News 9/5/25

Top News

HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. says that the agency will increase resources to enforce healthcare information blocking, which the HHS announcement says “was not a priority under the Biden Administration.”

ASTP says it is reviewing reports involving certified health IT developers. ASTP and HHS OIG will “take an active enforcement stance against health care entities that restrict patients’ engagement in their care by blocking the access, exchange, and use of electronic health information.” 

Reader Comments

From Unashamed Cerner: “Re: Oracle Health layoffs. It’s tough being walked out, but remember that what you did here matters, whether it was for Cerner, Oracle Health, or an acquired company. Larry Ellison seems intent to prove that the most effective way to ‘disrupt’ healthcare is to simply fire everyone who knows how it works.” 

Sponsored Events and Resources

Online Event: September 16 (Tuesday) 11:30 a.m. ET. “Waystar Innovation Showcase: Activating Advanced Automation + AI to Transform Healthcare RCM.” Join us for Waystar’s Fall Innovation Showcase  to see the tools and tactics that are transforming healthcare payments and driving real, measurable results, like a 36% boost in workforce efficiency. In just one hour, we’ll reveal major advancements helping teams streamline processes, ensure accuracy, and speed reimbursement with AI + less manual work.

Contact Lorre to have your resource listed.

Acquisitions, Funding, Business, and Stock

The local press profiles Dallas-based Scribematic, a 15-employee firm that sells a white-labeled ambient documentation system to mid-sized and specialty EHR vendors. Owner and CEO Calvin Carter says Epic’s launch of its own AI scribing tools threatens smaller vendors with customer losses and warns them that building a competing product is risky and difficult.

A Kansas City TV station confirms Oracle Health layoffs, adding that the company’s KC headcount has dropped from 11,000 during its Cerner days to 6,000 now. Online discussion was extensive.

Online weight loss prescription vendor Remedy Meds will acquire Thirty Madison for $500 million in stock. Thirty Madison runs online prescribers Nurx (birth control), Cove (migraine), and Keeps (men’s hair loss). The companies report annual revenue of $450 million for Remedy and $220 million for Thirty Madison.

The new private equity owner of Walgreens will split the company into five standalone businesses — Walgreens (US drugstores), The Boots Group (international pharmacies), Shields Health Solutions (specialty pharmacy), CareCentrix (home health), and VillageMD (primary care).

Federal contractor GovCIO acquires SoldierPoint Digital Health, which holds a seven-year, $2 billion VA contract for telehealth and connected care solutions in the Connected Care Integrated Network. 

Digital health vendor HealthLynked will conduct a reverse split on its shares, which at the current price of under $0.03 value the company at $7 million.

WellSpan Health elevates its three-year collaboration with General Catalyst’s HATCo — which combines innovation, investment, and ownership of the Summa Health health system — to become its first Transformation Partner. It will co‑develop AI solutions that it expects to save 400,000 clinical hours annually and boost operational performance over the next five years.

Sales

• FQHC Primary Health Solutions will deploy call center voice agents from SoundHound AI.
• Hamilton Health Sciences implements the Philips Capsule Medical Device Integration system to provide Epic with continuous data from ventilators; intra-aortic balloon pumps; cardiac monitors; continuous renal replacement therapy; and ECMO.
• Comanche County Memorial Hospital (OK) will implement Meditech Expanse.

People

Trimedx hires Srilekha Akula (Alto Pharmacy) as chief data and AI officer.

Justin Neece, MBA (Azara Healthcare) joins MedeAnalytics as chief growth officer.

Announcements and Implementations

TigerConnect launches an interfacility transfer coordination product.

A new KLAS report looks at enterprise imaging, specifically vendor-neutral archive and universal viewer. It notes that radiology and cardiology are the most widely stored and viewed image types, with growth in some areas, but few organizations are storing POCUS (wound care and dermatology images) and little progress has been made in digital pathology usage.

Government and Politics

HHS will restore health and sciences webpages and data it had deleted as settlement terms of a lawsuit that was brought by the Washington State Medical Association. HHS had deleted information on pregnancy risks, opioid-use disorder, and AIDS under the White House’s order to stop using the term “gender.”

Other

New York City hospitals say that FDNY’s new policy that requires ambulance crews to take patients to the computer-chosen closest hospital – regardless of physician privileges, patient preferences, or condition – is endangering patients. FDNY’s commissioner disagrees, saying that “We’re not the Uber business or Lyft business to take people where they want to go” and that the change was needed to reduce 911 response times.

Sponsor Updates

• CereCore releases a new episode of its podcast titled “The Value of Advocacy in Rural Health: A CFO’s Perspective.”
• Agfa HealthCare will exhibit at ASE 2025 September 5-7 in Nashville.
• Artera publishes a new report titled “Trends in Patient Engagement.”
• AvaSure will integrate Ascom’s Healthcare Platform Suite and Myco devices with its Virtual Care Platform.
• Consensus Health Solutions will exhibit at the National Tribal Health Conference September 7-12 in Chandler, AZ.
• DrFirst; TrustCommerce, a Sphere company; and First Databank will sponsor the New England Epic-users Collaborative Fall Summit October 27 in Waltham, MA.

Blog Posts

• Beyond Spreadsheets: Unlocking the Power of Advanced Analytics in Healthcare RCM (AGS Health)
• Master Your NG8 Upgrade with a Fully Customizable Support Solution (Med Tech Solutions)
• Protecting Patient Privacy in the Age of Information Sharing (Netsmart)
• AI isn’t coming for your job: It’s coming for your workflow (Nordic)
• What Healthcare Leaders Need to Know About Autonomous Medical Coding (Nym)
• 5 most unproductive touches in the healthcare RCM process (Waystar)
• How to Demonstrate Patient Safety Under the PSSM Program (CereCore)
• Rural hospitals, we hear you: Ambient listening AI is here (Altera Digital Health)
• Self-service in health IT: More than a fancy kiosk (Cardamom)
• AI Prompt Injection in Healthcare: The Real Cyber Risk Hiding in Plain Sight (Clearwater)
• What If You Had the Right Partner to Get There? (CloudWave)
• Why Eliminating Per-Agent Licensing Is a Game Changer for Healthcare Communication (CTG)
• How Can Data Positively Impact Social Determinants of Health? (Dimensional Insight)
• Lessons In Selflessness: A Reflection for International Overdose Awareness Day (First Databank)
• Choose with Confidence: Your Social Care Platform Guide (Findhelp)
• Artera Celebrates Industry Recognitions and Leadership Promotions (Artera)
• Closing the CX Gap: What Business Leaders Get Wrong—and How to Fix It (Five9)
• Leveling Up Healthcare Cybersecurity Teams From “Overwhelmed to Elite” (Fortified Health Security)
• 4 Things to Know About the Future of Epic & AI (Healthcare IT Leaders)

Contacts

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