Most customers not affected by Particle Health’s ongoing dispute with Epic

Particle Health announced that the majority of its customers are still able to access records from Epic Systems despite an ongoing dispute between the two companies over data-sharing practices. Epic Systems, a medical software giant, supports over 300 million patient records. Particle Health acts as a middleman, helping healthcare organizations access the data they need. Both companies are part of Carequality, an interoperability network that facilitates the exchange of patient information on a large scale.

On March 21, Epic filed a formal dispute with Carequality, expressing concerns that Particle and its participant organizations may be inaccurately representing the purpose associated with their record retrievals. Organizations must comply with “Permitted Purposes” to join the Carequality network, primarily related to treatment, for the exchange of patient records. Patient data is protected by HIPAA, a federal law that requires patient consent or knowledge for third-party access.

While Epic has stopped responding to data requests from some of Particle’s customers due to the dispute, most clients have not been affected. Particle is working to have Epic restore connections for impacted customers, and many have already returned to normal operations. Although there is an ongoing dispute, the majority of Particle Health customers impacted by Epic’s actions were not related to the specific dispute.

Particle Health’s CEO, Jason Prestinario, stated that the company will address the dispute with Epic through official procedural channels. Epic has not yet responded to CNBC’s request for comment. As the situation continues to develop, both companies are working towards a resolution to ensure the continued exchange of patient data.