I don't really understand the strength of Particle or Epic's legal arguments, but I do talk with health tech innovators everyday who feel that Epic's dominate position in the industry stifles competition. I have seen firsthand, more than once, how Epic will meet with a company and deeply understand what they do and than announce future products in the space. The way they coach customers to simplify life by just deploying Epic products in addition to being self-serving surely promotes a large moat to protect thier business. Someone smarter than me will have to say whether their behavior is anti-competitive or monopolilsitc.
I would guess this is the first shot across the Epic bow of what may be many.
Matthew Holt - 9 hours ago
Not sure Particle can last long as a business, but I assume their lawsuit with its legal firm on contingency will take this a long way. But strip away the rhetoric, the behavior alleged in the lawsuit is just what you'd expect from a big bully monopoly--put the little guy in a touch position, go to their clients and make them an offer they can't refuse. I suspect this will be the first of many cuts that will end in a big FTC investigation into Epic. After all, as they say at HIMSS each year, basically everyone is on it and we're not replacing them anytime soon. In fact they are adding big regional systems (UPMC, Northwell, Intermountain) and there's basically no one left to sell to.
Epic's sensible solution would have been to pull a Bill Gates and give Steve Jobs/Particle, some money and an onramp onto their system, in exchange for agreed better behavior. Maybe they're worried about turning Apple 1997 into Apple 2015 but I think they could have managed that risk
My long term solution is to nationalize Epic and its provider customers, as they're all basically utilities sucking at the teet of the taxpayer, and extracting enormous value from their local economies, giving very little in the way of innovation or universal/charity care back. I accept this is America and that is unlikely but it's what we should do. After all in my homeland of the UK they privatized the water utilities in the 1980s & 1990s, and now the executives & shareholders are rich, the infrastructure is broken due to lack of investment, and the rivers and beaches are flooded with shit. We are moving towards that in health care here due to a non-discussed "need" to keep 100 hospital systems and their executives in the 0.1%
I don't really understand the strength of Particle or Epic's legal arguments, but I do talk with health tech innovators everyday who feel that Epic's dominate position in the industry stifles competition. I have seen firsthand, more than once, how Epic will meet with a company and deeply understand what they do and than announce future products in the space. The way they coach customers to simplify life by just deploying Epic products in addition to being self-serving surely promotes a large moat to protect thier business. Someone smarter than me will have to say whether their behavior is anti-competitive or monopolilsitc.
I would guess this is the first shot across the Epic bow of what may be many.
Not sure Particle can last long as a business, but I assume their lawsuit with its legal firm on contingency will take this a long way. But strip away the rhetoric, the behavior alleged in the lawsuit is just what you'd expect from a big bully monopoly--put the little guy in a touch position, go to their clients and make them an offer they can't refuse. I suspect this will be the first of many cuts that will end in a big FTC investigation into Epic. After all, as they say at HIMSS each year, basically everyone is on it and we're not replacing them anytime soon. In fact they are adding big regional systems (UPMC, Northwell, Intermountain) and there's basically no one left to sell to.
Epic's sensible solution would have been to pull a Bill Gates and give Steve Jobs/Particle, some money and an onramp onto their system, in exchange for agreed better behavior. Maybe they're worried about turning Apple 1997 into Apple 2015 but I think they could have managed that risk
My long term solution is to nationalize Epic and its provider customers, as they're all basically utilities sucking at the teet of the taxpayer, and extracting enormous value from their local economies, giving very little in the way of innovation or universal/charity care back. I accept this is America and that is unlikely but it's what we should do. After all in my homeland of the UK they privatized the water utilities in the 1980s & 1990s, and now the executives & shareholders are rich, the infrastructure is broken due to lack of investment, and the rivers and beaches are flooded with shit. We are moving towards that in health care here due to a non-discussed "need" to keep 100 hospital systems and their executives in the 0.1%