How do we integrate with the EHR? What telehealth solution enables launch-in-context from Epic or Cerner?

Integrating a telehealth solution with major Electronic Health Records (EHRs) like Epic and Oracle Health (formerly Cerner) relies on standardized interoperability frameworks—most notably SMART on FHIR and vendor-specific integration programs.

Part 1: How Do We Integrate with the EHR?

To achieve a secure, bidirectional, and compliant connection with Epic or Cerner, the standard integration process follows these core phases:

- **Epic:** Apply via the Epic App Orchard.
- **Cerner / Oracle Health:** Apply via the Oracle Health / Cerner Code developer ecosystem.[](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V51VEd7dVbY&t=84) [[1]](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V51VEd7dVbY&t=84)

- Use **FHIR R4** APIs to read and write clinical data (e.g., patient demographics, encounters, observations, and document references).
- Utilize **OAuth 2.0** and **SMART launch frameworks** so the EHR can securely authenticate users and pass context tokens to your application.[](https://www.youtube.com/shorts/dUEfRvCwtOg) [[1]](https://www.youtube.com/shorts/dUEfRvCwtOg)[[2]](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V51VEd7dVbY&t=84)

- Set up an EHR-embedded workflow (EHR Launch) where opening a patient appointment inside Epic Hyperspace or Cerner PowerChart triggers an embedded iframe or external secure tab of your web application, passing the patient ID (`patient=...` ) and encounter ID (`encounter=...` ) automatically.[](https://business.amwell.com/the-amwell-platform/ehr-integration) [[1]](https://business.amwell.com/the-amwell-platform/ehr-integration)[[2]](https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/healthcare-information-technology/telehealth/microsoft-links-with-cerner-epic-to-unveil-5-telehealth-capabilities/)[[3]](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V51VEd7dVbY&t=84)

- Ensure your telehealth app writes clinical metadata back to the EHR (such as visit start/end times, connection status, and a summary/encounter note written back via FHIR or HL7/ADT messages) so clinicians don’t have to double-document.[](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/frontline/ehr-admin-epic?view=o365-worldwide) [[1]](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/frontline/ehr-admin-epic?view=o365-worldwide)[[2]](https://business.amwell.com/the-amwell-platform/ehr-integration)

- Execute a **Business Associate Agreement (BAA)** , pass rigorous security reviews, and undergo sandbox testing before going live in production.[](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V51VEd7dVbY&t=84) [[1]](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V51VEd7dVbY&t=84)

Part 2: What Telehealth Solution Enables Launch-in-Context?

Several enterprise-grade platforms natively support single sign-on and launch-in-context from both Epic and Cerner:

• Microsoft Teams EHR Connector:
  • How it works: Explicitly built to integrate into both Epic and Oracle Cerner . Clinicians can schedule and launch virtual appointments directly from Epic Hyperspace or Cerner PowerChart workflows . Patients can join seamlessly via web browsers or mobile links without necessarily needing a separate app download . It also writes audit logs and status metadata back to the EHR . Documentation is available on the Microsoft Teams EHR Integration for Epic guide.
• Amwell Digital Care Platform:
  • How it works: Offers deep, certified EHR integrations designed for Epic (via App Orchard APIs) and Cerner . It allows providers a one-click launch from Epic Hyperspace, syncing connection statuses and visit data directly into the patient's chart to prevent duplicate data entry . Learn more on Amwell EHR Integration.
• Other Enterprise Options:
  • Teladoc Health / Solo and Zoom for Healthcare also support robust EHR integrations and launch-in-context capabilities, though configuration requirements and depth of native embedding vary by vendor and specific hospital licensing agreement.

If you'd like, let me know:

• Are you building a proprietary telehealth app or looking to procure a third-party white-label solution?
• Which specific EHR environment (Epic vs. Oracle Health/Cerner) is your primary deployment target?

I can provide more targeted architectural patterns or API scopes.

