Epic’s alleged anticompetitive practices under scrutiny from federal, state investigators

The Federal Trade Commission is examining Epic Systems Corp., the nation’s largest electronic health records vendor, for potential antitrust violations as part of a broad inquiry into its business practices, according to four people recently contacted by investigators. The probe is in its early stages and may never lead to charges, but investigators have asked about company policies that have generated complaints and lawsuits from former employees and rivals.

The government appears to be pursuing two lines of inquiry. One focuses on Epic’s agreements that bar employees from working for a wide range of health care businesses that directly or indirectly compete with the company. The other examines Epic’s use of its dominant market position and leverage over hospital customers to block rival technology companies from accessing patient data needed to support their businesses.

Attorneys general in multiple states have also joined interviews or reached out to private lawyers for information, according to three people who spoke with STAT. Federal investigators do not appear close to filing charges and may examine Epic for years, but the intensity and number of entities involved has been ramping up in recent months. Epic denied engaging in anticompetitive behavior, citing its interoperability accomplishments, including national record-sharing network participation and over 1,000 developer connections. The FTC declined to comment. Epic, founded in 1979 in Madison, Wis., by Judith Faulkner with $70,000 in startup funds, now serves the largest and most influential U.S. hospitals and has expanded into related businesses for insurers and other health care entities.