Can Epic Handle the epic Kaiser Contract?(Epic Systems Corp. wins a $1.8 billion contract from Kaiser Permanente)

Epic Systems Corp. scored a huge win with its $1.8 billion contract to implement a slew of enterprisewide clinical and financial information systems for Kaiser Permanente. But the scope of the massive project begs the question: Is Epic big enough for the job?

That was a definite concern, acknowledges Andrew Wiesenthal, M.D., associate executive director at Permanente Foundation, the umbrella organization for Permanente Medical Groups.

The groups are physician organizations not employed by Kaiser but dedicated solely to treating the Oakland, Calif.-based HMO's 8.5…