News 12/20/24

Top News

Alphabet’s Verily will reportedly shift focus in 2025 to offering AI tools, data aggregation, and privacy systems for healthcare providers and startups.

The company plans to relaunch Lightpath, its diabetes and hypertension app with AI and human coaching, in 2026.

The most profitable business of Verily, which is often criticized for its unfocused life sciences projects, is Granular Insurance, which helps employers cut healthcare costs.

HIStalk Announcements and Requests

Long-time HIStalk Founding Sponsor Healthwise (they first signed up in 2011) is leaving the fold due to its acquisition by WebMD. That leaves a rare opening in the two ad positions at the top of the page, so if your company would like to join Medicomp up there in the HIStalk stratosphere, contact Lorre. Could be a new sponsor, could be an upgrading one … we usually go with whoever commits first.

Ms. G from Texas sent over some photos of her fourth graders using the headphones that were provided by a reader’s donation and matching funds from my Anonymous Vendor Executive. She says, “These students are more engaged and confident, showing improved focus during lessons and taking more ownership of their learning. The headphones have also encouraged collaboration, as students can now listen to different parts of a lesson at their own pace while sharing insights with classmates.”

Webinars

None scheduled soon. Previous webinars are on our YouTube channel. Contact Lorre to present or promote your own.

Acquisitions, Funding, Business, and Stock

Finland-based smart ring maker Oura raises $200 million in a Series D funding round that values the company at $5 billion, with glucose biosensing company Dexcom participating in the round.

Confido Health raises $3 million in funding to continue rollout of its no-code AI agents for appointment management, insurance verification, and care coordination in specialty practices. It provides the “AI workers” to customers at an hourly rate.

Sales

• Safety net, 150-bed Nashville General Hospital will implement Oracle Health CommunityWorks.
• Johns Hopkins Medicine will implement Abridge’s ambient documentation solution across its six hospitals and 40 care centers.
• Arisa Health selects Netsmart’s CareFabric.

People

Symplr names Steve Filler, MHA, MPH (Boston Consulting Group) as COO and Matt Grill (UKG) as chief delivery officer.

Advantus Health Partners hires Rick Roycroft, MBA (Huron Consulting Group) as chief commercial officer.

Amwell adds COO to the role of CFO Mark Hirschornm who joined the company in October 2024.

Announcements and Implementations

Doc.com will expand its AI-powered healthcare platform to provide initially free hospital tools for telemedicine and online pharmacy services. The company received $300 million in equity financing a year ago. The Mexico-based company has faced skepticism for making questionable product claims and its active involvement in the cryptocurrency market.

Agilon Health will integrate Navina’s AI engine with its value-based care platform.

Mesh Health Solutions and KONZA will partner to stream the prior authorization process.

Government and Politics

The VA will resume its implementation of Oracle Health this fiscal year after placing rollouts on hold in April 2023 due to problems in its first five live sites. The VA says that system crashes and performance issues dropped 50% after its latest round of software updates, also noting that it discovered that many users were logging in via VPN even while connected to its internal network, which caused performance lags. VA officials downplayed the possible impact of having the new administration’s political appointees taking VA leadership roles.

Sponsor Updates

• Five hundred Meditech employees donate a variety of items to support 32 households during the company’s annual Holiday Giving initiative.
• Black Book Market Research publishes its survey findings on population health applications in emerging markets.
• Wolters Kluwer’s new “25 for ‘25” report predicts key healthcare technology trends driving momentum amid dramatic change in 2025.
• EClinicalWorks announces that customer Fairfax Medical Facilities (OK) was recognized by HRSA with a ‘Health Center Quality Leader – Gold’ badge for its 2023 Uniform Data System submissions.
• RLDatix supports The Leapfrog Group’s Proposed Changes to the 2025 Leapfrog Hospital Survey, specifically revisions calling for greater specification in the collection of data related to ICU staffing and the nursing workforce.
• Black Book Research identifies top vendors of FHIR-based prior authorization interoperability solutions, including Availity, Redox, and Rhapsody.
• First Databank will present at the American Society for Automation in Pharmacy 2025 Annual Conference January 16 in Amelia Island, FL.
• Findhelp welcomes the Appalachian Children Coalition, Community Foundation of Elkhart County, Hospital Sisters Health System, and Nassau County Department of Health to its network.
• CTG announces the retirement of Managing Director Christine Blanchard after 27 years with the company and the national search for her replacement.
• Fortified Health Security launches its inaugural advisory board.
• Goliath Technologies publishes a new case study, “Leading not-for-profit health system isolates and resolves speed & reliability of Citrix related Epic and ChromeOS device issues.”
• Healthcare IT Leaders releases a new Leader to Leader Podcast, “From the Gift Shop to the C-Suite.”
• Impact Advisors releases a new Impactful AI Podcast, “The Ethics of Human Autonomy in AI.”
• Inovalon releases a new “Inovators” podcast, “AI in Healthcare: The Value of Innovative Technology, Paired with Clinical Expertise.”

Blog Posts

• 2025 – The Year of AI Validation and Human-Centered Innovation (Medicomp Systems)
• Driving momentum in healthcare technology amid dramatic change (Wolters Kluwer Health)
• Boost Staff Productivity and Cut Costs with RPA in Healthcare (FinThrive)
• 5 Common Examples of Unintentional HIPAA Violations (HealthMark Group)
• Essential Customer Service Skills Every Contact Center Agent Should Master (Five9)
• 5 Ways an IT Partner Can Cure Physician Headaches and Boost Practice Efficiency (Med Tech Solutions)
• Essential strategies for value-based success in 2025 (Navina)
• How MUSC Leverages Telehealth to Reimagine Rural Healthcare (NeuroFlow)

Contacts

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