A cardiologist is suing Epic Systems for copyright infringement, that the nation's leading electronic health record (EHR) vendor distributed his heart disease assessment tool without a license.
Earlier this month, John Spertus, MD, of Saint Luke's Mid America Heart Institute in Kansas City, Missouri, filed a lawsuit in the Western District of Missouri, stating that Epic unlawfully featured one of his questionnaires to assess patients with coronary artery disease on its platform.
Spertus said Epic's use and distribution of his questionnaire -- the Short Form Questionnaire -- deprives him of the typical fees he would charge for licensing. The questionnaire was created as a more succinct version of Spertus' previous assessments to measure patient-centered coronary disease outcomes and includes questions about how heart disease symptoms like chest pain or tightness affect a patient's ability to perform daily activities.
Spertus said he first discovered that Epic was distributing the questionnaire to clients on its platform in June 2019. He sent the EHR vendor a copyright violation notice, and attempted to negotiate a contract that would allow the company to use his materials, but several months of negotiations failed to result in a license being granted, the complaint stated.
In May 2021, Spertus discovered that Epic was still distributing the Short Form Questionnaire, again without a license, the cardiologist alleged. He again communicated to the EHR company that it infringed upon his exclusive rights over his questionnaires.
But Epic continued to unlawfully reproduce and distribute his "protected work" without consent, the complaint stated, alleging that this infringement was "undertaken knowingly, and with intent to financially gain."
"From my perspective, it is very clear that Epic was unwilling to pay anything," Spertus told 鶹ý. Although hospitals and health systems pay Epic hundreds of millions of dollars to use its software, the company was resistant to licensing anyone else's intellectual property, Spertus added.
The lawsuit also alleged that Epic further violated Spertus' copyright protections by allowing its clients to use his questionnaires without a license. The availability of the assessment on Epic's platform is a draw for doctors, hospitals, and others who pay to use the software, the complaint stated, adding that Epic had a financial interest in allowing its clients to use Spertus' materials.
In response to a request for comment from 鶹ý, a spokesperson from Epic stated that the company does not comment on pending litigation.
Spertus first authored the in 1992, after recognizing a need for a universally accepted health status measure for coronary disease patients, according to the documents. The questionnaires have been registered with the U.S. copyright office since 2005, and Spertus licenses them to doctors, clinics, hospitals, researchers, and others in the healthcare industry.
Spertus' lawsuit seeks to stop Epic from unlawfully distributing his questionnaires, as well as to recoup payments for the losses in licensing fees he has incurred.
"This is a real David and Goliath story," Spertus said. "This is an enormous, multi-billion dollar company that literally knows that they are violating my intellectual property rights and doesn't care," he added. "I am just trying to stand up to a bully."