There has been significant chatter in the EHR and health IT space about the recent spat between dominant vendor Epic and the CommonWell Health Alliance, which consists mainly of other EHR vendors who compete with Epic but also advocate for interoperability.
Here’s a break down of recent events and some context.
Peter DeVault, who heads interop efforts for Epic, drew the ire of Alliance members when he said the Wisconsin-based vendor didn’t want to be a part of the Alliance because of the hefty cost associated with joining the group. Asked by Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wisconsin, at a Senate HELP Committee hearing on the matter why Epic isn’t on board, Healthcare IT News reported DeVault as saying:
“When we were approached by them and asked to join, we were told that it would be multiple millions of dollars for us to join and that we would have to sign (a non-disclosure agreement).” “To us, the only reasons to have an NDA are if they’re going to tell you something that otherwise they wouldn’t want people to know. That lack of transparency didn’t sit well with us.”
And that, in turn, didn’t sit so well with members of the Alliance, prompting the ever-quotable Jonathan Bush, head of cloud EHR vendor athenahealth, to weigh in via Twitter, directly addressing Epic CEO Judy Faulkner.
Judy, Judy, Judy. Can’t afford 1.4M? Puh-leese! @athenahealth will for you. Join @CommonWell and lets connect.
— Jonathan Bush (@Jonathan_Bush) March 18, 2015
And Cerner countered with an actual break down of how Epic might find some wiggle room with it finances, offering even to help Epic with the cost if it can’t find the money in its $1.8 billion in 2014 revenues.
A Deep-dive Into Specialty Pharma
A specialty drug is a class of prescription medications used to treat complex, chronic or rare medical conditions. Although this classification was originally intended to define the treatment of rare, also termed “orphan” diseases, affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the US, more recently, specialty drugs have emerged as the cornerstone of treatment for chronic and complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS.
.@Jonathan_Bush “This should cover it. If not, we’ll pay 1/2” – NLP @athenahealth @CommonWell pic.twitter.com/W2VRM4seJV
— Cerner (@Cerner) March 18, 2015
CommonWell’s membership and service fee structure indicate that Epic would have to pay $1.25 million for an annual subscription fee and up to $90,000 in annual dues, Healthcare IT News reported.
On the surface, this is seemingly about the juggernaut that is Epic being stingy when it’s sitting on nearly half of the entire EHR market for both hospitals and physician practices. But it underscores longer-held feelings toward Epic by other vendors, many of whom have long been critical of Epic’s perceived closed nature and reluctance to get on board with full-scale interoperability.
Although, to be fair, in recent months Epic has made some noted efforts in the area, including a forthcoming app store and calling for a national record locator service, both of which could be promising developments for interoperability and innovation in the EHR space. While those efforts earned praise, DeVault’s recent comments seem to have rekindled a less-than-genteel relationship with other vendors.
Cerner, a major competitor, was none too pleased, particularly with remarks that called into question CommonWell’s participation rate for interoperability.
The “rhetoric is a slap in the face to many parties working to advance interoperability,” according to a statement released by Cerner officials, as reported by Healthcare IT News. “It was discouraging to hear more potshots and false statements when it’s clear there is real work to be done. We’re committed to CommonWell as a practical, market-led way to achieve meaningful interoperability.”
This latest spat comes just ahead of HIMSS 2015 in less than a month, where there has been a history of traded barbs from Bush, Epic and others. In 2013, Bush made an unsubtle call for all vendors to join, including those of “epic proportions.” Epic countered that is was never officially asked to join.
It’s looking like HIMSS 2015 will be pretty epic, indeed.
