When Judy Faulkner was starting Epic in the late 1970s, she got an assist from Neil Pappalardo, the late founder of EHR company Meditech.
“He and others at Meditech shared advice with me; for example, how to assign offices, what to do about titles, forms to fill out such as for vacation — and everything they shared was very helpful,” Ms. Faulkner recalled in a Feb. 23 blog post.
Mr. Pappalardo, who died Jan. 27 at the age of 83, created Meditech in 1969. Ms. Faulkner founded her company 10 years later, and while the two firms have competed over the years — Epic and Meditech ranked first and third in acute care hospital EHR market share in 2024, respectively — she said Epic holds Meditech in “high regard.”
For one, like Epic, “they never went public, so they avoid the tyranny of the quarter,” Ms. Faulkner wrote.
She remembered an endearing story about Mr. Pappalardo: “Years ago, when they were helping us get started, Neil invited me to his home for dinner. I realized it was unusual when his kids asked why a piece of folded cloth was next to each plate. I felt honored to be there.”
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