Epic stays the chart of record. Dock is where the agent drafts the note, the clinician reviews it, and the sign-off is recorded against the encounter. In this workflow, nothing goes into Epic without a clinician's explicit approval. Every approved note carries a pointer back to the Epic encounter ID, the agent that drafted it, and the clinician who signed. The same pattern works for athenahealth practices.
Healthcare data is sensitive. Hold any tool, Dock included, to your own HIPAA policies and your compliance team's review before you connect clinical systems.
The architectural split
Epic and athenahealth stay the systems of record for the raw chart: vitals, labs, orders, prior notes, problem list. Dock holds the work around the chart: what the agent drafted, the reasoning, the clinician reviewer, the decision, and the timestamp. Each Dock row carries a pointer back to the platform record (epic_encounter_id or athena_chart_id). When anyone needs current chart state, they check Epic with the practice's own access. How much clinical detail sits in a Dock row, and for how long, is a decision for your compliance team.
One Dock surface: the draft-note review table
| epic_encounter_id | patient_mrn (masked) | agent | draft_summary | clinician_reviewer | decision | signed_at |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ENC-8821044 | *--4419 | scribe-agent-v3 | 47F follow-up HTN, BP 138/88, continue lisinopril 20mg, recheck 6wk | dr.patel@clinic | approved + signed | 2026-05-30T14:22Z |
| ENC-8821067 | *--7732 | scribe-agent-v3 | 63M post-op day 14, incision clean, sutures removed, return PRN | dr.okafor@clinic | edited + signed | 2026-05-30T14:48Z |
| ENC-8821081 | *--2210 | scribe-agent-v3 | 29F prenatal wk 22, fundal height 22cm, FHR 148, next visit 4wk | pending | awaiting review | --- |
One worked workflow
Here is how a team could set this up with its own Epic access. A clinician finishes an encounter. The transcript and the relevant chart context come into Dock through whatever export or access your organization already has approved. The scribe agent drafts a SOAP note into a new Dock row tagged with epic_encounter_id ENC-8821044. The clinician opens the row, edits two lines, and clicks approve. That approval is the team's two-key handshake: only after it does someone on the team file the finalized note in Epic. The Dock row keeps the diff between draft and signed version, plus the agent, the clinician, and the timestamp. If your Epic build allows it, the team can add the Dock row ID to the note so the two records point at each other.
Why it matters
The AMA frames AI in medicine as augmented intelligence, where the design enhances human judgment rather than replacing it (AMA, Augmented Intelligence in Medicine). That principle only holds in practice if the agent draft and the clinician sign-off are separate, inspectable artifacts. Dock keeps them separate.
Good clinical record-keeping means every write has a reviewer and the history survives staff turnover. Dock's row history gives your compliance team a clear record to review, in line with the direction federal health IT policy is taking on AI in clinical care (HealthIT.gov / ONC).
Because the agent has its own identity, retiring scribe-agent-v3 does not touch any clinician account. See agent identity lifecycle for clinical agent rotation cadence.
CTA
Review agent-drafted notes in Dock before they go into Epic. See Dock for healthcare operations.
FAQ
Should PHI go into Dock? That is for your compliance team to decide. In this workflow, the canonical note lives in Epic once the clinician signs. Dock keeps the review record: who, when, and what changed.
Is this an Epic integration? No. Dock is where the draft, the reasoning, and the sign-off live. Moving data in and out of Epic happens through your organization's own Epic access and whatever processes your IT and compliance teams have approved.
What if the agent drafts something wrong? The clinician edits or rejects the draft in Dock before anything reaches Epic. The rejection is recorded. See agent audit and compliance for how rejection patterns surface.
What does this give our compliance team? Every draft, edit, and sign-off is a row with the agent, the clinician, the Epic encounter pointer, and a timestamp. That is a clear record to review, without scraping Epic logs. More in Dock for compliance.