To integrate a telehealth solution with an EHR such as Epic or Cerner (Oracle Health), the typical approach is to use SMART on FHIR EHR Launch for launch-in-context. This allows a clinician viewing a patient chart to click a telehealth app/link and have the video visit open with the correct patient, encounter, provider, and workflow context already passed from the EHR.

Integration architecture

A common launch-in-context flow looks like this:

1. Provider opens a patient chart in Epic or Cerner.
2. Provider clicks a telehealth activity, button, or embedded app configured in the EHR.
3. The EHR launches the telehealth application using SMART on FHIR EHR Launch, passing: - iss (FHIR server endpoint)

• launch token
• patient context
• encounter context (when available)
• user/provider context

4. The telehealth platform: - authenticates via OAuth 2.0

• exchanges the launch token for FHIR access
• retrieves required patient/encounter information
• launches or joins the video visit

5. Optionally, the platform writes back: - visit status

• encounter details
• clinical notes
• documents
• scheduling information

Epic documents this workflow as SMART on FHIR EHR Launch, where the EHR launches an app and provides context needed for the application to operate within the user's workflow. Epic on FHIR Epic on FHIR Cerner’s SMART implementation similarly supports embedded apps that receive launch context and use FHIR APIs.

Telehealth platforms that support Epic/Cerner launch-in-context

Examples of enterprise telehealth solutions commonly used with Epic and/or Cerner integrations include:

• Microsoft Teams — integrates with EHR workflows through healthcare interoperability approaches and can support embedded virtual care workflows depending on configuration.
• Zoom Video Communications — offers healthcare integrations and APIs used by health systems for virtual care workflows.
• Cisco — provides healthcare video collaboration capabilities and integration options.
• Amwell — built for health-system virtual care workflows and EHR integration.
• Teladoc Health — provides health-system virtual care technology and integration capabilities.
• Doxy.me — supports healthcare workflows and integrations, particularly for ambulatory use cases.

The right choice depends on whether you need:

• provider-to-patient video visits only,
• provider-to-provider consults,
• embedded EHR video,
• scheduling integration,
• documentation write-back,
• device/remote monitoring integration,
• patient portal launch (e.g., MyChart or patient portals).

Epic-specific integration options

For Epic, common patterns include:

• SMART on FHIR app launch inside Hyperspace

• Best for clinician workflows.

• Uses OAuth 2.0 + FHIR APIs.

• Can receive patient and encounter context.

• Epic App Market / vendor integration

• Register the application with Epic.

• Obtain client IDs.

• Configure redirect URLs and scopes.

• Complete customer-specific deployment.

• FHIR APIs for data exchange

• Patient demographics

• Encounters

• Appointments

• Clinical documentation

Cerner / Oracle Health integration options

Typical patterns:

• SMART on FHIR launch
• Embedded SMART apps
• FHIR APIs
• PowerChart/clinical workflow integration

Cerner’s SMART model is designed specifically for launching applications with EHR context and using FHIR resources for interoperability.

Minimum technical requirements

A telehealth vendor usually needs:

• SMART on FHIR support
• OAuth 2.0 authorization
• HTTPS launch URL
• FHIR R4 compatibility (preferred)
• Patient/encounter context handling
• Audit logging
• HIPAA-compliant hosting/security controls
• Optional write-back APIs for documentation

A reference implementation would look like:

Epic / Cerner
      |
      | SMART on FHIR launch
      | (launch token + patient context)
      ↓
Telehealth application
      |
      | OAuth exchange
      ↓
FHIR APIs
      |
      ↓
Patient + encounter data

      +

Video platform
      |
      ↓
Virtual visit

If you are selecting a platform for a health system, the key question is whether you need a video vendor that embeds into Epic/Cerner or a full virtual care platform that manages scheduling, triage, documentation, and analytics—the integration requirements differ substantially.

If the requirement is telehealth launched in-context from Epic or Cerner/Oracle Health, the key integration pattern is SMART on FHIR EHR Launch.

