Epic Systems built its proprietary platform on MUMPS, a language first introduced in 1966. It's hardly surprising that this walled garden struggles to cope with our digital world.

Persuading hospitals to switch will be difficult. Partners Healthcare (Now MassGeneralBrigham) spent $1.2 billion over three years to implement Epic. That figure does not include the lost revenue from disrupted operations or the pain and suffering of hospital employees.

Hospital leadership will not rip and replace Epic unless the alternatives are 10X better. That may happen, but it's more likely that Epic will fix problems and improve its platform just enough to keep customers loyal.