Epic Systems (Verona, Wisc.) is hiring a lobbyist firm, Card & Associates, in an attempt to improve its image to members of Congress, Modern Healthcare first reported.
The CEO of the firm, Bradford Card, told Modern Healthcare that Epic has been the subject of misinformation and they will set the record straight. Card is referring to charges made by Rep. Phil Gingrey, M.D. (R-GA), who in a recent hearing said that Epic Systems has collected millions in federal incentives but still operates on closed systems and doesn't allow information to flow from its systems.
"It may be time for us to look closer at the activities of vendors in the space, given the possibility that fraud is being perpetrated on the American people," Gingrey said at the time.
According to Modern Healthcare, this is the first time Epic has hired a lobbyist firm to support them. Along with interoperability, Epic's CEO Judy Faulkner has been lambasted in the past for her ties to President Barack Obama by many political observers. Faulkner was a donor to Obama's Presidential campaigns.
