Health
data
network
Health
Gorilla
has
filed
a
motion
to
dismiss
a
lawsuit
brought
earlier
this
year
by
Epic
and
several
health
systems
alleging
improper
access
to
patient
records.
The
motion,
filed
last
Thursday,
called
Epic’s
lawsuit
“an
attack
on
interoperability.”
The
dispute
reflects
unresolved
ambiguities
in
how
data
interoperability
should
be
governed
across
the
healthcare
industry.
Experts
think
the
lawsuit
is
less
about
stopping
one
bad
actor
—
and
more
about
the
need
to
define
standardized
rules
and
boundaries
around
healthcare
data
exchange.
Epic’s
complaint,
filed
January
13,
claims
that
Health
Gorilla
enabled
other
companies
to
inappropriately
access
and
monetize
nearly
300,000
patient
medical
records.
Health
Gorilla
has
denied
the
allegations.
The
plaintiffs
are
Epic,
Trinity
Health,
UMass
Memorial
Health,
Reid
Health
and
OCHIN.
They
allege
that
Health
Gorilla
and
a
network
of
other
companies
set
up
fictitious
healthcare
providers,
shell
websites
and
fake
provider
IDs
to
make
it
look
like
records
requests
were
for
real
treatment
purposes.
Instead,
the
data
was
allegedly
diverted
for
non-treatment
uses
—
such
as
marketing
to
lawyers
seeking
potential
claimants
for
lawsuits.
The
other
companies
involved
in
the
network
are
a
cluster
of
small
telehealth,
data
and
shell
companies
—
many
allegedly
linked
to
the
same
founders
and
operators
—
that
the
plaintiffs
say
were
used
to
pose
as
legitimate
providers.
The
complaint
also
stated
that
the
defendants
inserted
“junk”
information
into
records
to
hide
their
activity
and
give
the
appearance
of
genuine
care,
which
in
turn
risked
patient
safety
and
wasted
clinician
time.
When
one
fraudulent
entity
was
exposed,
the
same
actors
allegedly
created
new
companies
to
continue
the
same
conduct,
operating
“like
a
Hydra,”
according
to
the
lawsuit.
In
its
motion
to
throw
out
the
case,
Health
Gorilla
argued
that
the
dispute
should
be
handled
through
the
networks’
built-in
governance
and
dispute
resolution
processes
rather
than
federal
litigation.
The
company
also
said
it
cooperated
with
months-long
investigations
into
the
issue,
and
it
maintains
that
Epic’s
lawsuit
threatens
the
stability
of
national
data
sharing
systems
used
by
providers.
“Epic
tries
to
paint
itself
as
a
good
actor
because
it
has
come
under
sustained
criticism
and
inquiry
from
regulators
and
private
plaintiffs
for
its
widespread
unfair
business
practices,
and
it
desperately
needs
a
distraction
from
its
primary
goals,
which
are
to
continue
enriching
itself
at
the
expense
of
patients
nationwide.
The
case
should
be
dismissed,”
Health
Gorilla’s
motion
stated.
The
Health
Gorilla
lawsuit
is
the
latest
in
a
series
of
legal
disputes
for
Epic,
which
is
also
locked
in
a
high-profile
battle
with
data
platform
Particle
Health.
In
September
2024,
Particle
Health
sued
Epic
over
claims
that
the
EHR
vendor
is
using
its
dominance
in
the
market
to
prevent
competition
in
the
payer
platform
space.
The
complaint
claims
that
Epic
imposed
technical
and
contractual
barriers
that
limited
access
to
patient
data,
which
has
effectively
blocked
rivals
from
building
competing
payer-facing
platforms.
Last
September,
a
federal
judge
advanced
the
antitrust
lawsuit.
Epic
is
fighting
vigorously
in
both
lawsuits.
“Medical
records
are
deeply
personal
and
exploiting
them
is
wrong.
In
their
motion,
Health
Gorilla
asserts
that
they
should
be
dismissed
as
a
defendant
in
the
lawsuit
because
they
had
‘lack
of
actual
knowledge’
of
wrongdoing.
That
is
not
an
acceptable
reason
—
Health
Gorilla
had
a
responsibility
to
safeguard
sensitive
patient
data
and
know
why
it
was
being
taken,”
an
Epic
spokesperson
said
in
a
statement
sent
to
MedCity
News.
The
EHR
giant
added
that
the
public
deserves
a
complete
investigation
and
resolution
in
federal
court
rather
than
behind
closed
doors.
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