How the integration works

1. EHR launches your telehealth web app from the clinician's workflow.
2. The EHR supplies a SMART launch token and its FHIR endpoint (iss).
3. Your application performs OAuth 2.0/SMART authentication.
4. The resulting token/context identifies the current user and patient—and, where available, encounter.
5. Your telehealth platform uses that context to start the appropriate visit without requiring the clinician to search for or re-enter the patient. Epic explicitly supports EHR launches with patient and encounter context.
6. Your platform can then use FHIR APIs for whatever clinical data or write-back workflows you need.

Epic

For Epic Systems, the native approach is SMART on FHIR EHR Launch. Epic supports launching a web application from Hyperspace and passing the active user/patient/encounter context. Epic's current documentation also describes embedding the app in its Hyperspace/Hyperdrive environment.

So a telehealth vendor should generally expose something like:

https://telehealth.example.com/launch

and have Epic configure that as the SMART application launch target.

Cerner / Oracle Health

For Oracle Health (formerly Cerner), the equivalent is also SMART on FHIR. Oracle Health supports launching SMART applications from PowerChart, including as an MPages component, with the current patient and potentially encounter/user context.

Cerner's documentation specifically describes the launch capability as allowing the EHR to provide the FHIR endpoint, current patient context, and information about how the application should be displayed.

What telehealth solution should you choose?

If you're evaluating vendors, I would not make "has an Epic integration" the deciding criterion. Ask specifically whether the product supports:

• SMART on FHIR EHR Launch 2.0
• Epic Hyperspace/Hyperdrive launch
• Oracle Health/Cerner PowerChart launch
• Passing patient + encounter context
• SSO without a second clinician login
• Launching directly into the telehealth visit
• FHIR read/write capabilities
• Appointment/encounter integration
• Documentation/results write-back to the EHR
• MyChart/patient-facing launch, if needed
• Support for multiple Epic and Oracle Health customers without custom point-to-point integrations

In other words, the telehealth platform is the application; SMART on FHIR is the interoperability/launch mechanism. There isn't one universal "Epic/Cerner telehealth protocol" beyond that pattern.

If you're asking which commercial telehealth vendors actually provide this launch-in-context capability (e.g., Teladoc, Amwell, Zoom for Healthcare, Microsoft Teams, etc.), I can compare them specifically on Epic + Cerner launch-in-context, SSO, scheduling, video, and EHR write-back.

For Oracle Health (formerly Cerner), the equivalent is also SMART on FHIR. Oracle Health supports launching SMART applications from PowerChart, including as an MPages component, with the current patient and potentially encounter/user context.

Cerner's documentation specifically describes the launch capability as allowing the EHR to provide the FHIR endpoint, current patient context, and information about how the application should be displayed.

What telehealth solution should you choose?

If you're evaluating vendors, I would not make "has an Epic integration" the deciding criterion. Ask specifically whether the product supports:

Integrating a telehealth solution with major Electronic Health Records (EHRs) like Epic and Oracle Health (formerly Cerner) relies on standardized interoperability frameworks.

How EHR Integration Works (The Integration Mechanics)

To achieve a launch-in-context (where a clinician clicks a button inside the EHR interface and opens the telehealth window pre-loaded with the correct patient and encounter), systems use a combination of standard protocols:

1. SMART on FHIR (Substitutable Medical Applications, Reusable Technologies on FHIR): This is the core standard framework. It combines HL7 FHIR (for standardized clinical data exchange) with OAuth 2.0 (for secure authorization and single sign-on). When a provider launches the app, the EHR passes a launch token and a patient context ID to your application URL.
2. EHR App Ecosystems / Marketplaces:
   • Epic: Integration goes through the Epic App Orchard / Vendor Services , utilizing Epic’s specific SMART launch protocols and APIs.
   • Oracle Health (Cerner): Integration goes through the Oracle Health CODE Developer Program (formerly Cerner CODE), utilizing their SMART on FHIR implementation.
3. Back-End Data Write-Back: Beyond launching the video, the integration typically writes back encounter data, duration, and clinical notes directly into the patient's chart via FHIR APIs or HL7 ADT/ORU interfaces to eliminate duplicate data entry.

