Epic Hyperspace is the nervous system of a modern healthcare organization, facilitating everything from electronic medical records (EMR) management to clinical workflows and billing operations. But if you’ve worked in healthcare IT, you already know that Epic printing is often the Achilles’ heel of an otherwise well-integrated system.
Jump ahead to EHR/EMR challenges and quick solutions
1. How Epic Hyperspace Routes Print Jobs & Points of Failure
2. Print Spooler Failures and Stuck Jobs
3. Virtual Desktop Session & Redirection Issues
4. Misrouted Print Jobs in Multi-Site Hospitals
5. Print Management Solution for EHR/EMR Printing
Unlike general enterprise printing, Epic printing isn’t just about getting documents onto paper—it’s about precision, security, and timing. A single failure can cascade into operational, financial, and compliance risks. Consider these mission-critical scenarios:
Now, add the complexity of VDI environments (Citrix, VMware, etc), multi-site hospital networks, and remote MyChart printing. Suddenly, print management isn't just IT's problem—it affects patient care.
Printing in hospitals is fundamentally different from traditional enterprise printing. Unlike a corporate office where employees print documents at will, EHR/EMR printing is deeply embedded into stringent clinical requirements and regulation processes and applications.
Downtime is not an option: A single failed print job in a hospital setting can delay treatment, misroute patient orders, and disrupt revenue cycles.As a result, Epic’s printing system is not a simple "send-to-printer" process—it's a complex system of dependencies, security, and clinical logic that must function perfectly across thousands of print jobs.
Unlike standard printing models that send documents directly from a user’s application to a printer, Epic uses a multi-layered print system, adding both efficiencies and vulnerabilities.
While this model provides scalability and control, it also introduces several potential points of failure that can disrupt operations, slow down print jobs, and cause security gaps.
Many IT leaders find themselves in a constant cycle of troubleshooting the same recurring problems as they pile up in the IT help desk queue.
These kinds of support tickets aren’t minor inconveniences but point systemic failures in print infrastructure that can cost hospitals millions annually in lost productivity, compliance fines, and wasted resources.
Hospitals process thousands of print jobs daily, and many rely on Windows-based print servers to manage print queues. However, this architecture creates a major single point of failure:
High print volumes in large hospitals often crash the spooler unexpectedly. This issue is particularly severe when running the Windows Print Spooler, which crashes most frequently due to:
✔ Enable Automatic Spooler Recovery – Use PowerShell scripts to detect and restart spoolers before failures escalate. For example:
if ((Get-Service -Name "Spooler").Status -ne "Running") { Start-Service "Spooler" }
✔ Deploy Load-Balanced Print Servers – Spread print traffic across multiple servers for high availability.
✔ Enable Print Job Logging & Retention – Store print job metadata to diagnose and prevent recurring failures.
✔ Eliminate Spooler Dependency – Solutions like Tricerat’s ScewDrivers allow processing of Epic print jobs directly at the workstation level.
Hospitals increasingly rely on Citrix Virtual Apps & Desktops or VMware Horizon to deliver Epic Hyperspace to remote and mobile users. However, VDI printing is notoriously unreliable, leading to:
✔ Enable Epic Virtual Local Print (VLP) – Bypasses Citrix/VMware print redirection, improving reliability.
✔ Use Active Directory GPOs – Assigns printers based on location, role, and department policy.
✔ Implement Citrix Session Persistence – Ensures settings remain unchanged across logins.
Large hospitals with multiple campuses, outpatient clinics, and specialty centers often experience misrouted print jobs, which cause:
These routing errors delay critical operations, increase security risks, and create workflow inefficiencies.
✔ Use Epic Dynamic Print Mapping – Ensures printers are assigned based on workstation ID and user role.
✔ Deploy a Print Management Console – Centralizes print job tracking, auditing, and redirection.
✔ Enable VLAN-Based Printer Segmentation – Restricts print jobs to specific locations.
> For CIOs & IT Directors – Epic print should be treated as a priority—not just a desktop support issue.
> For System Administrators – Reducing print-related workload means automating repetitive troubleshooting tasks and eliminating dependencies on fragile infrastructure.
> For Compliance & Security – PHI must be protected across print workflows, just like digital setups.
The healthcare industry is undergoing massive digital transformation—but printing remains a stubborn weak link in IT infrastructure. Ignoring Epic printing issues is no longer an option.
IT teams must move beyond break-fix troubleshooting and adopt proactive print strategies that ensure:
✔ Always-available printing for patient care.
✔ PHI security & HIPAA compliance.
✔ Scalable, self-healing print workflows.
If your hospital still struggles with print spooler crashes, misrouted PHI, and Citrix printing failures, it’s time to rethink your print strategy.
Tricerat specializes in Epic, Citrix, and enterprise print management for healthcare. Learn how our solutions eliminate print bottlenecks, improve security, and reduce IT workload—so your team can focus on what really matters: patient care.