In the iconic film Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Cameron Frye is a whiny, rich kid who needs the coolest and most popular of friends to dig him out of the sad life hole he is in. We doubt that Epic Systems, the electronic health record giant, has been compared to Cameron Frye before — but it is no secret that it is the unpopular kid in the American health care system. (See here, here, here, here, here, and here.) Indeed, a 2019 Newsweek article explained that the Epic electronic medical record system is “so unpopular that if you mention the name, some doctors will literally start to scream.” With ~$3 billion in annual revenue and thousands of American hospitals using its systems, you would think that Epic would find a way to have more friends. And it just did. Epic is launching a new “Partners and Pals program” that will allow select third-party vendors to work closely with its electronic medical record platform. One of the first Epic “pals” is generative AI developer Abridge, which summarizes medical conversations and structures them in real-time for providers, payers, and patients inside the medical record. We already knew about two established Epic “partners” — clinical documentation company Nuance and survey software company Press Ganey — and the recent expansion of its partnership with Microsoft’s cloud infrastructure. We get it. Ferris Bueller needed a great car to have an epic day off in the city, so he had little choice but to get Cameron to come along. At the end of the movie, Cameron says: “Ferris, you’re my hero.” We wonder if Epic will be as openly appreciative if its reputation is saved by these cooler “pals and partners.”
August 18, 2023 | 3 min read
August 18, 2023
Maverick's Update
Only What Matters in Health Information Policy
REQUEST A DEMO
MyMaverick is a subscription service that provides access to analysis and news across the health technology policy landscape.
Sign Up
Speaking Engagements & Custom Services
Maverick offers a range of flexible services tailored to each client’s needs.
View Services