Very disappointing for the AI /CTO/digital employees at HHS. They could have quintupled their salaries in the private sector and…
Monday Morning Update 1/20/25
Top News
ASTP / National Coordinator Micky Tripathi, PhD, MPP says his goodbyes after four years.
Reader Comments
From Granular Argument: “Re: Children’s National. Has chosen Epic to replace Oracle Health, contracting underway.” Unverified. This reader reported in October that the hospital was doing demos of both. I wouldn’t be surprised since Oracle wins few (any?) net-new deals against Epic.
From Deal Kvetcher: “Re: Health Catalyst. SEC filings show that it paid $86 million in cash plus up to $33 million in earnouts to acquire Upfront Healthcare.” Crunchbase shows that Upfront has raised $30.5 million, with the last round being a $10.5 million Series C in September 2022. Meanwhile, Health Catalyst’s JPM presentation this month shows a steadily declining revenue growth since its 2019 IPO (38% to 3%) and consistent losses from operations. HCAT shares have lost 86% of their value since their first day of trading and are down 41% in the past 12 months, valuing the company at $334 million.
HIStalk Announcements and Requests
Pondering: why does a telehealth doctor need to wear scrubs or a white coat? Maybe they are dashing online between in-person visits. I could have asked about a stethoscope, which clearly has zero utility when “seeing” a patient virtually. I also notice that 6% of poll respondents had their most recent encounter in video form. I’ve never had a video visit, but perhaps I’ll buy one of those ill-concealing exam gowns for future use in amusing the online doctor.
New poll to your right or here: What is the patient impact of private equity firms buying healthcare provider organizations? I added an “it depends” option, but I hereby restrict its use to respondents who promise to leave a poll comment that provides an example of when patients benefited from having their provider bought by PE.
Webinars
January 23 (Thursday) 11 ET. “Maximizing Revenue With Minimal Resources: Work Smarter, Not Harder in Claims Management.” Sponsor: Inovalon. Presenter: Travis Fawver, senior sales engineer, Inovalon. Navigating the challenge of hitting revenue goals is daunting, but billing doesn’t have to be. The presenter will explore how strategic adoption of new technology can transform claims management processes from reactive to proactive. Learn how to reduce denials while empowering staff to focus on high-value activities, and gain proven strategies to simplify workflows, automate routine tasks, and build a more efficient RCM operation to maximize reimbursement.
Stream on demand. “Healthcare Data Security: Aligning Processes with Evolving Threats & Regulations.” Sponsor: Inovalon. Presenters: Anthony Houston, MBA, senior director of security, risk, and compliance, Inovalon; Paul Wilder, MBA, executive director, CommonWell Health Alliance; Luke McNamara, MPA, deputy chief analyst, Google Cloud; Michael Quinn, VP of strategic partner development, Inovalon. Hear leaders in healthcare data security discuss some of the top recent threat evolutions and how organizations can proactively respond by making ongoing improvements to security protocols.
Previous webinars are on our YouTube channel. Contact Lorre to present or promote your own.
Acquisitions, Funding, Business, and Stock
Startup Our Expert Doc launches a digital electronic second opinion service that is aimed at connecting non-US patients with US doctors for a flat fee of $350 (and 50% off in January). The principals aren’t listed, but the company’s website address is a nice Raleigh, NC house that is owned by a quadruple-boarded Duke pulmonologist who is also listed as one of the available doctors (the company’s listed phone number is also his own, it appears). I was prepared to launch a snark attack about what seemed at first glance to be a questionable business (especially after viewing their YouTube videos, which feature a computer voice that says medical REE-cord), but I have to say that the providers listed are mostly amazingly well credentialed, and quite a few of them also work for Duke. PR seems to be a bit of a struggle for the company, so I offer to interview Dr. M if he is so inclined (my cred: I recently interviewed The Clinic by Cleveland Clinic CEO Frank McGillin, which also offers virtual second opinions in a joint venture with Amwell).
Chatham Emergency Services (GA) implements ArcGIS software that displays the diversion status of local hospitals and shows EMS crews how long it takes to get patients off the stretcher and inside, which allows them to seek the fastest care for situations such as stroke. The hospital dashboard can also be used by the public, as shown above.
Epic’s plans for a 90-acre, 2,000-employee European headquarters in North Somerset, England are approved despite 700 objections about loss of green belt, a local disapproval rate of 96%, and public gallery observers of the voting shouting “shame.” The project still requires approval by the secretary of state.
People
Surgical coordination software vendor Surgimate hires Kraig Brown (Office Practicum) as CEO. He replaces founder Rebecca Brygel, who will transition to product ambassador.
