If Newfoundland and Labrador are going to Epic, that's big news! The Maritimes have been stalwart Meditech customers for years…
Monday Morning Update 8/12/24
Top News
Walgreens Boots Alliance may sell its majority stake in VillageMD primary care clinics business as it streamlines its business to focus on retail pharmacies, according to SEC filings.
The company invested $6 billion in VillageMD in 2020 with plans to open hundreds of locations, but it says that the clinics haven’t attracted enough patients.
Walgreens also disclosed that $2.25 billion in loans that it provided to VillageMD are in default, but Walgreens will not exercise remedies while it is seeking a change in its investment.
HIStalk Announcements and Requests
Technologies most used are above, with those finishing lower on the list being telehealth, health tracking or self-management, and virtual health assistants.
New poll to your right or here: Which factor was most responsible for your getting your current job?
Welcome to new HIStalk Platinum Sponsor Prominence Advisors. Prominence Advisors is the healthcare data enablement company. The Prominence team helps healthcare organizations do more with their data to make healthcare smarter. Founded by former Epic leaders, Prominence works with more than 100 healthcare organizations across the nation, including seven of the top 10 hospitals in US News and World Report. Prominence is a winner of 2023 Best in KLAS Technical Services and 2024 Best in KLAS HIT Staffing, offering award-winning data enablement services to healthcare organizations. Thanks to Prominence Advisors for supporting HIStalk.
I found an explainer video for Prominence Advisors on its website.
Webinars
None scheduled soon. Previous webinars are on our YouTube channel. Contact Lorre to present or promote your own.
Acquisitions, Funding, Business, and Stock
TruBridge announces Q2 results: revenue flat, adjusted EPS $0.16 versus $0.40. TBRG shares rose 25% on Friday following the announcement but are down 52% over the past 12 months, valuing the company at $189 million.
AI-powered customer service technology vendor Five9 acquires Acqueon, which offers a revenue execution platform.
AMA’s Steps Forward program updates its detailed toolkit for reducing EHR inbox burden.
Former executives from Hinge Health, PMD, and Walgreens launch TrueClaim, an AI-enabled third-party administrator for self-insured companies that says it can save 7% of costs with no changes in benefits.
Announcements and Implementations
The local paper covers the virtual nurse program of HCA’s TriStar Skyline Medical Center in Nashville, which uses 100 cameras that are installed in the med-surg and progressive care units. Contracted virtual nurses who work from home perform all admission and discharge paperwork for each patient from 6 a.m. until 2 a.m. seven days per week. HCA says it implemented the program to overcome nurse shortages and keep older nurses working without the physical workload of 12-hour and weekend shifts. I was interested that the nurse politely first says “knock, knock” over the speaker before asking permission to turn the TV and cameras on.
Government and Politics
Massachusetts and California consider limiting private equity acquisitions of healthcare businesses, with the former proposing leverage limits and the latter considering mandatory state approval.
The government of Denmark, whose socialized health system was financially threatened by the cost of weight loss drugs, pressures Denmark-based Novo Nordisk to reduce the price to $130 per month versus the US price of $1,350 per month. The KFF Health News article notes that the drug companies are lobbying Congress to force Medicare to cover their drugs, which even with hefty discounts would cost $107 billion per year, which is just a bit less than the government’s entire Medicare Part D spending. It also observes that Wegovy, which costs $365 in Denmark and $1,400 in the US, sells for $92 in the UK. The GLP-1 companies use high US prices to convince other countries that they’re getting a deal.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott issues an executive order that requires hospitals to obtain the immigration status of patients, which the state will use to bill the federal government for the cost of treating undocumented migrants.
Sponsor Updates
- Waystar staff visit Family Health Centers of Louisville to distribute 250 bags of school supplies and care items to patients.
- Healthcare IT Leaders releases a new “Leader to Leader” podcast, “IT Strategy at an Urban Teaching Hospital.”
- Clinical Architecture announces that it has been selected by AWS as an Amazon HealthLake Partner.
- Everest Group recognizes Nordic Consulting as a Major Contender in its Healthcare Industry Services PEAK Matrix Assessment 2024.
- Nordic releases a new “Designing for Health” podcast, “Interview with David Berger, MD.”
- Verato will exhibit at ESolutions Xchange August 25-28 on Amelia Island, GA.
Blog Posts
- Transparency and trust: Leveraging patient portals for better healthcare relationships (Nordic)
- Nurses of Note 2024: The Labor and Delivery Director (PerfectServe)
- Three Tips for Streamlining Peer Review in the Provider Credentialing Process (QGenda)
- The Easier Way to Manage Your Health IT Talent (Revuud)
- Stop By and See Us at Epic UGM 2024 (TrustCommerce)
- Future-Proofing Your Healthcare Procurement Strategy (Symplr)
- How Cloud-Based Encoders are Transforming RCM (TruBridge)
Sponsor Spotlight
FinThrive is advancing the healthcare economy by rethinking RCM to pave the way for a healthcare system that ensures every transaction and patient experience is addressed holistically. We stand at the forefront of healthcare excellence, dedicated to transforming financial operations for customers across the ecosystem with cutting-edge technology and strategic insights. FinThrive delivers a smarter, smoother healthcare finance experience that increases revenue, reduces costs, expands cash collections and ensures regulatory compliance. To date, we’ve recovered over $10 billion in net revenue and cash to more than 4,000 customers worldwide.
Contacts
Mr. H, Lorre, Jenn, Dr. Jayne.
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Those are surprisingly low numbers for online usage on your poll. Especially for an HIT site whose audience presumably would be more comfortable using them than the average population.
Re: Weight loss drugs
What is the science on these drugs? I’m thinking that the hazards of being overweight would outweigh (ahem) most or all of the side-effects of the drug itself.
Yet it occurs to me that this could be a fancier version of Botox, where the weight loss is done for cosmetic reasons alone. The patient could be willing to take side-effect risks beyond what is clinically appropriate.
I’m also reminded of the various weight loss/weight control food products like Aspartame/Xylitol/Stevia. And there was that fat & oils substitute, what was that? Olein or something? I remember people reporting unpleasant digestive upsets with that product.
Certainly it’s not all bad news. Gastric bypasses have the rarest of all clinical outcomes: They tend to work better than expected!
“Olein or something? I remember people reporting unpleasant digestive upsets with that product.” If I recall correctly, it was Olestra and it can’t be digested so it ‘passes’ through the GI system, sometimes with sudden results, I think the term was ‘anal leakage’.
My take on these weight loss medicines is that they were tested under white mice syndrome, and probably weren’t tested on older, or younger people with multiple non-obesity co-conditions. I am hearing that there are potentially serious consequences for those with diseases that require people to maintain muscle mass (cirrhotic liver) — the elderly apparently just stop eating and lose not only fat but muscle mass.
This seems similar to PPIs in the late 90s, early oughts where they want to get them out on the market and downplay their long term effects.