Particle Health Files Antitrust Lawsuit Against Epic
Particle Health, the data sharing and analytics company, has filed a complaint court case filed Monday in the Southern District of New York, alleging that Epic Systems Corp. is abusing its monopoly on electronic health records to prevent its healthcare customers from obtaining complete patient medical records — and also to bar the Particle platform from competing in the fledgling payment platform market.
‘Unchecked power’
Particle Health said in a statement sent to Healthcare IT News that she is not bringing the lawsuit frivolously, but that she is bringing the case to prevent harm to patients.
“When patient care is at risk and powerful forces are blocking progress, we must act,” Jason Prestinario, the company’s CEO, said in the statement.
Particle claims that Epic Sherman Antitrust ActThe court is seeking damages and an injunction.
“After Epic’s clear abuse of power, we believe it is our responsibility to defend our mission, which drives innovation and ensures patients receive ethical and transparent quality care,” Prestinario also said in a statement Monday. message on social media.
He added that the EHR giant — which holds the health information of nearly every American — is using its dominance to thwart “a nascent industry that is breaking down patient data silos that are notorious in healthcare,” and alleged that “one private company has unchecked power over our healthcare system.”
For example, Particle alleges that the quality of care for more than 2,800 patients in oncology practices has been compromised because Epic blocked key clinical information from physicians using Epic’s EHR software.
While Particle has attempted to achieve those records, the company stated in its complaint that Epic is willing to go to great lengths to beat the competition.
“The company is willing to cut off its own customers from access to important patient data, putting the lives of the most vulnerable patients at risk,” Particle said in a statement.
Response from Epic
“Particle’s claims are unfounded,” an Epic spokesperson said. Healthcare IT News Monday by email.
In March, Epic filed a formal dispute with Carequality, a nonprofit that hosts a nationwide health information exchange, alleging that Particle shared patient data for purposes not permitted under the Privacy Protection Act, according to a proposition on the latter’s website. Particle denied wrongdoing and said it had complied with all of Epic’s informal inquiries over several months.
“With this lawsuit, we are attempting to distract from the real issue: Particle’s unlawful actions on the Carequality health information exchange network violated HIPAA privacy rules,” the Epic spokesperson said.
“Particle’s complaint misrepresents Carequality’s decision, which essentially proposes to ban Particle customers from accessing patient data for impermissible purposes.”
Particle also said that Epic not only blocked access to data, but also filed “now discredited complaints” and overwhelmed Particle’s support efforts by stoking unfounded security concerns.
We have reached out to Carequality, the clinical interoperability framework, for a statement and will update the story when a statement is available.
Recent history of disputes
Particle Health, which according to its website collects, cleans and contextualizes clinical data to provide a clearer picture of patient health, has been embroiled in a dispute with Epic for nearly six months.
In April, company founder Troy Bannister confirmed that Epic was no longer responding to customer requests for patient information about the Carequality framework.
“These partners have all been assessed by Carequality before being onboarded and are entitled to fair and transparent treatment by the network and other implementers,” he said in a social media post. after.
“Carequality takes every dispute very seriously and strives to maintain the integrity of the dispute resolution process and the trusted exchange within the framework,” the interoperability framework responded in a proposition a few days later on her website.
However, “Carequality cannot make any statements about the existence of any dispute or about the activities of the implementers.”
Bannister said that despite Epic disconnecting providers on a “massive scale” without warning, Particle – a startup that millions in investments in 2022 and 2020 would stay connected to the framework for the exchange of health information.
“Our healthcare system is at a crossroads,” Particle’s Prestinario said in a statement. “Timely and complete medical information is critical to effective care. Unfortunately, Epic is hoarding the data, demonstrating how it can quickly seize control of all markets that rely on the clinical records that rightfully belong to patients.”
“Epic’s software is open and interoperable, allowing healthcare organizations to easily share data under HIPAA and all applicable regulations,” a spokesperson for the EHR company said in an email. “Epic will continue to protect patient privacy and vigorously defend itself against Particle’s baseless claims.”
Andrea Fox is Editor-in-Chief of Healthcare IT News.
Email address: afox@himss.org
Healthcare IT News is a publication of HIMSS Media.