Weekender 8/27/21

Weekly News Recap

• Allscripts sells 2bPrecise.
• ManpowerGroup will acquire Ettain Group, which had previously acquired Leidos Health.
• Ginger will merge with Headspace at a combined valuation of $3 billion.
• Connect America will acquire 100Plus.
• Two NextGen Healthcare board members, including its founder, attempt to install new board members in claiming that board chair Jeffrey Margolis is impeding shareholder value.
• Former VA CIO Roger Baker warns that its homegrown Vista system will need to remain operational for several years as Cerner is installed and will require funding.
• Google Health’s teams and projects are decentralized as its health division is shut down.
• Inovalon announces that it will be acquired by a private equity firm for $7.3 billion.
• Cerner SEC filings indicate that the compensation package given to incoming president and CEO David Feinberg totals $35 million in his first 15 months, although much of that is in the form of restricted shares that won’t vest immediately.

Best Reader Comments

On social media over the past couple of days, I have seen C-suite execs of some of the most prestigious health systems in the country gloat over this or that recognition / award that they got from Epic. I have never seen executives at that level in any industry feeling rewarded by vendor recognition. That speaks to the genius of Epic / Judy / Carl. They have managed to create an amazing aura (or kool-aid or reality distortion field) around Epic to make this possible. This goes way beyond “we let our customers speak for us”. This is in another realm altogether. (Ghost of Andromeda)

[Allscripts] has zero debt and close to $1.5B in annual revenue. And two decades of clinical data. They should go private like Epic or sell for $4B. (NOM)

NextGen mostly has exited the affiliated market that Epic dominates. NextGen focused on large office practices, specialties, and multi-specialty practices while keeping or picking up affiliated practices whose hospitals don’t use Epic. That positioning seems smart since that’s the market where the deal size is large and the cost of getting and supporting the deal is low. They also acquire cheap add-ons to upsell to their existing customers and outsource all of their dev work. It actually seems like a reasonable strategy to me if you are looking for ROI in the current competitive ambulatory market. (IANAL)

If you poll Americans, they generally and somewhat surprisingly don’t resent large compensation packages for CEOs. What is a point which provokes ire and resentment across the entire political spectrum is the kind of compensation package that Feinberg gets. He’ll get rewarded handsomely regardless of what happens during his tenure at Cerner. It is the equivalent of fully rewarding a shipping captain in the 19th century before the vessel even left port. The captain gets paid even if he crashes the ship on to the rocks and all of the cargo & shipmates sink to the bottom of the sea. (Lazlo Hollyfeld)

As someone who likes to get as much out of a buck as possible, remember who pays for these exorbitant CEO salaries – you and I. Cerner is paid by hospitals, many supported by Medicare and Medicaid. Hospitals have to pay Cerner. It trickles down through our premiums. I find it disgusting, but the game of life is to acquire as much as one can, so he’s leading the game. Hopefully he’s a philanthropic soul, and much goes back to the other 99%. As colleagues wander wide-eyed through Epic, in awe of their campus, I’m secretly ill by all the dollars spent that should have actually gone to people’s health. Am I the only one who feels this way? (FrugalFrannie)

CEOs of growing software companies have qualities that help them do two things: sell and get their people to execute. Good CEOs normally either have a strong sales background or a strong technology background. These traits provide value to customers. CEOs of healthcare systems and division level executives at Google spend most of their time being politicians. They do PR type stuff for “innovation,” say different things to different stakeholders without appearing two-faced, make sure the unethical behavior stays behind the scenes, collect fat checks, etc. These traits do not provide value to customers. Also arguably the problem with Cerner is the board, not the CEO. (IANAL)

Watercooler Talk Tidbits

Readers funded the Donors Choose teacher grant request of Ms. E in Mississippi, who asked for an IPad and tripod kit to help her deliver online learning. She reported in December, “I truly appreciate the support you showed to my students and our school. The technology has provided my students with the opportunities to continue to learn even as we have moved to a hybrid schedule with rotating days of students at school and at home. My students have truly enjoyed being able to access enriching programs on the iPad when they are at school and it provides the opportunity for me to continue to reach them when they are at home. Thank you again for your donation. May God bless you for generosity.”

Construction costs of the Denver VA hospital top $2 billion, making it one of the most expensive health facilities in the world. The hospital opened a decade behind schedule and $1 billion over budget, but work that was initially stripped out of the budget has been done after opening and fixing mistakes added another $20 million. The original budget was $600 million and increasing estimates forced the US Army Corps of Engineers to take over the project in 2016.

The governor of Nebraska directs officials to recruit unvaccinated nurses, hoping to alleviate a shortage by hiring from hospitals that require employees to be vaccinated for COVID-19.

A Paducah, KY hospital arranges visits by Nelson the therapy dog to boost caregiver morale.

A New Zealand children’s hospital asks college students in the dorm across the street to close their curtains after patients and families observed them engaging in “certain naked activities.”

In Case You Missed It

• News 8/27/21
• EPtalk by Dr. Jayne 8/26/21
• Readers Write: Sharing Your Medical Info with Providers from your iPhone – What You Need to Know About Apple Health, Patient Records, and Better Visibility into Patient Data
• Readers Write: Three Common Email Security Compliance Misconceptions That Are Putting Healthcare Organizations At Risk
• Readers Write: Healthcare is Failing Overwhelmed Clinicians — Here’s How to Focus on Their Journey
• HIStalk Interviews Guillaume de Zwirek, CEO, Well Health
• News 8/25/21
• HIMSS Financial Highlights
• Curbside Consult with Dr. Jayne 8/23/21
• HIStalk Interviews Jessica Cox, RN, Director of Product Solutions, Holy Name Medical Center
• Monday Morning Update 8/23/21

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