Morning Headlines 6/3/15

Partners’ $1.2b patient data system seen as key to future

Partners Healthcare goes live on Epic across nearly all locations except for its Massachusetts General Hospital facility. The total cost of the implementation grew to $1.2 billion, double the $600 million initially budgeted, making it the largest investment the health system has ever made.

Revisit Rates and Associated Costs After an Emergency Department Encounter: A Multistate Analysis

A study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine finds that 8.2 percent of ED patients will readmit within three-days, often going to a different hospital for the second visit. Skin infections generated the highest rate of revisits at 23 percent, and the second visit was typically far more expensive than the initial encounter.

Comvest Partners Acquires McKesson Care Management Business

McKesson sells its care management system, marketed to payors and risk-bearing health systems, to investors for an undisclosed sum.

Governor: Update fixes health exchange delays

Vermont updates its health insurance exchange to fix problems that were causing delays of up to two-hours for users trying to update their coverage mid-year due to life changes such as marriage or the birth of a new child. The HIE is still unable to enroll businesses, a requirement of ACA, and the governor has reported that he will push to have the requirement dropped before attempting to add the functionality to the site.