Hard agree, and not just because I'm a spreadsheet nerd. Why are we all here? Isn't it in the service…
Morning Headlines 11/30/15
Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong is postponing IPO of healthcare data company NantHealth
Healthcare billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong, MD, will delay the IPO of his digital health startup NantHealth until market conditions improve. Soon-Shiong explains, “We’re basically ready. The problem is, we don’t want to go out in the current market. There is no reason for us to go out there in a bear market.”
Partners enters a genetics market
The Boston Globe covers Partners Healthcare’s sale of GeneInsight, its home-grown gene analysis software, to Sunquest Information Systems.
Medical Company LabMD Sues FTC Lawyers Over Data-Privacy Case
LabMD sues three FTC lawyers after being driven out of business over the agency’s poorly-investigated data privacy accusations. The case against LabMD was eventually thrown out by a DC judge and the now-defunct business is suing the FTC’s lawyers for “bringing a case based on fictional evidence.”
Samaritan plans for huge bump in IT spending
47-bed Samaritan Healthcare (WA) will implement Epic at a cost of $12 million. CFO Paul Ishizuka notes that the total cost is “magnitudes higher” than the hospital had spent on previous systems, but explains that interoperability across inpatient, ambulatory, and other health systems was the ultimate objective.
Am I getting this right on the Samaritan/Epic announcement?
1. Samaritan needs to appease a future M&A partner (probably the fish that will eat them as they’re 47 beds) already running Epic – so the safe choice is to choose Epic…don’t upset the apple cart and risk a key affiliation or potential partner
2. Because interoperability is so important (again presumably with that partner), Samaritan will spend 4X (4X!!) what they’ve ever spent on HIT – to get INTRAoperability with Epic?
So we’re officially at the point where to be able to share patient records everyone must be on one platform AND willing to pay 4X more vs. another fair market offering? When does a local hospital association or independent stakeholder step up and speak out re: this insanity (aside from Paul Levy) Let’s not forget that Epic is incenting their clients to re-sell Epic to smaller affiliates, often on the premise of better integration/information sharing via their Community Connect model. I hope for the industry that someone in a position of influence wakes up and cares about this topic at some point.
With all due respect to Jim S., about what should someone in a position of influence care about here? Free market systems charging fair market value?