Accessing Epic with HSC accounts from OU VDI

The university-managed “OU-Epic” virtual desktop is the preferred way for university employees and students to access the Epic electronic health record (EHR). Access is available on and off the university network, from both university-owned and personal devices. OU Health employees should use the OU Health VDI (https://view.ouhealth.com) to access Epic.

Prerequisites:

• You must have an EMP record in Epic. This can be requested of OU Health, through OU IT, by clinic/departmental administrators.
• You must be a member of certain Active Directory groups in order to access the “OU-Epic” desktop as well as to launch Epic apps from the desktop. OU IT can verify this membership, and if necessary, modify it upon request from clinic/departmental administrators.
• You will need to use PingID to authenticate into the VDI solution, please see this page for more.

VDI delivers a CLEAN desktop with secure, encrypted access to network services. VDI does NOT duplicate your on-campus desktop computer. Files stored locally on your on-campus computer are not accessible via VDI.

Accessing VDI:

1. To begin, navigate to https://mydesk.ou.edu/
2. You will have the option to install the Horizon client or launch via HTML access. Both options will get you to Epic, but there is more functionality (e.g. printing to local printers) with the installed client. While not required, installation is generally recommended.

Client Installation:

1. To install, select the option for “Install VMWare Horizon Client”.
2. You will now be linked to the VMWare download website. Select the “Go to Downloads” link for your operating system.
3. Next click the Download button for your download, you can either download locally and then click to launch the file,or select Run if prompted by your browser.
4. When the .exe installer file launches, you will be prompted to agree to the privacy agreement and license terms. Select to Agree & Install.
5. The installer will now install the software package.
6. When the install completes, click Finish.
7. Select to Restart your computer to complete installation.
8. After the reboot and your operating system loads, select to launch “VMWare Horizon Client” from your installed programs list.

Connection to OU Server:

1. The first time you launch Horizon (either the client or the HTML Access), you will need to connect to the appropriate server. Once the program opens, select the Add Server option.
2. At the “Enter the name of the Connection Server” prompt, enter mydesk.ou.edu 
   
   

3. You will now be prompted to enter your username and passcode. Enter your OUHSC username and password.
4. You should now be prompted to accept the authentication in PingID.
5. To access Epic, select the “OU-Epic” icon from the list of available virtual desktops.

6. The desktop window will now load for your instance.
7. Your VDI desktop should look something like below. Notice there are a number of health-related icons, including Epic Prd. The icons may be different based on your level of access, and likely will be in a different order.