We just got a special report coming out of Verona, WI that Judy Faulkner sneezed.  Our source which wanted to remain confidential for fear of retribution said that they were walking down the hall of Emerald City office and as they passed a conference room, they heard someone sneeze.  Once they heard the startling noise, they looked up and saw Judy Faulkner with her hand to her mouth.

Those at Epic said that Judy’s sneeze was spreading like wildfire on the internal Epic Teams channel.  Employees weren’t sure what the sneeze meant and they were trying to help each other process such a reaction from the visionary founder.  Many are concerned that the news of this will get out to Epic customers and they’re not sure how they’ll react to this news.

One employee who also wanted to remain confidential shared that they feared that it started with a sneeze and may develop into a full blown allergic reaction.  Some were wondering if the Epic cleaning team had been slacking on their job and the dust was accumulating in such a way that it would cause Judy Faulkner to sneeze.  Some wondered if this may be the start of Epic slipping from it’s place on top of the EHR world.

We’ll keep tracking the sneeze heard around the world and provide any updates.  As we kick off the first day of April, nothing is the same.

UPDATE:

Obviously this is an April Fool’s Day joke based on the number of health IT companies who tell me that they can’t get any media coverage but if Judy Faulkner from Epic sneezes, all the health IT media cover it (Shoutout to all the healthcare communication pros out there).  They’re not wrong.

In case you missed the Epic homepage today, they always have a great April Fool’s Day takeover of their homepage.  Here are 2 that I loved:

They also had another that said that “ABC Chooses Epic as the Official EHR of Grey’s Anatomy.”  While that may be funny, I actually met a guy one time that worked at GE Healthcare and his entire job was to work with Hollywood to get product placement for GE Healthcare’s devices in various movies, tv shows, etc.  Of course, getting an MRI or CT in place for a show is a little different than showing someone using an EHR.

Here are a few other April Fool’s Day jokes that I saw in health IT starting with DrFirst.

Check out the Magic Med Mash-Up One-pill wonder.  There’s even a video.  What’s sad about this joke is that this is a product that a lot of us would really like.  I’d love a one-pill wonder.  My kids would too!

How about  a holographic doctor by Vital Interaction?

Drex offers his April 1st celebration of HIMSS and CHIME combining to create CHIMSS.  Plus, I love that an actual black cat is the hacker.  Sounds like something a hacker would do actually.  P.S. Happy Birthday Drex!

Nursing Direct is hiring magicians.  Of course, we all know that nurses work magic every single day.

And here’s one from outside of healthcare from DuoLingo that they call the Duolingo Roll.  I think some EHR trainers may be taking note of a bathroom EHR class.  Of course, the testimonials for this product really make this “Keeps my language learning on a regular schedule”

Did you see any other April Fool’s Day jokes from health IT companies or individuals?  Let us know in the comments or on social media.  And we hope that Judy gets help for her sneeze.  Maybe she can get a telehealth visit in MyChart.