Epic Systems controls health data on 8 in 10 Americans, blocks rivals

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By most measures, Epic Systems Corp. is a runaway success. Its record-keeping systems, invented at the dawn of personal computers in a Wisconsin basement, are now ubiquitous inside the nation’s largest hospitals. The company collects more than $6.5 billion a year in revenue, wins the lion’s share of new contracts, and holds data on some 8 in 10 Americans. Almost nothing happens in this technology universe without Epic’s involvement — or approval.

But the company’s increasing dominance is driven by fierce and uncompromising business tactics that have crushed competitors, thwarted innovation, and put a single, privately-held business in charge of patient data needed to power medicine’s next generation of technology.

A STAT investigation found that Epic, the nation’s largest seller of electronic health records, is selectively withholding access to these data to the disadvantage of rival software tools, leaving its own products unchallenged. Executives of 12 companies that Epic showcases on its app marketplace for hospital customers told STAT that the software giant has undercut their businesses by denying access to crucial data interfaces and technical specifications, spreading negative rumors about their products, or charging high fees for access.

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