Epic faces Federal Trade Commission antitrust investigation, Reuters reports
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has opened an antitrust investigation into Epic and is looking into its data-sharing practices, Reuters reported on Friday.
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has launched an antitrust investigation into Epic Systems, according to Reuters. The probe focuses on Epic's data-sharing practices and has been prompted by demands sent to other companies in the health technology industry for information about how Epic grants or denies data access. Epic, the leading electronic health record (EHR) software provider in the U.S., commands 43.7% of the acute-care EHR market, giving it significant influence over its hospital customers.
The company serves over 3,700 hospitals and has medical records for more than 325 million patients. The FTC's investigation into Epic's practices comes as the company hosts its annual Users Group Meeting (UGM) in Verona, Wisconsin, attracting around 20,000 attendees. The FTC is also examining Epic for potential violations of antitrust law, probing the company on two fronts: its employment agreements that restrict workers from joining competitors and its alleged use of market dominance to limit rivals' access to patient data.
Epic has responded to the allegations, stating that it is a leader in interoperability and complies with standards-based data-sharing practices.
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