Epic Systems, the dominant seller of electronic health records in the United States, selectively withholds access to patient data in ways that disadvantage rival software developers, a STAT investigation published on October 28 found. Executives at 12 companies that Epic itself showcases on its app marketplace for hospital customers told STAT that the company 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.
The scale is what makes the practice consequential. STAT reports that Epic collects more than $6.5 billion a year in revenue, wins the largest share of new hospital contracts, and holds data on some 8 in 10 Americans. Hospital executives as well as developers said Epic’s growing market power is blocking adoption of software products they consider beneficial.
Epic’s position, as reported by STAT, is that it provides more connections to its data than federal law requires and that it has won praise for supporting its hospital customers. The dispute is therefore not whether Epic shares data, but who decides the terms: federal interoperability rules set a floor, and STAT’s reporting describes a private gatekeeper operating above that floor, deciding which third party tools reach the patient record at the center of United States hospital care. For investors in health software, the investigation reframes Epic not as a vendor but as the market’s effective regulator.