Epic, CEO Faulkner Confront Life as a Big Tech Company in 2018
Summary
Almost all of Epic Systems’ growth during the nearly four decades the healthcare software powerhouse has been in business has come from selling products and services developed internally, which founder and CEO Judy Faulkner has argued is preferable to expanding through mergers and acquisitions.We do not acquire it,” Faulkner reiterated Tuesday during her keynote address at Epic’s annual Users Group Meeting, which attracted an estimated 17,000 people to the company’s sprawling corporate campus in Verona, WI.Epic’s insistence on maintaining its independent strategy is notable considering the rapid expansion of the healthcare IT sector, which is attracting tech companies of all sizes and stripes—and putting pressure on well-established players such as Epic to continue to grow as the field evolves around them.Faulkner said the intersection of healthcare and technology is “the hottest area around.” Epic senior vice president Sumit Rana said that’s likely to remain the case in coming years, pointing to an estimate from StartUp Health that early-stage healthtech companies raised more than $11 billion in venture funding in 2017.The handful of Epic employees who spoke about recent customer success stories and new features the company has in the works were dressed as scouts, park rangers, fishermen, canoe paddlers, ski patrol members, cave spelunkers, and other outdoor adventurers.