Monday Morning Update 5/19/25

Top News

Shares of Scotland-based Craneware jump on reports that Bain Capital is considering acquiring the company.

Bain Capital confirmed that Bain Capital Funds is assessing a possible offer, but it has not involved Craneware’s board.

The company, which sells health system financial software, reported 800 employees and $189 million in sales last year. Its market capitalization is nearly $1 billion.

Reader Comments

From Japonais: “Re: CureIS versus Epic. What points does Epic need to dispute to prevail?” Unlike Particle Health’s lawsuit against Epic, CureIS makes no claim that Epic created an illegal monopoly, which carries a high burden of proof that is unlikely to prove successful. The CureIS complaint lists these specific items:

• CureIS alleges that Epic mandates the use of its own inferior products over those of competitors like CureIS. To prove coercion, CureIS will need to produce evidence, such as contractual language or customer testimony, that Epic’s policies forced CureIS customers or prospects to take an action that they wouldn’t have taken otherwise.
• The complaint references unnamed health systems that were allegedly told by Epic that integration with CureIS was not allowed, which would seem to require at least one of those customers to testify against Epic.
• CureIS accuses Epic of misappropriating its trade secrets by convincing a shared customer to give Epic a detailed document under the pretense of integration planning. CureIS would need to prove that Epic obtained the material with the intention of developing competing software. It might also need to provide examples where Epic actually used the contents to compete.
• CureIS makes a trade libel claim that Epic misrepresented its own product capabilities while disparaging those of CureIS. Trade libel complaints are rarely successful and would require CureIS to show that Epic made and widely distributed objectively false statements that provably harmed CureIS. Epic’s distribution of a document titled “Products You Can Replace with Epic” is not a strong argument.
• The biggest legal exposure for Epic is the claim that Epic refused to provide data to CureIS even with customer approval, which probably falls under the information blocking provision of the 21st Century Cures Act. CureIS says that Epic falsely used security risk as an excuse. Information blocking falls under ASTP and not a civil court, but possible exposure might pressure Epic to settle (although Epic pretty much never settles).

HIStalk Announcements and Requests

Respondents for last week’s poll passed along some advice to those who are planning, or should be planning, their future.

New poll to your right or here: Should Epic and other EHR vendors be required to provide data access to competing applications if their shared customer approves?

Sponsored Events and Resources

Live Webinar: June 18 (Wednesday) noon ET. “Fireside Chat: Closing the Gaps in Medication Adherence.” Sponsor: DrFirst. Presenters: Ben G. Long, MD, director of hospital medicine, Magnolia Regional Health Center; Wes Blakeslee, PhD, vice president of clinical data strategies, DrFirst; Colin Banas, MD, MHA, chief medical officer, DrFirst. Magnolia Regional Health Center will describe how its Nurse Navigator program used real-time prescription fill data from DrFirst to identify therapy gaps and engage patients through timely, personalized outreach. The effort led to a 19% increase in prescription fills and a 6% drop in 30-day readmissions among participating patients. Attendees will learn why prescribing price transparency is key to adherence, how real-time data helps care teams support patients between visits, and how Magnolia aligned its approach with value-based care and population health goals.

Announcements and Implementations

Oracle Health, Cleveland Clinic, and Emirates-based AI company G42 will develop an AI-based healthcare delivery platform that will combine Oracle Health applications, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, and Oracle AI Data Platform. The system will continually analyze population and public health data and provide real-world data for life sciences to enhance diagnostics, personalize treatments, optimize outcomes, and decrease costs.  

Government and Politics

The VA plans to implement Oracle Health at 13 facilities in 2026, followed by 20 to 25 additional go-lives in 2027. VA Secretary Doug Collins says that the agency will address the lack of standardization that stalled the project.

The Department of Justice settles a False Claims Act whistleblower lawsuit against Fresno, CA-based Community Regional Medical Center and its for-profit technology subsidiary Physician Network Advantage for $31.5 million. The hospital was accused of bribing doctors with cash, wine, strip club visits, and trips in return for using the hospital’s $75 million Epic EHR to refer their patients to its facilities. Michael Terpening, the whistleblower and former PNA controller, says that CMC provided the Epic system under the Community Connect model at no charge in return for referrals. Details from the lawsuit:

• The hospital spent $1 million to create HQ2, a wine and cigar lounge in PNA’s headquarters that was used to “build loyalty.” It was stocked with $1 million in wine and liquors that CMC used to recruit practices to join its Epic network.
• PNA booked appointments for network doctors to use the facility that included table service and free access to wine and food, and then billed the cost back to CMC as a business expense.
• CMC planned to develop a new club, HQ Ranch, to entertain executives and network doctors with another cigar and wine lounge, a skeet shooting range, and an off-road vehicle course.
• Terpening discovered the scheme after a fire in PNA’s headquarters revealed a stash of 1,000 bottles of wine, which PNA executives told him were left over from a holiday party.

Sponsor Updates

• A new Black Book Research study reveals that despite ongoing investments in digital health, Canada’s EHR systems remain fragmented, outdated, and under-optimized.
• Nordic releases a new episode of its “Designing for Health” podcast featuring Shreya Shah, MD.
• Redox announces the launch of “Connections,” a new insights series authored by leaders at the company.
• TruBridge will exhibit at the 2025 NRHA Annual Rural Health Conference May 20-23 in Atlanta.
• Waystar will exhibit at the 2025 Senior Living Executive Conference May 19-21 in Tampa, FL.
• Zen Healthcare IT joins the Open Integration Engine Project as part of its long-standing mission to simplify the exchange of healthcare data.

Blog Posts

• Healthcare organizations, like the human body, thrive on coordination (Altera Digital Health)
• Cyber Resilience Roundup: How to Maintain Revenue Continuity Following a Cyberattack (FinThrive)
• A Mother’s Day to Remember: Brain Health, Community, and the Future of Care (Linus Health)
• The pharmacist’s growing role in patient care and whole-person wellness (Wolters Kluwer Health)
• 3 Ways Data Is Revolutionizing Addiction Care: Driving Productivity, Outcomes and Funding (Netsmart)
• Prescriptions, praise, and peers: A low-tech burnout playbook (Nordic)
• Understanding the Fundamentals of IRE (Optimum Healthcare IT)
• By the Numbers: A Closer Look at Why Saving $82 On a Prescription Matters (Surescripts)
• Nurses at the Helm of Change: The Role of Leadership & Technology (Symplr)
• Elevating Expanse: Five Ways to Maximize Value With the Right Support (Tegria)
• Good Science | Visage at SIIM25 (Visage Imaging)

Contacts

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