Epic Systems’ ‘Stranglehold’ on U.S. Medical Records Harms Patient Care: Lawsuit

NEW YORK, September 23, 2024 – Particle Health, an intelligent data platform that aggregates and delivers actionable patient data and insights to healthcare companies, filed a federal antitrust lawsuit today against Epic Systems Corporation, the privately-held software giant that controls the health information of up to 94 percent of Americans. Filed in the Southern District of New York, the suit alleges Epic is using its monopoly power over electronic health records (EHRs) to bar Particle from the fledgling payer platform market –  just one example of Epic plotting to “snuff out” competition in new markets that leverage medical records.

“Epic Systems controls the medical information of nearly every American – meaning one private company has unchecked power over our health care,” said Particle Health CEO Jason Prestinario. “Now, Epic is using that power to thwart an emerging industry intended to bring payers and providers into closer collaboration for better patient care.”

Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP – recently named the world’s “Most Feared” law firm by BTI Consulting Group for the third year in a row – filed the antitrust suit on behalf of Particle. The suit seeks an adjudication that Epic has violated the Sherman Act – the cornerstone of U.S. antitrust enforcement – as well as monetary damages and injunctive relief compelling Epic to cease its anticompetitive conduct.

Particle's lawsuit alleges that Epic is using its dominance in the electronic health records (EHR) market to prevent competition in the payer platform market. This emerging market holds the promise of transforming historically inefficient, paper- and fax-based processes into scalable systems for analyzing health records, predicting patient risk, and informing better care decisions. Like others in this emerging sector, Particle relies on the safe and secure exchange of health information. Epic’s actions have inappropriately hindered this exchange, the complaint alleges.

“Our health care system stands at a crossroads,” Prestinario said. “Timely and complete medical information is critical to effective care. Regrettably, Epic is hoarding the data, showing how it can rapidly seize control of all markets that depend on the clinical records that rightfully belong to patients.”

Epic has used a multi-tentacled approach to try to squash Particle. Over the past six months, it has cut off access to data for Particle’s customers, lobbed now-discredited complaints, and overwhelmed Particle’s support operations by stoking baseless security concerns. Absent repercussions, Epic will be incentivized to run this playbook again the next time a competitor emerges.

Epic’s manipulation of EHR access is already having negative consequences for doctors and patients. The complaint details how a network of community oncology practices has seen over 2,800 patients' quality of care harmed, due to Epic deliberately blocking  important clinical information to doctors who work on Epic’s EHR software. These are records that providers who use Epic systems should have received – and which Particle has attempted to deliver – but which have been blocked by Epic. This instance “shows just how far Epic is willing to go to harm Particle: it is willing to cut its own customers off from vital patient data, risking the lives of the most vulnerable patients in the process,” the complaint states.

“Particle’s mission is to unlock the power of medical records in an intelligent platform that focuses health back on the patient, improving healthcare for providers and health plans, too,” Prestinario said. “We don’t take this action lightly, but when patient care is being harmed and powerful incumbents are stymieing progress, we’re forced to do something.”

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‍About Particle Health: At Particle Health, our mission is to unlock the power of medical records in an intelligent platform that focuses health back on the patient. We do this by connecting to national and state medical- record exchanges, which facilitates medical-record sharing and interoperability. This gives us access to comprehensive longitudinal data on millions of patients. Powered by machine learning and AI that allows us to harness this data, our platform synthesizes critical clinical insights to help our customers accomplish their missions of treating patients effectively.