Epic’s reach continued to widen in August, with new AI tools, health IT staffing services and interoperability features arriving alongside an FTC antitrust probe and developments in its legal fight over patient data.
Here are eight Epic updates Becker’s has reported in August:
- Epic’s unveiled a new program called “Rangers program,” which would embed Epic-hired, Epic-trained employees inside health system IT departments on a long-term basis, putting the EHR vendor in more direct competition with outside consulting firms. CIOs told Becker’s the model could appeal to organizations struggling to recruit specialized Epic talent, particularly for hard-to-fill applications, while also raising questions about cost, scalability and how Rangers could reshape an already consolidating consulting market. Unlike Epic’s project-based Boost program, Rangers would remain on Epic’s payroll and training structure while working within customer organizations.
- Epic welcomed 11 new U.S. hospitals and health systems at its annual Users Group Meeting, held Aug. 17-20 in Verona, Wis. Some of those health systems include: Tampa, Fla-based Moffitt Cancer Center; Augusta, Maine-based MaineGeneral Health; and Norfolk, Va.-based Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters.
- Epic is planning to add a new MyChart feature that will let patients ask the platform’s AI assistant, Emmie, to help set and work toward personal wellness goals. The tool will help patients quit smoking, increase physical activity, track sleep and pursue other health goals, with wellness plans personalized using information already in a patient’s chart.
- Epic President and CEO Judy Faulkner used her Aug. 18 UGM executive address to introduce a broad slate of AI tools, new products for smaller healthcare organizations and expanded customer support, all tied to “Ergo,” Epic’s new healthcare intelligence platform. The company said Ergo combines generative AI with data from the EHR, MyChart, the healthcare network and Cosmos, Epic’s database of 320 million deduplicated, de-identified patients. Ms. Faulkner also spoke about new and expanding tools which include AI-generated charting and visit summaries, Cosmos-powered clinical decision support, a predictive tool called Curiosity, an AI agent-building platform called Agent Factory and an assistant designed to help health system IT analysts complete Epic build work faster.
- The Federal Trade Commission opened an antitrust investigation into Epic, according to an Aug. 14 Reuters report citing two unnamed sources familiar with the matter. The FTC has reportedly sought information from other health technology companies about how Epic grants or restricts access to patient data. Epic, which holds 43.7% of the U.S. acute care hospital EHR market, denied engaging in anticompetitive behavior and said it supports broad interoperability through TEFCA, open APIs and its Care Everywhere network.
- Epic released Care Everywhere Diagnostic Image Exchange, allowing health systems on its EHR to directly share full diagnostic-quality CT, X-ray and MRI images. The tool addresses a longstanding interoperability gap in which diagnostic images were stored outside the EHR, often forcing clinicians to retrieve scans manually or patients to transport them on CDs.
- New Orleans-based Ochsner Health became the first health system to use Epic’s Ergo Visit, an AI-supported outpatient visit tool designed to help clinicians prepare for appointments, stay present during patient conversations and finish documentation before the visit ends.
- Epic’s January lawsuit against Health Gorilla is expected to join a newly centralized multidistrict litigation over allegations that the data-sharing company improperly enabled access to patient records through Carequality and TEFCA. An Aug. 7 order from the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation consolidated nine related class-action lawsuits in the Southern District of Florida and said Epic’s case is expected to be added through a separate transfer process.
At the Becker's 11th Annual IT + Revenue Cycle Conference: The Future of AI & Digital Health, taking place September 14–17 in Chicago, healthcare executives and digital leaders from across the country will come together to explore how AI, interoperability, cybersecurity, and revenue cycle innovation are transforming care delivery, strengthening financial performance, and driving the next era of digital health. Apply for complimentary registration now.
