Monday Morning Update 2/28/22

Top News

From the Allscripts earnings call, following Thursday’s announcement of Q4 results that beat analyst expectations for revenue and earnings:

• Allscripts says that investment in its core EHRs has driven cross-selling opportunities in hosting, cloud, telemedicine, cybersecurity, interoperability, outsourcing, and revenue cycle.
• Two hospitals signed to replace their Paragon system with Sunrise Community Care in the quarter.
• Hospital and large practice sales were down for the quarter, while Veradigm’s business grew 9%.
• The company will provide Moderna with integrated EHR and claims data for eight real-world data studies of its COVID-19 vaccine.

HIStalk Announcements and Requests

Most poll respondents reported no issue with their most recent PCP visit, although waiting for an appointment and then waiting to seen once arrived were the most common complaints. Kendall says that even though they’ve seen the same EHR-using PCP for decades and is an active patient portal user, the practice still shoves a clipboard at them to write down everything that is already recorded electronically. Greg’s PCP left the practice without a heads-up to patients, so when he called about his chronic condition, staff directed him to urgent care who then sent him to the ED because it was beyond their capabilities, with his insurer expecting him to pay out of pocket for both visits.

New poll to your right or here: What was the cause of your biggest financial problem as a patient in the past 12 months?

Attending ViVE 2022? Check out my guide to what HIStalk’s sponsors will be doing there.

Listening: alternative rockers Cage the Elephant, which I first recommended here in 2011. My interest was rekindled by a YouTube highlights reel of Matt Shultz’s death-defying stage dives. He and his brother are disarmingly charming in all the interview and concert videos I’ve seen, which he describes as, “I’ve been blessed to have the right kind of adversities hit me at the right times to keep it humble. And just continuously chasing after and searching for that thing that makes music utterly exciting again.”

Webinars

None scheduled soon. Previous webinars are on our YouTube channel. Contact Lorre to present your own.

Acquisitions, Funding, Business, and Stock

Definitive Healthcare reports Q4 results: revenue up 38%, adjusted EBITDA $13.1 million versus $12.8 million (the company did not provide per-share information). DH shares are down 49% in the past year versus the Nasdaq’s 10% loss, valuing the company at $2.2 billion.

Sales

• Bayada Home Health Care extends use of its Dina platform to its longitudinal care management program, which includes identifying risks and tracking interventions to improve transitions from hospital to home-based care.
• Aflac will offer NeuroFlow’s self-service mental health resources to its group long-term disability clients.

People

Jared Antczak, MBA (Highmark Health) joins Sanford Health as chief digital officer.

Announcements and Implementations

Sanford Health will go live in April on a workforce optimization system that it co-developed with precision staffing system vendor Flexwise, which will incorporate Sanford-developed features into its commercial product.

Northern Ireland’s Health and Social Care Service goes live on Sectra digital pathology.

Other

Sami Inkinen, CEO of diabetes reversal coaching and app vendor Virta Health, says that employer HR and benefits departments have had a tough challenge in trying to address rising health cost benefits as more and more people become metabolically unhealthy. He classifies the history of their efforts:

• 2000-2010: the pre-digital era, when employers signed up for health plan services and provider networks, performed health risk screenings, held wellness events, and offered employee assistance programs.
• 2010-2015: employers tried digital social networks, gamification, and handing out step and fitness trackers despite zero evidence (and nearly zero results) that they work.
• 2015-2020: digital health entrepreneurs whose lack of company success in “consumers pay via the app store” model started hawking their wares directly to employers, swamping them with sales pitches.
• Today: show me the money, show me the outcomes. Healthcare costs keep rising as digital health shiny objects lose their luster. Digital health vendors who can’t prove that their products save employers money will struggle to survive over the next five years.

Sponsor Updates

• Current Health customers can now launch Zoom from within its care-at-home platform.
• Healthcare Triangle closes its previously announced acquisition of health IT and managed services company DevCool.
• G2 awards Symplr Clinical Communications Best Software Product and Highest Satisfaction Product in the category of clinical Communication and collaboration.
• Sphere integrates MDofficeManager’s RCM solutions with its payments technology.
• Talkdesk publishes a new report, “Creating a better way for health plan member experience.”
• Stryker completes its acquisition of Vocera Communications.
• Vyne Medical publishes a new case study, “Refyne Connected Care Supports Virtual Collaboration Among Montana Pediatricians.”

Blog Posts

• Celebrating our 15th Anniversary – A Letter to Our Winners (Impact Advisors)
• Analysis: How prior authorization approval times and rates for cardiac imaging vary across insurance providers (Olive)
• Why Labor Retention Impacts Patient Experience (PatientBond)
• How to Improve Medical Response Times for Nurses (PerfectServe)
• Avoid Licensure Pitfalls to Open the Door to Telehealth Opportunities (Symplr)
• The Current State of Procure-to-Pay: Healthcare Suppliers Speak Out (Premier)
• Behind the Scenes of an Ideal Prescribing Experience (Surescripts)
• Bridging Gaps in Preoperative Preparation with Coordinated Outreach (Twistle)
• Software in Cash-Based Practice, Part 2: Managing Your Finances (WebPT)

Contacts

Mr. H, Lorre, Jenn, Dr. Jayne.
Get HIStalk updates.
Send news or rumors.
Contact us.