News 12/3/25

Top News

A new, 10-year CMS model called ACCESS will test whether an outcome-aligned payment approach can expand access to technology-enabled chronic care management in Original Medicare starting in July 2026.

CMS says that telehealth, wearables, lifestyle coaching apps, and FDA-authorized devices can support clinical consultations, lifestyle support, counseling, patient education, medication management, ordering and interpreting tests and imaging.

The program will focus on four tracks:

• Early cardio-kidney-metabolic conditions such as hypertension, dyslipidemia, obesity, and prediabetes.
• Cardio-kidney-metabolic conditions such as diabetes, chronic kidney disease, and heart disease.
• Chronic musculoskeletal pain.
• Depression and anxiety.

Some LinkedIn comments from Christian Pean, MD, MS, executive director of AI and IT innovation at Duke Orthopedic Surgery:

Value-based care just got more real for orthopedics. I’ve sat through countless meetings about the shift from volume to value. It often feels abstract. But the CMS ACCESS Model (launching July 2026) is one of the most tangible signals I’ve seen that the ground is shifting below our feet. For those of us in orthopedic surgery and health tech, CMS says this is a playbook for the next decade. Instead of just paying us to intervene, CMS wants to pay us to manage patients longitudinally. The model introduces Outcome-Aligned Payments, recurring revenue that is contingent on the patient actually getting better … You cannot succeed in this model with a clipboard and a phone call. To manage outcomes at scale, we need AI-enabled Integrated Practice Units (IPUs). We need remote monitoring that feels invisible to the patient but gives the clinical team actionable data.

Reader Comments

From Nasty Parts: “Re: Accuity. I’m hearing that it was acquired by [publicly traded vendor name omitted]. Not announced, but integration is underway.” Unverified. I’ve omitted the rumored acquirer’s name since they are publicly traded.

From Ray: “Re: TEFCA. I agree that comparisons between TEFCA and CMS Aligned Networks is confusing. This document may help clarify.” Thanks to Ray Duncan, MD, who has more experience in interoperability and technology than just about anybody, for creating and sending this document.

HIStalk Announcements and Requests

A reader’s generous donation, matched with funds from organizations and my Anonymous Vendor Executive, fully funded these Donors Choose teacher grant requests from historically underfunded schools:

• STEM activities and sensory toys for Ms. A’s elementary school class in Paterson, NJ.
• Geometric line design tools for Mr. N’s elementary school class in Starkville, MS.
• Headphones for Ms. Z’s middle school science academy class in Youngstown, OH.
• Apple pen and accessories for Mr. W’s middle school science academy class in Youngstown, OH.
• Structural design toys for Ms. S’s middle school class in Jonesboro, GA.
• Educational marble construction sets for Ms. O’s kindergarten class in Hayward, CA.
• Literary center shelving units for Mr. V’s elementary school class in Paterson, NJ.
• Agriculture microbit coding kits for Ms. M’s elementary magnet school class in Pasadena, CA.
• Equipment for the student-led news project of Ms. M’s elementary school class in Charlotte, NC.
• Headphones for Ms. M’s elementary school class in Oklahoma City, OK.
• Graphic design certification peripherals for Mr. W’s high school class in Port Saint Lucie, FL.
• STEAM supplies for Dr. K’s elementary school class in Port Saint Lucie, FL.
• STEM activities for Ms. H’s elementary school class in Hemet, CA.
• English and Spanish books for Mr. H’s elementary school class in Los Angeles, CA.
• Science experiment kits for Ms. M’s elementary school class in Philadelphia, MS.
• Jump ropes and hula hoops for recess activities for Ms. C’s elementary school class in Port Saint Lucie, FL.
• STEM supplies for Ms. H’s elementary school class in Bowen, IL

Sponsored Events and Resources

None scheduled soon. Contact Lorre to have your resource listed.

