News 4/10/24

Top News

A second ransomware group – likely a disgruntled affiliate of the Blackcat/ALPHV group – threatens UnitedHealth Group with the sale of data that was stolen during the February ransomware attack on Change Healthcare if the company doesn’t pay up.

RansomHub claims to have access to 4 terabytes of data, though it hasn’t provided proof.

Cybersecurity analysts believe that RansomHub worked with Blackcat during the initial attack, but was cut out of the $22 million ransom that was reportedly paid by UnitedHealth.

UnitedHealth Group’s dashboard shows that one product has been fully restored (Reimbursement Manager), 12 have been restored with partial service, and six are being restored. The target date to have all services restored is the week of April 22.

HIStalk Announcements and Requests

I ran across stealth startup Photon Health, which seems to address my gripe that e-prescribing forces patients to choose a pharmacy at the time of prescribing, which means price shopping is nearly impossible and changing the pharmacy requires the prescriber’s involvement. The prescriber sends the prescription to the patient’s electronic wallet, from which they can then send it to any pharmacy after checking product availability and store hours and location. The app then gives the patient the expected availability time, or if they indicate they want to pick it up in the future, allows the pharmacy to queue filling. I tried the website option to send a sample prescription to my phone, which then allowed selecting a pharmacy, although I didn’t see an option to display pricing or use insurance information. I would also want to know how the app ensures that only one prescription copy is active if the patient controls its destination.

Webinars

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

Acquisitions, Funding, Business, and Stock

Vista Equity Partners will acquire life sciences revenue optimization vendor Model N in a $1.25 billion take-private deal.

Sales

• Boston Medical Center will use technology and services from Medically Home as a part of its new Hospital at Home program.
• Houston Methodist will implement Prolucent’s workforce platform and vendor management system.
• Community Health Network (IN) will implement Notable for chart review, care gap scheduling, and pre-visit planning.

People

Sean Henson (Wellvana Health) joins NantHealth as SVP and GM of NaviNet.

Announcements and Implementations

Overlake Medical Center & Clinics (WA) implements Nuance’s DAX Copilot automated clinical documentation software.

Verato adds AI features to its identity management platform, which makes recommendations for task resolution, clarifies patient matching decisions, and explains its recommendations in conversational language. The Smart Steward assistant is powered by Google Cloud’s Vertex AI.

Privacy and Security

The American Hospital Association posts its second warning that hackers are calling hospital IT help desks to ask for password resets — providing personal employee information to answer security question and enrolling new cell phones to receive multi-factor authentication codes — then using the employee’s compromised email account to reroute vendor payments to their own accounts or to deliver malware. AHA recommends that the help desk call the employee’s call-back number before changing their credentials, verifying the change with the employee’s supervisor, and either verifying the requester’s identity via a video call or asking them to send a screen shot of their government-issued ID. AHA notes that one large health system is requiring employees to visit the IT help desk in person for password resets, although it didn’t say how they address remote employees.

Other

Patients who use the Pip Care surgical care app spend less time in the hospital and are far less likely to be readmitted within a week of surgery, according to a comparative study of UPMC patients who underwent certain elective procedures. Backed by UPMC Enterprises, the Pip Care app offers pre- and post-surgical instructions combined with telehealth coaching.

Black Book Research’s latest survey results rank Andor Health first in user satisfaction for AI-powered virtual care solutions.

Press Ganey will add nurse-sensitive indicators and outcomes from Epic to its National Database of Nursing Quality Indicators.

Kettering Health (OH) opens its Center for Clinical Innovation at its former headquarters, also the former home of inventor and engineer Charles Kettering. The center will focus on digital health, AI, clinical informatics, and other tech projects. Fun fact: Kettering, a General Motors executive, invented the electric starter for cars and Freon, the now nearly phased-out ingredient in modern air conditioning units.

Sponsor Updates

• AGS Health publishes a new whitepaper, “The RCM Maturity Framework: A 4-Stage Journey to Digital Transformation and Operational Excellence.”
• Availity adds Predictive Editing capabilities to its Essentials Pro RCM platform, giving providers the ability to identify potential claims denials prior to submission.
• Symplr expands its partnership with Visier, embedding its HR analytics into Symplr Performance software for improved data and decision-making to engage and retain employees.
• CloudWave and FDA renew their agreement to share threat intelligence related to medical devices.
• Wolters Kluwer Health makes its Ovid Synthesis evidence-based practice workflow application available for participants and mentors involved in two of the Association for Nursing Professional Development’s academy programs.
• AvaSure upgrades its Analytics portal, part of its AI-powered Intelligent Virtual Care platform, with Microsoft PowerBI tools to help providers conduct deeper analysis of critical metrics.
• Louisville Business First honors Bamboo Health Chief People Officer Annie Likins with its 2024 Enterprising Women Award.
• CereCore partners with Tennessee College of Applied Technology to equip its graduates with CereCore’s Clinical Support and IT Help Desk jobs.
• Net Health launches a digital musculoskeletal thought leadership program, Harnessing the Potential of Digital MSK Care, with the American Physical Therapy Association.
• Clinical Architecture releases a new episode of The Informonster Podcast, “Data Quality in Healthcare.”
• Dimensional Insight will exhibit at the annual AMGA conference April 9-12 in Orlando.
• DrFirst will exhibit at the NAACOS Spring Conference April 10-12 in Baltimore.

Blog Posts

• The critical need for statutory reporting during EPR implementation (Altera Digital Health)
• Navigating the Path to Leadership: A Panel Event Recap (Artera)
• Transforming Prior Authorizations with AI-Powered Automation (Availity)
• Uncover Hidden Revenue and More with a Consultant’s Help (CereCore)
• Separating the Hype From the Hope in Healthcare AI Trends for 2024 (DrFirst)
• 6 Security Measurement Best Practices Every Healthcare Organization Should Know (Clearwater)
• Healthcare’s 2024 Imperative: a Pragmatic Approach to AI Innovation (Consensus Cloud Solutions)
• Guardians of the Digital Realm: Navigating Evolving Trends in the Cybersecurity Landscape (Direct Recruiters)
• Empowering Women’s Health with Digital Solutions (Divurgent)
• Leveraging AI: EClinicalWorks Reimagining Healthcare Delivery (EClinicalWorks)

Contacts

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