backoff).
  • Invalid payment method details submitted (notify patient/staff).
  • Epic API returns a validation error for patient update (log, alert, reprocess after correction).
  • Mismatch in transaction amounts during reconciliation (flag for manual review, AI suggests correction).
  • Duplicate payment submission detected (idempotent API calls prevent processing, log warning).
Pricing

Simple, transparent pricing for First Data + Epic.

Start with a single integration pair and scale as your business grows—without surprise fees or transaction penalties.

Connect™ Plan

Clarity Connect

$595 /mo

Billed annually • Includes one production integration pair

  • Unlimited transactions and API calls within fair-use limits.
  • Visual workflow designer and reusable mapping templates.
  • Monitoring, alerting, and access to Clarity’s support team.
View full pricing & options
Support & Information

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about integration implementation, security, and best practices.

General FAQs

▸ Why is integrating First Data with Epic crucial for healthcare organizations?
Integrating First Data with Epic is crucial to streamline the entire patient payment journey and optimize the revenue cycle. It automates payment collection, ensures real-time posting to patient accounts in Epic, simplifies daily financial reconciliation, and enhances compliance, ultimately improving operational efficiency and patient satisfaction.

Security & Compliance FAQs

▸ How does this integration handle patient data security and compliance (HIPAA & PCI DSS)?
Security is paramount. The integration adheres to strict HIPAA and PCI DSS compliance standards. First Data's tokenization services ensure raw card data is never stored in Epic or the iPaaS. All data in transit and at rest is encrypted (TLS 1.2+, AES-256). We implement robust access controls, audit trails, and ensure Business Associate Agreements (BAAs) are in place.

Financial Workflows FAQs

▸ Can I automate financial reconciliation with First Data settlement reports and Epic?
Absolutely. Our iPaaS solution automates daily settlement reconciliation. It retrieves First Data's settlement reports, matches aggregated transactions against individual payments posted in Epic, generates journal entries, and flags any discrepancies for review. This significantly reduces manual accounting effort and accelerates your financial close process.

Payment Processing FAQs

▸ What kind of payments can be processed through this integration?
This integration supports a wide range of patient payments, including co-pays, deductibles, self-pay balances, and payments for outstanding invoices. It can handle various payment methods processed by First Data, such as credit cards, debit cards, and ACH, all seamlessly linked to the relevant Epic patient accounts and encounters.

Technology FAQs

▸ How does low-code/no-code benefit First Data and Epic integration workflows?
Low-code/no-code tools empower your finance and billing teams to design, modify, and manage integration workflows visually, without extensive coding. This accelerates development cycles, reduces reliance on IT, and allows for rapid adaptation to changing business needs or new payment regulations, making your operations more agile.

Data Synchronization FAQs

▸ Does the integration support real-time payment status updates in Epic?
Yes, leveraging First Data webhooks and Epic's FHIR APIs, the integration supports real-time payment status updates. As soon as a payment is authorized, captured, or refunded by First Data, the corresponding patient account, encounter, or claim in Epic is updated immediately, providing instant visibility and reducing manual checks.

Error Handling FAQs

▸ What happens if there's an error during a payment transaction?
Our robust error handling strategy includes comprehensive logging, automated retry logic with exponential backoff for transient errors, and dead-letter queues for persistent failures. Business-logic errors trigger immediate alerts to relevant teams (e.g., billing, patient services) with full context, and AI can even suggest auto-resolutions for common issues.

Customization FAQs

▸ Can this integration be customized for specific clinic or hospital billing rules?
Absolutely. The iPaaS platform provides extensive customization capabilities, including a powerful rules engine to define specific billing logic, support for custom fields in both Epic and First Data, and conditional logic to adapt workflows to your unique operational requirements, ensuring the integration aligns perfectly with your processes.
Implementation Timeline

Go live with First Data + Epic in as little as 2–4 weeks.

A proven, repeatable implementation approach that minimizes risk while getting your team to value quickly.

1

Access Enabled

Secure connections established to both First Data and Epic, with credentials and environments confirmed.

2

Configuration & Mapping

Field mappings, business rules, and workflows configured using visual tools and pre-built templates.

3

Go Live

Launch production-ready integration with monitoring, alerting, and support in place—typically within 2–4 weeks.

Time to Value

2–4 weeks

Typical implementation window from access granted to production go-live for most First Data + Epic deployments.

Project Phases

Discovery
Configure & Map
Validate
Launch

Engagement Model

Guided by Clarity experts with your team involved at key milestones.

Pricing

Simple, transparent pricing for First Data + Epic.

Start with a single integration pair and scale as your business grows—without surprise fees or transaction penalties.

Connect™ Plan

Clarity Connect

$595 /mo

Billed annually • Includes one production integration pair

  • Unlimited transactions and API calls within fair-use limits.
  • Visual workflow designer and reusable mapping templates.
  • Monitoring, alerting, and access to Clarity’s support team.
View full pricing & options
Next Steps

See First Data + Epic integration in action.

Explore a guided demo, start a sandbox integration, or speak directly with our solution architects about your specific use cases.

Start Free Trial Request Live Demo