Announcements and Implementations
WellSky launches WellSky Extract for Home Health, which uses AI to extract information from patient documents and prescription labels to populate its home health EHR. The company says this is the first of a series of modules that it calls SkySense, with the next offerings being an ambient scribing solution and an EHR summarization application.
Government and Politics
The House Budget Committee lists the cost-cutting options it is considering to keep paying for federal tax cuts. Some of the healthcare-related ones:
- Eliminate the non-profit status for hospitals, taxing them as for-profit businesses.
- Eliminate federal healthcare tax credits and Medicaid access for non-citizens.
- Roll back the ACA’s expansion of Medicaid.
- Stop reimbursing hospitals for the unpaid debts of Medicare beneficiaries.
- Implement Medicare site-neutral payments.
- Replace payments to hospitals for uncompensated cares with a new fund that will include care delivered outside of hospitals.
- Reform ACA subsidies.
- Reform graduate medical education payments.
- Eliminate Medicare’s inpatient-only list so that more surgeries can be performed in lower cost outpatient settings.
- Reform the prescription price-setting aspects of the Inflation Reduction Act.
- Reform Medicare physician payments.
Other
A Redditor vows that ChatGPT saved his life after he entered his post-workout symptoms (muscle weakness and pain) and ChatGPT urged him to go to the hospital because it suspected a muscle breakdown condition called rhabdomyolis. The hospital ran lab tests that confirmed the diagnosis, which he knew almost immediately because he ran his results through ChatGPT as well. Redditors understood the takeaway – use ChatGPT to interpret symptoms, then go to a doctor to confirm and treat.
This is only slightly healthcare related, but a good business lesson. Happiest Baby, the maker of the $1,700 “smart bassinet” Snoo that rocks affluent babies to sleep, sparks customer outrage by introducing a $20 monthly subscription fee to use features that were previously free. The company defends the move as a “critical step” to counter losses from the thriving resale market, which they say undercuts new-product sales. Health tech folks will get this — the company’s long-term strategy isn’t to lower prices, but rather to get corporations, insurance companies, and government agencies to subsidize the Snoo’s cost. Customers are complaining to the FTC that a retroactive subscription requirement is a bait-and-switch tactic that should not be allowed.
Walgreens scraps the futuristic “smart doors” it installed on drugstore refrigerators, which were intended to display video ads, track inventory, and dynamically price items. The screens failed to deliver the promised sales boost, and the then-CEO reportedly asked, “Why do our stores look like an effing casino?” Screen vendor Cooler Screens sued Walgreens for $200 million and retaliated by cutting off data feeds, leaving customers — many of whom disliked the opaque screens from the start — staring at blank displays or makeshift printed signs. The failed project left $50 million worth of unusable custom screens gathering dust in a warehouse. This debacle echoes Walgreens’ earlier misstep with Theranos, which cost the company millions in customer lawsuit settlements over faulty in-store blood tests.
Sponsor Updates
- Optimum Healthcare IT publishes a white paper titled “5 Things to Know Before You Invest in ServiceNow”
- Netsmart offers a new case study featuring Amedisys, “Making Major Time-Savings Possible for Collectors.”
- Nordic releases a new “Designing for Health” podcast, “Interview with Brendan Keeler.”
- QGenda will exhibit at ASA Advance 2025 January 31-February 2 in Atlanta.
- TruBridge will exhibit at HFMA Western Region Symposium January 19-22 in Las Vegas.
Blog Posts
- CloudWave’s Predictions for Healthcare IT in 2025 Part 3: A Growing Threat of Healthcare Supply Chain Attacks (CloudWave)
- Clinical benefits of medical device connectivity (Philips Capsule)
- The future of healthcare: 5 resolutions you can’t ignore (Nordic)
- How Staff Self-Scheduling Can Boost Retention and Satisfaction (SnapCare)
- Ready for Action: Advancing Pharmacy Interoperability (Surescripts)
- Why Data Analytics Is Driving Healthcare’s Shift to the Cloud (Tegria)
- Coverage Detection 101: How RCM teams find missing or hidden insurance (Waystar)
Sponsor Spotlight
Planning a Workday project? Healthcare IT Leaders has released the ultimate Workday resource planning and staffing guide, including a comprehensive breakdown of the staffing requirements for each phase of a Workday project in healthcare organizations. The whitepaper provides detailed role breakdowns across six critical areas — from legacy system support to post-implementation optimization — so organizations can better plan their resource needs. Download the guide here.
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HCAT / Upfront acquisition. This is a classic public company play when your revenue/profits/stock are declining. Making an acquisition can cover up alot of sins, take analysts eyes of the ball. Buys time to put the pressure on the acquired company to up their revenue. Rarely if ever works out. Won’t be too long before HCAT gets scooped up cheap.