News 10/4/24

Top News

Virtual care chronic disease management vendor Omada Health files SEC paperwork for an IPO that is planned for early 2025.

The 13-year-old company has raised $450 million. It was valued at $1 billion in its most recent funding round in 2022.

Omada offers coaching, connected devices, and care plan management for diabetes, hypertension, obesity, and joint pain.

Reader Comments

From We Need More Good Actors: “Re: Particle vs. Epic. It was truly interesting to hear ‘The Health Tech Talk Show’ take this perspective: ‘This is a total freaking stunt, and they [Particle] are skirting around the actually problem that is they are bad guys, doing bad things, and totally destroying trust in the market.’” We’re all cheap-seaters until Particle’s scattershot complaint gets legally fleshed out and Epic and Carequality tell their side of the story, but these are my thoughts as I look at this week’s reader poll, in which 80% of respondents think that Epic’s case is stronger:

• Particle appears to have knowingly either bent or broke the data-sharing rules of the road.
• Carequality’s guidelines allow companies like Epic to turn off exchange with an organization if they suspect problems with privacy and security practices, so one rogue Particle customer could cause all customers to be turned off.
• The most relevant verbiage in the complaint is this: “Just a few months after Epic began its conduct, however, Particle’s revenue growth dropped so sharply and so dramatically that it was barely able to meet one-third of its previous projections, which up to that point it had regularly exceeded. And, unfortunately, that downward trend is continuing, all because of Epic’s anticompetitive campaign.”
• I don’t think the lawsuit is a stunt since generating PR won’t really help Particle, but rather a last-gasp effort by Particle to try to extract settlement cash from Epic to mollify investors who have pumped $40 million into the now-struggling company.
• What were they thinking in signing on an ambulance-chasing law firm as a customer?
• I expect one of two outcomes: (a) Particle will drop its lawsuit as the proceedings drag on with the lawyer cash register ringing, especially if HHS rejects Particle’s complaint of Epic’s information blocking and/or Carequality’s rules and records seem to indicate that Epic followed its rules and Particle didn’t; or (b) Particle will go broke while trying to ride out an expensive, tough-to-prove antitrust lawsuit.
• The most relevant industry questions are: (a) how far does the “treatment” definition and that of secondary uses extend?; (b) what level of responsibility do companies like Particle have for vetting and monitoring their customers?; and (c) what are Carequality’s responsibilities in defining and monitoring acceptable user behavior?
• The T in TEFCA stands for “trusted” and Particle’s lawsuit may convince the industry that Epic has been a good steward of patient data and responded appropriately.
• Perhaps Particle hopes to rally the industry around the “Epic is a bully” theme that unsuccessful competitors repeat regularly, but I’m not sure that this lawsuit will accomplish that or that Particle will benefit as a result.

From Steve Stanic: “Re: Lake Charles Memorial Health System (LA). We went live with Epic on October 1, replacing Paragon and local niche ambulatory vendor IMed after an 18-month implementation that replaced decades-old technology.” Steve is CIO there.

From Karma Chameleon: “Re: CVS Health. I was inspired to write this since my fellow physicians and I, as well as our patients, are chronically having to endure BS from CVS.” This is masterfully poetic and acerbic:

I have no tears for CVS
Nor sadness that they’re in distress
Indeed, if they are in a mess,
I’m quite delighted (I confess)

For in their money-grubbing quest,
Their PBM denied with zest,
And now it seems they must divest.
Most will concur — it’s for the best!

Tons of money they should lose
For all the staff that they abuse
Consumer care is just a ruse
All of this should be old news

The other thing, if truth be told
(And at the risk of being bold)
That dreadful music while on hold
Should mandate CVS be sold.

And so, my friends, I will not wail
If CVS begins to fail
If its investors start to bail
And karma bites it in the tail.

