Cant you sue the F&B company for fraud if they said they paid you money but never did?
Monday Morning Update 3/3/25
Top News
Ireland’s Health Service Executive launches a health app that allows patients maintain a medical list, store health-related ID cards, access vaccination records, and search for HSE services.
Planned enhancements for this year include appointment scheduling and checking referrals and wait times.
HIStalk Announcements and Requests
The majority of poll respondents say that prescribers, regardless of the terms under which they earn a telehealth paycheck, are most to blame for irresponsible prescribing. I’m finishing the Pulitzer-winning novel “Demon Copperhead” and its depiction of opioid overprescribing and harm in Appalachia – not to mention that of the foster care system – supports the “people suck” argument.
New poll to your right or here: Which of the following items did you earn after age 35 that has been most valuable in your career? It’s perfectly fine to choose the “N/A” option if you didn’t earn one of the listed choices. I’ll run a variation next week titled, “Which of your credentials has provided the least career benefit relative to the time and effort required?”
It’s HIMSS25 week, where the official tagline of “where visionaries unite to revolutionize healthcare” translates to “I would stay home if it wasn’t for the parties and personal networking that my employer pays for;” AI will once again fix everything; and meaningful improvements in cost and outcomes are, like “free beer tomorrow,” always a year away. Attendees, half of whom will be hosting or guesting in a podcast or video, will see highs in the low 60s, lows in the mid-40s, and zero rain (because, desert). Peruse my guide for HIStalk sponsor presentations, parties, and private meeting options. Last year’s event pulled in 26,800 registrants and 971 exhibitors, and my rough exhibitor count for HIMSS25 is 940. I wish you safe travels and achievement of whatever HIMSS25 goals you are pursuing.
Expect a minimal dribble of news items Monday (and now, in fact) as vendors sit on their announcements until the HIMSS exhibit hall opens on Tuesday.
Sponsored Events and Resources
Live Webinar: March 4 (Tuesday) noon ET. “Securing a competitive edge in value-based care with AI: Data-driven strategies for enhancing returns across MA, ACO and Commercial programs.” Sponsors: Navina, AMGA. Presenters: Dana McCalley, MBA, VP of value-based care, Navina; Ron Rockwood, executive director of value-based care, Jefferson City Medical Group; Jonathan Meyers, CEO, Seldon Health Advisors. As value-based care models evolve, healthcare organizations must leverage AI to stay competitive and drive better financial and clinical outcomes. This webinar offers data-driven strategies for improving risk adjustment accuracy, optimizing risk stratification, and streamlining clinical and administrative workflows. You’ll walk away with proven techniques for measuring and quantifying the impact of your value-based care initiatives across your organization
Live Webinar: March 20 (Thursday) noon ET. “Enhancing Patient Experience: Digital Accessibility Legal Requirements in Healthcare.” Sponsor: TPGi. Presenters: Mark Miller, director of sales, TPGi; David Sloan, PhD, MSc, chief accessibility officer, TPGi; Kristina Launey, JD, labor and employment litigation and counseling partner, Seyfarth Shaw LLP. For patients with disabilities, inaccessible technology can mean the difference between timely, effective care and unmet healthcare needs. This could include accessible patient portals, telehealth services, and payment platforms. Despite a new presidential administration, requirements for Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) have not changed. While enforcement may unclear moving forward, healthcare organizations still have an obligation to their patients for digital accessibility. In our webinar session, TPGi’s accessibility experts and Seyfarth Shaw’s legal professionals will help you understand ACA Section 1557 requirements, its future under the Trump administration, and offer strategies to help you create inclusive experiences.
Contact Lorre to have your resource listed.
Acquisitions, Funding, Business, and Stock
Microsoft will retire Skype in May. Skype users can log in to Microsoft Teams for free using their Skype login, which will import their Skype chats and contacts. Skype usage peaked in 2016 with 300 million users, but 90% of those have since moved on. Hopefully the Teams switchover will be smooth for any remaining providers who have been using Skype to deliver virtual visits.
Sales
- AdventHealth will implement Hellocare.ai for in-room virtual care.
- Alaska Behavioral Health chooses Netsmart CareFabric and will adopt its Bells AI ambient documentation solution.
People
Jackson Hospital and Clinic (AL), which filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy last week, names Maureen Gaffney , DHSc, MS, RN (Gaffney Consulting Group) as CIO.
