Epic Systems announced on October 15 a new feature called Prescription Marketplace that will allow clinicians and patients at health systems running Epic to compare prescription drug costs across pharmacies — both cash prices and insurance-covered prices — before a prescription is sent. The tool is planned for release in summer 2027.
The announcement came with early pharmacy partners already signed on. Amazon Pharmacy, Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drugs, Costco, and Eli Lilly's LillyDirect have all agreed to share their cash prices through the platform. Any pharmacy will be able to participate. The feature builds on Epic's existing Real-Time Prescription Benefit tool, which Epic says saved patients more than $250 million in 2025 by showing clinicians insurance out-of-pocket costs and generic alternatives at the point of prescribing.
The practical change for clinical operations is meaningful: providers will be able to see whether a patient's cash price at one pharmacy is lower than their insured price at another, and act on that before the patient leaves the office. Epic cited a KFF survey finding that more than 40% of American adults report not taking medications as prescribed because of cost.
For health system CIOs and IT directors running Epic, this is a feature to track on the product roadmap ahead of the summer 2027 availability date. Organizations not yet on Epic may want to note this as a point of comparison when evaluating EHR platforms. No pricing or licensing changes have been announced in connection with the new feature.
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