Epic is asking a U.S. federal judge to dismiss an antitrust lawsuit filed against them by startup Particle Health.
Seven things to know:
- On Oct. 15, Lauren Moskowitz, representing Epic, submitted a pre-motion letter to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. In it, she requested a pre-motion conference with U.S. District Judge Naomi Buchwald as part of Epic's strategy to dismiss Particle Health's suit filed Sept. 23.
- Epic alleges that Particle's suit is an attempt to divert attention from its customers' alleged breaches of patient privacy.
- The lawsuit, filed by Particle, an intelligent data platform that aggregates and delivers actionable patient data and insights to healthcare companies, alleged that Epic is stopping the company from entering the emerging payer platform market. The lawsuit also claims that Epic acted unfairly by questioning Particle's access to patient data within Carequality, a network designed to share health information for treatment purposes.
- Epic argues that Particle has been enabling its clients to access patient records for inappropriate reasons, including supporting a company that analyzes medical records for class-action lawsuits.
- Epic asserts that its actions, including raising concerns about Particle's activities, were necessary to protect patient privacy. They argue that Particle's lawsuit lacks merit and fails to establish that Epic engaged in any anticompetitive behavior.
- Epic seeks to have the case dismissed in its entirety, arguing that Particle's allegations are based on misstatements and a misunderstanding of the relevant markets and competition laws.
- This legal battle follows Epic's actions in March, when it filed a formal complaint with Carequality, alleging that Particle misrepresented its reasons for retrieving patient records. Organizations in the Carequality network must follow specific rules, mainly related to patient treatment, for data exchange. Under HIPAA, patient data is protected, requiring their consent or knowledge for third-party access. After reviewing the situation, Epic told CNBC in April that its customers requested that the company block a small number of groups from using Particle's Carequality connection to access their data. However, Particle claimed that access to its data was not fully severed at that time and refuted Epic's claims.