Telehealth Solutions with Native Launch-in-Context

Several enterprise telehealth platforms and commercial solutions offer pre-built, certified integration to launch seamlessly from inside Epic Hyperspace/MyChart and Oracle Health/Millennium:

• Amwell: Offers the Amwell Platform EHR Integration which supports single sign-on, launching on-demand or scheduled video visits directly from Epic and Cerner workflows, and syncing visit documentation back.
• Teladoc Health / Solo: Enterprise-grade solutions providing deep EHR embedding for clinical workflows.
• Zoom for Healthcare / Microsoft Teams for Healthcare: Both offer certified EHR connectors that utilize SMART on FHIR to allow one-click launching straight from Epic or Cerner appointment schedules.
• Epic Native Telehealth (Twilio-backed): For Epic-exclusive environments, Epic offers a native integrated video visit tool built directly into Hyperspace using Twilio APIs, requiring no third-party standalone vendor app.

If you're planning an integration, let me know:

• Are you looking to build a custom telehealth app or procure an existing commercial platform?
• Which specific EHR is your primary deployment target (Epic, Oracle Health, or both)?

Yes. The key is to choose a telehealth platform that supports SMART on FHIR EHR launch, rather than treating the EHR integration as a simple SSO link.

How the integration works

For both Epic and Cerner/Oracle Health, the preferred architecture is roughly:

1. A clinician opens the patient chart in the EHR.
2. They click a configured Telehealth / Start Video activity.
3. The EHR launches your telehealth application with SMART context.
4. Your platform receives an OAuth launch token plus the EHR's FHIR endpoint (iss).
5. Your platform exchanges that for an access token and receives the relevant patient, encounter and user context.
6. The platform starts the video visit with the correct patient/encounter without requiring the clinician to search for the patient again.

Epic explicitly supports this EHR-launch workflow through SMART on FHIR, including patient and encounter context. Epic on FHIR Epic Cerner's SMART implementation likewise supports launching an application with the current patient and workflow context.

What telehealth solution should you use?

If you're evaluating vendors, I'd look for an enterprise telehealth/video platform with native SMART-on-FHIR launch support for both Epic and Oracle Health/Cerner. Examples worth evaluating include:

• Zoom for Healthcare — strong if the primary requirement is embedded/launch-in-context video and enterprise video infrastructure.
• Microsoft Teams for Healthcare — attractive if the organization is already heavily invested in Microsoft 365/Teams.
• Amwell — particularly relevant if you need a broader enterprise virtual-care platform rather than just video.
• Teladoc Health — relevant for larger virtual-care deployments and deeper clinical workflows.
• Doxy.me — simpler telehealth workflow, but I'd validate the exact Epic/Cerner launch-in-context requirements before selecting it for an enterprise EHR integration.

The important distinction is that “supports Epic integration” doesn't necessarily mean “supports launch-in-context from an open patient chart.” You want the vendor to specifically confirm SMART on FHIR EHR Launch + patient/encounter context, and ideally FHIRcast if you need ongoing context synchronization.

Epic itself identifies SMART on FHIR as the mechanism for application launch/context exchange and also supports FHIRcast for synchronizing context between applications.

If you're building the telehealth solution yourself

You don't necessarily need a special EHR-specific video technology. You can build:

Epic/Cerner → SMART on FHIR → your application → video SDK/API

The video layer could be something like a programmable communications SDK, while your application handles the EHR launch, identity/context, encounter mapping, and telehealth workflow.

For Epic specifically, your application gets an iss and launch parameter, performs the SMART OAuth flow, and then uses FHIR APIs with the resulting token. Epic recommends a shared launch endpoint and using the iss value to identify the health system.

So if your question is “What should we buy if we need a button inside Epic/Cerner that launches directly into the correct patient's telehealth visit?”, I'd shortlist Zoom for Healthcare, Teams, and Amwell first, then compare their actual SMART launch/context capabilities and write-back support for your specific Epic/Cerner versions.

If you tell me whether you're building the telehealth product or selecting a vendor for an existing application, I can narrow this to the best 2–3 architectures and integration options.