Webinars

October 24 (Thursday) noon ET. “Preparing for HTI-2 Compliance: What EHR and Health IT Vendors Need to Know.” Sponsor: DrFirst. Presenters: Nick Barger, PharmD, VP of product, DrFirst; Tyler Higgins, senior director of product management, DrFirst. Failure to meet ASTP’s mandatory HTI-2 certification  and compliance standards could impose financial consequences on clients. The presenters will discuss the content and timelines of this key policy update, which includes NCPDP Script upgrades, mandatory support for electronic prior authorization, and real-time prescription benefit. They will offer insight into the impact on “Base EHR” qualifications and provide practical advice on aligning development roadmaps with these changes.

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

Acquisitions, Funding, Business, and Stock

Teladoc COO Michael Waters, MHA will leave the company as part of a restructuring under new CEO Chuck Divita. He joined the company in July 2022 after nearly 10 years at Providence.

Sales

• Connective Health will use Availity’s Fusion data transformation engine to normalize, enrich, and reorganize clinical data.
• Ardent Health will implement the perioperative solution of Qventus to optimize its robotics surgery program.

People

TigerConnect hires Marissa Carlson, MS (Intelerad) as chief marketing officer.

Announcements and Implementations

Henry Ford President and CEO Robert Riney says that he is excited about implementing Epic at the former Ascension Michigan hospitals, naming that as one of his top priorities.

Rush Health announces Rush Connect, which offers virtual specialty care, virtual urgent care, E-visits via MyChart messaging, and self-scheduled cancer screenings.

Sponsor Updates

• First Databank staff volunteer at the Food Pantry at Riverside Park in Indianapolis.
• FeaturedCustomers names Artera, Backline by DrFirst, and PerfectServe as top performers in its “Fall 2024 Hospital Communications Software Customer Success Report.”
• Black Book Research’s latest survey of IT leaders lists eight technologies draining value from health systems.
• Ellkay will exhibit at the New England Epic User Collaborative October 8 in Waltham, MA.
• Clinical Architecture and 4medica partner to offer a harmonized, longitudinal whole-person medical record.
• Findhelp releases a new episode of “American Compassion The Safety Net” podcast, “The Broken US Safety Net.”
• Fortified Health Security names Caroline Nee business development representative.
• Healthcare Growth Partners publishes the September 2024 edition of its “HGP Observations.”
• Impact Advisors will present at the MGMA Leaders Conference October 7 in Denver.
• Inovalon previews its annual Empower Summit, taking place October 27-29 in Washington, D.C.
• “The Lead at the Top of Your Game” podcast features KeyCare CEO Lyle Berkowitz, MD discussing “How Tech-Empowered Virtual Healthcare Teams May Save Your Life.”
• The “NCQA Quality Matters” podcast features Konza National Network President and CEO Laura McCrary, “When Exchanging (and Trusting) Data Grows Up.”

Blog Posts

• Expert tips to take your healthcare data from chaos to clarity (Wolters Kluwer Health)
• Sunoh.ai – The Ultimate AI Scribe Solution for your Healthcare Practice (EClinicalWorks)
• NYC Health + Hospitals & EVisit (EVisit)
• Good to Great: Crafting Killer Digital Experiences for Exceptional Results (Five9)
• Confused About Interoperability? We’ve Got You Covered (HealthMark Group)
• From a Single Point of Failure to Multiple Paths: Industry Shifts in Response to Major Disruption (Inovalon)
• The relative number of new healthcare managers is growing 7% per year (Laudio)
• FIB-4 Score: Exploring Current Limitations & Improvement Opportunities (Lucem Health)
• Insights from the AWS Executive AI Forum (Medhost)
• Three Key Questions for Evaluating Healthcare Integration Engine Performance (Med Tech Solutions)
• Types of Occupational Therapy: Specialties That Set the Profession Apart (Net Health)
• Lessons from the NeuroFlow Summit: As Industries Converge, Quality Behavioral Health Data Is Essential (NeuroFlow)

Contacts

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