Acquisitions, Funding, Business, and Stock

Hospital-at-home company Inbound Health shuts down, citing regulatory uncertainty around reimbursement for its services. It was spun out of Allina Health in 2022 to help health systems develop tech-enabled, home-based care programs and had raised $50 million.

West Virginia University Health System will spend $80 million to roll out Epic across Independence Health System (PA) facilities, which will become a part of WVU’s system next fall.

Avandra, which is developing a federated network for medical imaging and clinical data for pharma and AI innovation, acquires DatCard Systems, which offers DICOM distribution solutions, and Sorna Corporation, whose technology supports automated medical data distribution.

Sales

• Sauk Prairie Healthcare (WI) will implement Jorie AI’s automated RCM technology.
• UnityPoint Health (IA) selects Mayo Clinic Platform_Insights to enhance its clinical and operational workflows.
• Children’s of Alabama, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center (NY), and Vancouver Clinic (WA) select Visage Imaging’s enterprise imaging software.
• Inova Health selects Signal 1’s AI Management Platform for AI tool visibility, monitoring, prompt improvement, and ROI tracking.

People

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Owensboro Health (KY) promotes Bridget Burshears, MD to CMIO.

Darrell Keeling, PhD, MBA (Parkview Health) joins Bronson Healthcare as CTO and VP of IT infrastructure and cybersecurity operations.

HealthEx promotes Jeremy Schwarz to chief commercial officer.

Announcements and Implementations

Queen Victoria Hospital NHS Foundation Trust launches Altera Digital Health’s Sunrise EHR.

Tampa General Hospital (FL) implements Hyro’s voice AI agents within its call center workflows.

In Kansas, Gove County Medical Center will transition to Meditech through a new affiliation with HaysMed.

The New York State Nurses Association accuses hospitals of deploying AI without their involvement, specifically the Sofiya AI assistant that is being used in Mount Sinai’s cardiac catheterization lab.

CGH Medical Center (IL) goes live on Epic.

KLAS finds that despite better access to external records due to EHR vendor improvements, clinicians remain frustrated because duplicate data, inconsistent formats, and weak mapping limit actionability. The report notes that more APIs do not translate to more data or value, and that mistrust among providers and payers is a bigger barrier to sharing than the technology itself.

Government and Politics

House lawmakers pass the Hospital Inpatient Services Modernization Act, which if signed into law, would extend federal reimbursement for hospital-at-home programs through 2030. Funding for such programs was cut off during the federal government shutdown.

Sponsor Updates

• Altera Digital Health will present at HCTC 2025 December 2-4 in Chula Vista, CA.
• Black Book Research announces the 2025 rankings for outsourced RCM solutions in laboratory and ancillary healthcare sectors, with XiFin taking top marks.
• Milliman CareFlowIQ announces expanded medication reconciliation capabilities from Surescripts.
• AdvancedCare integrates Inbox Health’s automated billing communication and payment technology with its clinical and RCM platform.
• CereCore releases a new podcast titled “Why Tech Makes Care More Human: Sir David Sloman’s Lessons from the NHS.”
• Findhelp announces a data-sharing partnership with Manifest MedEx.

Blog Posts

• Maximizing Reimbursements in Outpatient Rehab: How TheraOffice Helps You Capture Every Dollar (Netsmart)
• What shopping carts can teach us about fixing broken workflows (Nordic)
• What the 2× Weight Drop Means for CAHPS and How to Stay Ahead (ReferWell)
• Funding the Frontline: Why Rural Pharmacists Must Be Part of the Transformation (Surescripts)
• 5 Reasons Bonafide, powered by WellSky, is the best ERP for DME (WellSky)
• From EHR To EHR Reimagined: It’s A New Era for Oracle Health (CereCore)
• How artificial intelligence is transforming healthcare (Wolters Kluwer Health)
• The Latest from Vital Signs: Physician Pay Is Up, Practice Leaders Prioritize People-Centric Goals, and Burnout Is Worse for Women Physicians (AdvancedMD)

Contacts

Mr. H, Lorre, Jenn, Dr. Jayne.
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