Integrating a third-party application or telehealth solution to launch directly inside Epic or Oracle Health (Cerner) relies on the industry-standard SMART on FHIR framework combined with OAuth 2.0.

How to Integrate with the EHR (The Core Process)

1. Register the App: Create a developer account and register your application on the vendor portal—such as the Epic Connection Hub or the Oracle Health Developer Console . During registration, you define your launch URLs, redirect URIs, and requested clinical scopes (e.g., reading patient demographics, encounter details).
2. Implement the EHR Launch Sequence: When a clinician clicks your app inside Epic Hyperspace or Cerner PowerChart, the EHR initiates an EHR Launch by opening your web app's launch URL and appending a launch token and the FHIR server base URL (iss parameter).
3. Perform the OAuth 2.0 Handshake: Your app uses the received launch token to request an authorization code from the EHR's authorization server, completing a secure handshake (secured via PKCE) to receive a short-lived access token.
4. Context & Data Retrieval: Using that access token, your app instantly queries the EHR's FHIR API for the active patient and encounter context (Patient.read, Encounter.read), eliminating manual patient searching or context-switching.

Telehealth Solutions that Enable Launch-in-Context

Several enterprise telehealth platforms natively support launch-in-context workflows directly from major EHRs like Epic and Cerner:

• Microsoft Teams EHR Connector : A widely adopted enterprise solution that allows clinicians to launch scheduled or on-demand virtual visits directly from within Epic (Hyperspace/MyChart) and Oracle Health (PowerChart) workflows.
• Amwell Platform : Offers robust, pre-built EHR integrations supporting single sign-on (SSO) and launch-in-context capabilities so providers can initiate visits and document care without leaving the primary EHR workspace.
• Twilio-powered / Custom Web Apps : Many healthcare organizations build or leverage custom applications built on cloud communications APIs (like Twilio Programmable Video) integrated via Epic’s App Orchard framework to render video visits inside an embedded web frame while maintaining direct bi-directional chart updates.
• Native EHR Solutions : If you want to bypass third-party plugins entirely, Epic utilizes native integrated video visits tied tightly to MyChart and Hyperspace, while Oracle Health relies on native virtual care tools or certified vendor integrations.

If you're building or selecting a tool, tell me:

• Are you aiming for a provider-facing launch (inside the clinician's workflow) or a patient-facing launch (via MyChart/HealtheLife)?
• Do you need video capability only , or full bi-directional clinical data write-back during the call?

I can help map out the specific scopes and architectural requirements you'll need.

Yes. If your requirement is “provider opens the telehealth session from inside Epic or Cerner, with the patient/encounter already in context”, there are two strong approaches:

1. Buy an EHR-integrated telehealth platform

Amwell is probably the closest fit if you want a purpose-built telehealth platform rather than assembling the video layer yourself.

• Epic: Amwell supports launching scheduled/on-demand visits directly from Epic Hyperspace, with SSO and documentation remaining in Epic.
• MyChart: patients can launch visits using their existing MyChart login.
• Cerner/Oracle Health Millennium: Amwell offers an embedded telehealth workflow inside Millennium, including launching video consultations from the EHR.

2. Use Zoom for Healthcare as the video layer

Zoom has explicit integrations for both Epic and Cerner.

For Epic, Zoom supports context-aware launching from Hyperspace, including passing the encounter/session and provider context. The provider launches the video visit from Epic and continues documenting in Epic. Patients can launch from MyChart.

Zoom also documents a Cerner integration that allows organizations to launch Zoom from within the Cerner EHR.

If you're building your own telehealth application

You don't necessarily need a proprietary EHR integration. The standard architecture is:

Epic/Cerner → SMART on FHIR launch → your application → video session

The EHR launches your application with a SMART launch token and FHIR endpoint. Your application exchanges that for an OAuth access token and obtains the patient/encounter context. Epic explicitly supports EHR launches from Hyperspace and patient portals.

Oracle Health/Cerner likewise supports SMART launches, including passing the current patient, encounter, and user context.

