Monday Morning Update 7/17/23

Top News

NextGen Healthcare will pay $31 million to settle allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by misrepresenting the capabilities of select versions of its EHR software, and that it offered kickbacks in the form of credits of up to $10,000 to users whose recommendations led to new sales.

HIStalk Announcements and Requests

It’s full steam ahead when it comes to IT projects for the majority of poll-takers. Lacy says she chose ‘Somewhat’ because “our organization has a very large (several year) IT project underway and for some unexplained reason our management team has decided to manage project intake so that we don’t have multiple competing projects for resources. So we have scaled back for the moment, but once our major project is completed, I expect we will be running multiple projects again. So happy to be working in an organization that is planning IT projects instead of just saying yes and throwing everything at the team at the same time!”

New poll to your right or here: Does the DOD’s declaration of mission accomplished make you any more confident that the VA will be able to complete its own systemwide EHR implementation? I asked a similar question just over a month ago. Sixty-one percent of readers at that time did not believe the VA’s Oracle Cerner roll out would ever be finished.

Webinars

July 26 (Wednesday) 1 ET. “Lessons We’ve Learned Since Launching our Cancer Prevention Program.” Sponsor: Volpara Health. Presenter: Albert Bonnema, MD, MPH chief medical information officer, Kettering Health System, and Chris Yuppa, product owner for oncology services and cancer prevention, Kettering Health System. Kettering’s IT department has played a critical role in providing an EHR-driven framework to bring cancer risk assessment and individual prevention plans to more than 90,000 patients. Primary care, OB/GYN, oncology, and imaging providers are now able to assess the hereditary, genetic, and lifestyle factors that affect the risk of developing lung, breast, ovarian, colon, and prostate cancer in any patient encounter. Learn how Kettering brings together people, processes, and technology to be more proactive in the fight against cancer and where its cancer prevention program is headed next.

July 27 (Thursday) noon ET. “Why You Shouldn’t Wait to Use Generative AI.” Sponsor: Orbita. Presenter: Bill Rogers, co-founder, president, and chairman, Orbita. The advent of generative AI tools truly represents a paradigm shift. And while some healthcare leaders embrace the transformation, others are hesitant. Invest 20 minutes to learn why you shouldn’t wait. When combined with natural language processing, workflow automation and conversational dialogs, generative AI can help leaders address a raft of challenges: from over-extended staff, to the rising demand for self-service tools, to delivering secure information to key stakeholders. You will learn where AI delivers the greatest value for providers and life sciences, how it can solve critical challenges faced by healthcare leaders, and how Orbita has integrated generative AI into its conversational platform so healthcare leaders can leverage its full capabilities safely and securely.

July 27 (Thursday) 2 ET. “Denial Prevention 101: How to stop denials from the start.” Sponsor: Waystar. Presenter: Crystal Ewing, director of product management, Waystar. There’s a reason denial prevention is prominent everywhere in healthcare RCM. Denials reduce cash flow, drive down revenue, and negatively impact the patient and staff experience. More than half of front-end denials don’t have to happen, but, once they do, that money is gone. It’s a pretty compelling reason to take some time now to do some preventative care on your revenue cycle. This webinar will help you optimize your front end to stop denials at the start. We’ll explore the importance of not only having the right data, but having it right where staff need it, when they need it.

Previous webinars are on our YouTube channel. Contact Lorre to present or promote your own.

Acquisitions, Funding, Business, and Stock

Patient intake and engagement software vendor Phreesia acquires MediFind, which uses AI-powered technology to help patients find best-fit physicians. MediFind CEO Patrick Howie, a former head of global analytics at Merck, has joined Phreesia as VP of product management.

Amazon Pharmacy, the online retailer’s standalone prescription delivery service, lays off 80 employees. Amazon has laid off nearly 30,000 staff within the last year.

RCM vendor Aspirion acquires Continuum Health Solutions, which offers motor vehicle accident and third-party liability RCM services.

Sales

• Southern Coos Hospital and Health Center (OR), Arbor Health (WA), Southwest Healthcare Services (ND), and South Lincoln Hospital District (WY) select CrossTx’s chronic care management software and services.

Announcements and Implementations

Texas Children’s Hospital implements Oracle’s Fusion Cloud Applications Suite, bringing seven systems onto one platform.

CommonWell Health Alliance surpasses 200 million users on its information-sharing network, equating to health data-sharing for 62% of the US population.

Sponsor Updates

• Availity partners with Quantiphi to deploy Availity Fusion Upcycling Data solution to the Google Cloud Platform.
• Meditech brings its Meditech-as-a-Service subscription model to the Australian market.
• Healthcare Triangle launches a ransomware initiative for healthcare providers aimed at cybersecurity protection and prevention.
• Net Health expands its partnership with Healogics, implementing its Tissue Analytics solution at Healogics sites.
• Netsmart will present at the NAHC Financial Management Conference July 17 in New Orleans.
• Nordic releases a new Designing for Health Podcast featuring Manish Patel, MD.
• OptimizeRx publishes a new case study, “Improving Oncology Outcomes by Using Artificial Intelligence to Help HCPs Identify More Brand-Eligible Patients.”
• ReMedi Health Solutions announces that it has been approved as an official NHS Digital Outcomes supplier.
• Ronin Chief Scientific Officer Christine Swisher joins the Coalition for Health AI to help advance trustworthy AI in healthcare.
• The Live at ViVE Podcast features Tegria SVP and Chief Medical Officer Ray Gensinger, Jr. MD, “The Role of Technology and Consulting in Healthcare Transformation.”

Blog Posts

• CIO on Innovation and Mobile Adoption: “Keep Your Eye on Operations” (CereCore)
• How being an early adopter improved clinicians’ technical confidence at Stillwater Medical Center (Meditech)
• Amplifying Success: How Care Integration Improves Clinical Outcomes (NeuroFlow)
• Where Are We Now? – Part One of the Healthcare Interoperability Blog Series (NTT Data)
• Unlocking the value of IT in healthcare (Nordic)
• EHR: Your Lifetime Journey (Optimum Healthcare IT)
• Healthcare Coding Series: ICD (Pivot Point Consulting)
• Revolutionizing Oncology Care with Artificial Intelligence: Predicting Acute Care Usage in Cancer Patients (Ronin)
• Demystifying Network Integrity: A Q&A with Cybersecurity Chief Judy Hatchett (Surescripts)
• Rapid Cycle Improvement Programs Deliver Speedy Results, Require Significant Effort (Zynx Health)

Contacts

Mr. H, Lorre, Jenn, Dr. Jayne.
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