Weekender 7/2/21

Weekly News Recap

• The valuation of process automation vendor Olive reportedly reaches $4 billion following a new $400 million investment.
• HIMSS announces COVID-19 vaccine verification and masking policies for HIMSS21.
• The VA reaffirms its commitment to implementing Cerner while awaiting the results of an internal project review.
• Harris acquires Ingenious Med.
• Ireland’s health service estimates that the ransomware attack that has kept its systems down for six weeks and counting will cost at least $600 million for recovery.
• A private equity firm acquires and combines Verisys and Aperture Health.
• Health Catalyst announces its intention to acquire Twistle.
• Britain’s Health Secretary Matt Hancock resigns after a tabloid runs photos of him kissing a female executive who he appointed.

Best Reader Comments

Not sure I’d put so much faith in the public market, given Doximity’s IPO valuation of $9B+ for a business not that much different in its fundamentals than the founders’ previous effort (Epocrates) which lost 75% of its IPO value and ultimately sold for ~$250M. But America loves second chances! (Debtor)

Olive’s valuation at $4B is a signal that we’re in the midst of a bubble. They were valued at $1.5B as recently as December 2020. One could argue that the $1.5B valuation was frothy. Now they claim to be worth nearly 3 times that, a mere 6 months later. I’ve seen these companies before: Raise, dilute, raise, dilute, acquire, raise, dilute, acquire, raise. The real test will be if they IPO, what valuation does the market support. The market will be more careful, and do more diligence .., Olive seems like they are somewhere in between an enterprise software company (valuation would be 5-6 times revenue) and a consulting firm (valuation would be 1-2 times revenue). I’ve looked at lost of pure SaaS companies in my day, and Olive does not deserve a pure play SaaS valuation. Unless their revenue is way above what we estimate (even with the recent tuck-in acquisitions), this $4B valuation is an outlier – and in a bubbly way. Too bad they can’t just cash in now (but not from me). (Healthcare VC Guy)

I agree that mortality probably isn’t the best measure of EMR benefit. I also agree that having EMRs, e-prescribing, electronic transmission of lab results and vaccine receipt, and an ability to do a quick pívot to telehealth have all been very important in dealing with the pandemic. I’m less convinced that quality of care has improved in general [with EHRs] and don’t believe that documentation is improved (except for being legible). However, it’s hard to figure out because there are so many confounding factors that were introduced at about the same time … Despite the hype associated with the “learning health system”, much of the data in the EMR is incomplete or inaccurate. This will become even worse with greater propagation of errors through more and more health records with the push for interoperability … Overall EMRs have probably had more benefits than negatives but it could have been and could be so much better if the focus was actually on delivering care and less of the regulatory and payment related impediments. (Clinical N Cynical)

Watercooler Talk Tidbits

Readers funded the Donors Choose teacher grant request of Ms. B in Nebraska, who is in her second year of teaching and, as she says, “still waiting to experience a ‘normal’ year.” She asked for a library of books, organizers, clipboards, earbuds, and supplies for her fourth grade class. She reports, “Our school district is using a unique model this year where we only have half of the students in-person at one time. The other students are learning at home through pre-recorded videos made by the district. The headphones allowed my students to listen to their instructional videos in peace, without any loud interruptions. The books that were provided to my students absolutely LIT UP my kiddo’s faces! They loved being able to have books of their own, since we can’t share books through my classroom library.”

NBC News covers the medical care obstacles faced by people who are too large to fit in a CT scanner or hospital gowns. One woman can’t have a cardiac ablation procedure for fibrillation because she exceeds the surgical table’s weight limit and she can’t get an MRI for the same reason, leading her to unsuccessfully to seek testing from veterinarians whose machines are sized for horses and cows.

This is for the programmers out there. A woman’s last name of True locks her out of Apple ICloud, which mistook it for a Boolean value when she mistakenly failed to capitalize it. For disco and 1970s porn fans, her first name isn’t Andrea.

A North Carolina nursing home suspends a nurse whose TikTok videos featured her joking about mistreating patients. She says she’s a victim of “cancel culture” since “all my videos are comedy skits.” Her GoFundMe to raise $20,000 for legal fees has yielded $170.

A closed hospital that has been called “Kentucky’s second most haunted place” is listed for sale, with the former Hayswood Hospital (built in the early 1800s as a school, expanded to its current form in 1925, and opened as a hospital in 1931 that closed in 1983) featuring 80,000 square feet on nearly 3 acres. Locals say the building is not only full of ghosts and trespassers from outside the state hoping to spot them – especially in its former morgue on Halloween — but also asbestos that will cost $3 million to clean up to the point the $800,000 building can be torn down.

In Case You Missed It

• News 7/2/21
• EPtalk by Dr. Jayne 7/1/21
• HIStalk Interviews Sonny Hyare, MD, CEO, ReMedi Health Solutions
• News 6/30/21
• Curbside Consult with Dr. Jayne 6/28/21
• Monday Morning Update 6/28/21

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