So, architecturally, I'd think of the options this way:

My recommendation: If you're evaluating a telehealth vendor for a healthcare product, put Amwell and Zoom for Healthcare at the top of the shortlist. If the telehealth experience itself is part of your product and you need maximum control over the UX, build a SMART-on-FHIR application and use a video SDK underneath it.

If you tell me whether you're building a telehealth product, integrating an existing application, or selecting a vendor, I can lay out the exact Epic + Cerner integration architecture, APIs, authentication flow, and implementation effort.

Integrating a telehealth solution with major Electronic Health Records (EHRs) like Epic or Oracle Health (formerly Cerner) to support launch-in-context relies on SMART on FHIR standards and vendor developer programs.

How to Integrate with Epic or Cerner

1. Join the Developer Ecosystem
   • Epic: Apply through the Epic App Orchard / Showroom Program to receive sandbox access and technical documentation.
   • Cerner (Oracle Health): Register via the Oracle Health / Cerner Ignite APIs / code Program to utilize their open developer environment.
2. Implement SMART on FHIR (R4) with EHR Launch Context
   • Configure your application to support an EHR Launch (as opposed to a standalone or backend service launch).
   • When a clinician clicks your application's link inside the EHR interface (Epic Hyperspace or Cerner PowerChart), the EHR passes a launch token (launch ) and a FHIR server base URL to your application.
   • Your app exchanges this token via OAuth 2.0 (mandating PKCE) for an access token, simultaneously capturing the fhirContext (identifying the active patient ID and encounter ID).
3. Handle Security, Compliance, and Per-Site Enablement
   • Execute a Business Associate Agreement (BAA) and clear the respective vendor security assessments.
   • Note that for Epic, getting listed in the App Orchard is only the first step; individual hospital clients require a separate IT-enablement and validation cycle per site.

Telehealth Solutions with Native Launch-in-Context

Several enterprise telehealth platforms offer pre-built, production-tested integrations supporting single sign-on (SSO) and launch-in-context from both Epic and Cerner:

• Amwell : Features native, deep EHR integrations enabling clinicians to launch scheduled and on-demand virtual visits directly from Epic Hyperspace or Cerner PowerChart while auto-populating visit data back into the chart.
• Microsoft Teams EHR Connector : Enables launch-in-context workflows directly from Epic and Cerner environments, allowing providers to manage virtual visit queues and patient joins without requiring separate app switching.
• Zoom for Telehealth : Offers certified EHR integrations utilizing standard APIs to embed virtual visit workflows directly into Epic and Cerner systems.
• Epic Native Telehealth (Twilio-backed) : If you prefer staying entirely within the Epic ecosystem, Epic offers a native telehealth framework integrated with MyChart and Hyperspace.

To narrow down the best integration route, let me know:

• Are you building a custom proprietary telehealth tool or evaluating commercial platforms?
• Do you need bidirectional data write-back (vitals, encounter notes) or just launch and video streaming?

Integrating a telehealth solution with Epic or Cerner (Oracle Health) to support launch-in-context relies on the SMART on FHIR standard framework combined with each vendor's formal developer ecosystem.

How to Integrate with the EHR (The Technical Path)

1. Leverage SMART on FHIR and OAuth 2.0:
   • SMART on FHIR pairs HL7 FHIR (Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources, specifically R4) data models with OAuth 2.0 security.
   • When a clinician clicks a button inside the EHR (e.g., Epic Hyperspace or Oracle Health PowerChart), the EHR launches your web application via an iFrame or external window.
   • Crucially, it passes an encrypted launch token and the active patient context (the patient ID and encounter ID ) so your telehealth app opens directly to the correct patient without requiring a manual search or secondary login.
2. Go Through Formal Developer Programs:
   • Epic: Register and build via Epic on FHIR / Connection Hub . You will create an app record, develop against their sandbox using synthetic data, pass their rigorous security and privacy review, and get listed on the Epic Showroom (formerly App Orchard).
   • Oracle Health / Cerner: Register via the Oracle Health Code Console (formerly Cerner CODE/Ignite). Register your app's SMART launch URL and scopes to receive your OAuth 2.0 client credentials for testing in their sandbox.