SureTest promotes Phillip Furukawa to chief revenue officer.
Announcements and Implementations
Epic will hold a one-day Open@Epic conference on its Verona campus on September 25. Anyone who wants to connect an app or service to Epic is invited. Sessions will cover FHIR, standards, and an overview of Epic’s interoperability programs and roadmap.
HIMSS recognizes Mednition’s KATE AI’s nurse-empowering patient flow solution as “Best in Show” in its hospital capacity innovation challenge.
Preventive health and diagnostics clinic Biograph launches, offering a range of diagnostic and longevity-focused tests. Core members pay $7,500 annually for lipid testing, body composition analysis, hereditary screenings, and neurocognitive assessments. The $15,000 Black membership adds dementia risk assessment, sleep apnea screening, coronary angiography, and personalized exercise and nutrition coaching.
Salesforce announces pre-built healthcare AI agents that include provider search and scheduling, care coordination, benefits verification, and customer service.
Privacy and Security
Canada’s Island Health is investigating an hour-long outage of its Oracle Health-hosted EHR on Tuesday. Oracle Health was recently named in a leaked chat log of a Russian ransomware hacker group.
Other
Hospital ED doctors tell a San Francisco man who had been in a biking accident that he needs to be checked out by a trauma center, which requires a six-mile ambulance ride. Trauma doctors found no need for further treatment and sent him home. He was billed $13,000 for the out-of-network ride from AMR, which is owned by a private equity-backed parent company that runs ambulance, fire, and air transport services. Complaints and media attention led to his share of the cost being waived, but the article notes that the federal No Surprises Act excludes ground ambulances.
Sponsor Updates
- Inovalon announces that its Patient Payment Management and Patient Statement Management solutions are now available on the PointClickCare Marketplace.
- Nym becomes a sponsor of the Tennessee Health Information Management Association.
- Optimum Healthcare IT expands its CareerPath program into Canada.
- Redox releases a new episode of its “Shut the Back Door” podcast titled “The final logoff: Streamlining secure departures.”
- Rhapsody secures HITRUST e1 certification.
- TrustCommerce, a Sphere Company, offers a new e-book, “Why Tokenization is Essential for Protecting Patient Payment Information.”
- Waystar will exhibit at Experity Urgent Care Connect March 3-6 in Louisville.
Blog Posts
- What the Trump Administration will mean for health policy (Altera Digital Health)
- Why strong clinical governance is essential for successful digital health transformation (Nordic)
- Clinical Perspectives Part Two: Centralized Scheduling Enhances Care Team Coordination (QGenda)
- HIMSS 2025 preview: How Redox + Microsoft are powering AI solutions with real-time streaming (Redox)
- Nurses’ Corner: 6 ways to improve staff adoption (Sonifi Health)
- AI in Healthcare: Streamlining Operations & Reducing Costs (Symplr)
- Key Takeaways From ViVE 2025 (Tegria)
Contacts
Mr. H, Lorre, Jenn, Dr. Jayne.
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I required an ambulance ride between a standalone ER and an acute care hospital for admission. AMR ( the only provider in my area) is conveniently out of network which resulted in a substantial bill. I’m guessing it’s their M.O.
In New Hampshire’s White Mountains, rescued hikers with injuries have learned to refuse ambulance rides to the local hospital, sometimes driving themselves, because of the high cost of those rides.
The interesting thing about ambulances — ground and air — is that the patient isn’t the one who requests their services. It could be a random bystander or a police officer who decides to call, but the rider (conscious or not) pays.
AMR parent Global Medical Response (37,000 employees) also milks the insurance / recurring revenue angle by offering a “membership.” They formerly offered it for firefighting services for homeowners who are served only by Rural/Metro (me being one of them years ago), but they sold that business for $620 million in 2015.
Even if you don’t get transported, you pay. I had a seizure; someone called an ambulance. I came to, refused transport, and *still* had to pay for them coming out.
I noticed that the patient’s bill in this case included a $12,000 charge for just showing up. I wonder how they can make the patient pay when they don’t have a contract or even a request for service from the person they’re billing?
In my case, they said they were going to send the bill to collections if I didn’t pay, and since I was young and trying to build my credit, I just paid up.
Friend of mine faints occasionally, and a poor well-intentioned coworker called an ambulance. She refused to move until he went downstairs and sent them away. Extremely sorry they were so skeevy to you.