Epic unveils new app 'showroom' for third-party vendors
Epic replaces app market with showroom unknown Epic replaces app market with showroomModern Healthcare
EHR giant Epic unveiled Tuesday new third-party vendor programs to replace the app market it shut down late last year.
The programs will be available in an online gallery called 'Showroom' that will launch in a few weeks, Epic CEO Judy Faulkner said during the company's annual user group conference in Verona, Wisconsin.
Epic announced in December that it planned to overhaul its app market to keep up with the rapid growth of third-party vendors.
"As the industry changes and more software healthcare vendors want to work with us, we've needed to define programs to accommodate this guided by what meets your needs," Faulkner told the audience of health IT executives.
The company has now developed four programs for third-party vendors that will be available in the 'showroom': cornerstone partners, pals, partners and member services.
Cornerstone partners, which now include Microsoft and InterSystems, are companies that have technology and services that Epic uses significantly in its software, Faulkner said.
RELATEDAbridge inks Epic partnership, Emory Healthcare tie-up for its generative AI tech
"Partners" are established leaders in specific areas, according to Epic executives. Last week, Epic confirmed that clinical documentation company Nuance and survey software company Press Ganey are the first companies to be in the "partners" program.
The vendor relationships with Epic are not exclusive, Faulker noted, as the vendors can work with other EHR companies and Epic can work with other developers in the same area.
The "Pals" program focuses on early-stage products with promising technology. Gen-AI-powered medical note-taking service Abridge and digital contact center company Talkdesk were tapped to be the first "pals."
"The new program facilitates closer collaboration on technology access, go-to-market support, and technical support between Epic and Talkdesk," a Talkdesk spokesperson said.
“The Partners and Pals program creates new value for healthcare by curating unique collaborations,” said Alan Hutchison, vice president at Epic in a statement about the Abridge collaboration. “Epic works with companies like Abridge to develop deep integration for their products and services, helping them innovate quickly for the benefit of more patients and providers.”
Epic launched the "app orchard" store in January 2016 to enable third-party vendors to connect with Epic customers like hospitals and health systems. A revamp of the app orchard is now necessary as more applications have connected to its API, executives late last year.
In its place, Epic launched in December the Connection Hub, an online directory for vendors to share their ability to interoperate with Epic software.
RELATEDEpic plans to overhaul its app market, opens new Connection Hub for developers. Here are key things to know
"Whenever we get to reopening the app market, I think it'll be a smaller, more focused program," Nate Bubb, technical services lead at Epic, told Fierce Healthcare in December. "Today, we have over 800 groups in the app market. I think it'll be a smaller, more focused community. So we can spend a little bit more time with groups in that program."
Epic's approach is to identify categories of digital health technologies that are of most interest to health system customers, Faulkner told the audience at the user group conference.
"We started to work more with a small number of vendors in specific areas and we're going to collaborate to develop integrations into that product type so you could have a seamless experience. After a period of time, when the technology is more mature, we'll make it more broadly available," she said.
Epic's new 'Showroom' hub also will include its Open.Epic application programming interface tool for developers and vendor services, which offers additional testing tools, Faulkner said. The Connection Hub also will be available through the Showroom gallery.