Telehealth Solutions that Enable Launch-in-Context

Several enterprise telehealth and digital health platforms natively support EHR launch-in-context workflows for both Epic and Cerner/Oracle Health:

• Amwell (American Well): Extensively integrated with Epic's App Orchard/Connection Hub and Cerner, allowing clinicians to launch a video visit directly from a patient’s chart with one click.
• Teladoc Health / Solo: Provides enterprise-grade virtual care workflows that embed into major EHR toolbars via SMART on FHIR.
• Zoom for Healthcare / Webex for Health: Offers customized EHR integrations/extensions that support launching contextually from Epic Hyperspace and PowerChart.
• Tyto Care: Features built-in EHR integration capabilities designed to launch examination and video visit suites straight from the patient chart.
• Custom/Proprietary Solutions: If you are building your own application, any web-based video platform (utilizing WebRTC) wrapped in a SMART on FHIR client architecture can achieve a native launch-in-context experience once approved through Epic Showroom or Oracle Code.

If you'd like to narrow this down, please share:

• Are you building a proprietary telehealth app or evaluating an off-the-shelf vendor to purchase?
• Do you need the integration to be 1-way (launch only) or bi-directional (writing clinical notes, encounter times, or vitals back into the EHR)?

Yes. If your requirement is “the clinician is in Epic or Cerner/Oracle Health, clicks something, and lands in the telehealth visit with the patient/encounter context already carried over,” the key integration pattern is SMART on FHIR / EHR launch, rather than a simple API connection.

The basic architecture

EHR → Launch-in-context → Telehealth application → Video session

1. The clinician opens the patient/encounter in Epic Hyperspace or Oracle Health/Cerner Millennium.
2. They click your telehealth app from the EHR workflow.
3. The EHR launches your application's URL with an OAuth/SMART launch context.
4. Your app obtains an access token and receives context such as patient ID, encounter ID, and current user.
5. Your backend uses FHIR APIs to retrieve whatever clinical/scheduling information it needs.
6. Your telehealth platform starts or joins the appropriate video session.
7. The clinician can remain in the EHR while conducting/documenting the visit.

Epic explicitly supports this EHR-launch model, including passing patient context and optionally embedding a web app in Hyperspace. fhir.epic.com Oracle Health similarly supports SMART launches with patient, encounter, and user context.

Which telehealth solutions support this?

Zoom is probably the clearest off-the-shelf answer. Its Epic integration allows clinicians to launch Zoom directly from an Epic video-visit workflow, with the video link placed in the Epic appointment. It also has an Epic FHIR integration using OAuth.

Microsoft Teams also has an EHR connector for Epic that lets clinicians launch a Teams virtual patient appointment or provider consultation directly from Epic.

For Cerner/Oracle Health, the underlying capability is particularly important: Oracle Health supports SMART on FHIR applications launched in the context of the current patient/encounter, and its documentation explicitly describes patient and encounter context.

There are also specialized telehealth vendors implementing this model. For example, an Oracle Marketplace implementation guide for SOC Telemed/Telemed IQ describes a SMART-on-FHIR integration and configuring a launch link in the Cerner workflow with patient, encounter, and user identifiers.

If you're building the telehealth product yourself

I'd design around SMART on FHIR R4 + OAuth 2.0, with EHR-specific configuration rather than building separate proprietary integrations.

Epic's current guidance actually recommends SMART App Launch for UI applications that need to launch from and optionally embed in Epic.

So, if you're evaluating vendors: I'd shortlist Zoom and Microsoft Teams for a general-purpose video infrastructure, and then evaluate specialized healthcare telehealth platforms if you need scheduling, clinical workflows, documentation, waiting rooms, device integration, etc.

If you tell me whether you're looking to build the telehealth platform or buy one, I can map out the Epic + Cerner integration architecture, APIs/scopes, launch workflow, and vendor options in more detail.