4 major healthcare IT lawsuits to know

As healthcare IT grows, so do its legal fees.

Several major healthcare IT players are currently involved in legal battles or have recently settled. The ongoing legal battle between the state of Oregon and Oracle over the state's failed health insurance exchange has drawn attention nationwide and national insurer Anthem is now arbitrating five individual lawsuits after it suffered a massive cyberattack in early February.

Here are four ongoing legal battles involving healthcare IT's biggest players.


1. Epic Systems Corp. v. Tata Consultancy Service: Epic filed a lawsuit against Indian conglomerate Tata Consultancy Services for allegedly stealing its trade secrets. Epic is seeking an injunction and yet-to-be-determined damages. Verona, Wis.-based Epic claims Tata workers were brought on as consultants to a Kaiser Permanente Sunnyside Medical Center in Portland, Ore., to help with the implementation of an Epic system there and took more than 6,000 documents containing Epic's system development information. The case was filed in October 2014 and is set to be heard in April 2016, according to the Wisconsin State Journal.

2. Lewis, J. v Epic and Long, D. v Epic: Months after Epic settled another overtime wages lawsuit for $5.4 million, two more nearly identical lawsuits were filed against the company seeking overtime wages. The two lawsuits, which were filed on behalf of two technical workers, claim the company wrongfully withheld overtime pay based on an incorrect classification of employees. Wisconsin law allows for exemption of overtime pay for some professions, but the writers claim they did not fit into those definitions. An initial hearing is set for March 20, according to the Wisconsin State Journal.

3. Medfusion Inc. v. Allscripts: Cary, N.C.-based Medfusion abruptly terminated its relationship with EHR provider Allscripts in April 2014, claiming payment disputes. The lawsuit claimed breach of contract, fraudulent inducement, fraud and violation of North Carolina's unfair methods of competition and deceptive trade statutes by Allscripts. Medfusion is seeking an undetermined amount in damages, according to Allscripts' annual financial report. Medfusion had been contracted to provide a patient portal and website to Allscripts providers, and users were given warning and the option to continue using Medfusion separately from Allscripts. The case is currently set to be heard in February 2016.

4. RLIS v. Allscripts and Cerner: RLIS, a non-practicing entity, filed a lawsuit in 2012 naming Allscripts and Cerner as defendants in a patent violation lawsuit. RLIS claims it has a patent on the system for collection and storage of EMRs, which eventually became TeleMed, and that the two companies violated its patent. The company sought between $35.3 million and $38.2 million in damages, as well as attorney fees and an ongoing royalty. The trial took place from Jan. 6 through Jan. 16, 2015 and ended in a dismissal, but RLIS has indicated that it may appeal the decision, according to Cerner's financial statements.

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