News 1/15/25

Top News

Several health systems launch the Truveta Genome Project, which will create a database of genotypic and phenotypic information. The data will be collected by using leftover biospecimens from the routine lab tests of tens of millions of consented, de-identified volunteers.

Truveta is made up of several big health systems that collect and sell EHR data to life sciences companies and researchers.

The company sell the genomic data for use in drug discovery, clinical trials design, and AI model training.

Reader Comments

From Buzzball: “Re: UpStream.care. Looks like the company is in liquidation. I look forward to your analysis. Interview Fergus Hoban?” The Greensboro, NC-based company provides support and technology for primary care physicians who provide value-based care to Medicare beneficiaries. It filed a WARN act notice in July 2024 that it would be laying off 66 employees after losing a contract with Triad Healthcare Network. The company reported funding of $185 million and a billion-dollar valuation as of late 2022. LinkedIn profiles indicate that most of its executive team left in late 2024. I emailed the “contact us” address from the website and it bounced back as undeliverable. I couldn’t find an email address for Fergus Hoban, founder and executive chairman.

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

Healthcare operations optimization software company Qventus announces $105 million in Series D funding.

Health data and analytics vendor Health Catalyst will acquire patient engagement-focused Upfront Healthcare Services.

RCM vendor Access Healthcare secures funding from New Mountain Capital, which had reportedly been interested in acquiring the company. The PE firm was in the mix last year to acquire R1 RCM, which wound up being taken private by CD&R and TowerBrook at a $9 billion valuation. It announced plans to acquire AI healthcare payments company Machinify last week.

Virta Health, which offers payers nutrition-focused, virtual-only programs for diabetes reversal and weight loss, says that it has scaled to $100 million in annualized revenue.

UK-based digital-first home healthcare provider Cera raises $150 million in financing, valuing the company at over $1 billion.

Technology news site The Register interviews a lead attorney representing plaintiffs in a lawsuit against software vendor MultiPlan. The attorney alleges that MultiPlan uses commingled pricing data from multiple insurers to reduce payments for out-of-network provider claims. The lawsuit argues that this sharing of payment data constitutes an anti-trust “cartel,” effectively forcing providers to accept below-market rates. It highlights a similar practice from 1996 to 2008, when insurers used software from UnitedHealthcare-owned Ingenix until lawsuits forced shifting the work to independent vendors serving as “liability shields.” The Register’s headline describes MultiPlan’s service as “price fixing as a service.”

Sales

• Renown Health (NV) selects patient experience and employee engagement software from NRC Health.
• Mayo Clinic (MN) will roll out Abridge’s AI-powered clinical documentation technology across its enterprise.
• Missouri HealthNet will implement social care payment capabilities from Unite Us as a part of its Transformation of Rural Community Health program.
• OrthoNebraska will adopt Health Catalyst’s Ignite data and analytics technology.
• Vizient selects ambient AI clinical documentation software from Augmedix.
• TidalHealth (MD) will implement Glytec’s Glucommander diabetes and insulin management technology.

People

Susan Kristiniak, DHA, MSN, RN (RV Healthcare Solutions) joins Caregility as CNO.

HHS names Meghan Dierks, MD (Komodo Health) chief AI officer, ASTP/ONC.

Access TeleCare names Michael Genovese, MD, JD (Acadia Healthcare) chief medical officer for behavioral health.

Inbox Health hires Patrick Block (Titan Cloud) as CFO.

Michael Kallish (Encoda) joins OP Solutions as CEO.

Announcements and Implementations

Availity adds Concert Genetics clinical criteria, coding standards, and genetic test identifier to its automated insurance authorization software.

New York-based Arnot Health and Cayuga Health affiliate to form Centralus Health, which will roll out Epic in March. It replaces EClinicalWorks and QuadraMed at Arnot and EClinicalWorks and Meditech at Cayuga.

Arcadia announces GA of a new AI-powered precision medicine solution for improved development of treatment pathways.

Labette Health (KS) will go live on Meditech Expanse this spring.

Waystar launches AltitudeAI, a set of new AI capabilities designed to help providers appeal denied claims.

A study finds that patient self-reported responses about their sleep quality, stress, mood, and pain that were collected using NeuroFlow’s digital health platform predicted suicidal thoughts.

Duke Critical Care Informatics opens registration for a two-day datathon on April 26-27, where critical care clinicians and data scientists will develop data-driven models using de-identified EHR data.

Government and Politics

Philips issues a Class I recall – FDA’s most serious classification – following reports that its remote cardiac monitoring patch failed to alert cardiology technicians of high-risk ECG events, causing 109 patient injuries and two deaths.

Privacy and Security

A former employee of Rhode Island Quality Institute sues President and CEO Neil Sarka, whom she accuses of misusing confidential patient data from the state’s health information exchange to conduct personal research as a professor at Brown University. The complaint claims that Sarka used his position at RIQI to persuade data analysts at CurrentCare – which is run by RIQI — to release the data while bypassing the plaintiff, who was responsible for ensuring patient confidentiality.

Sponsor Updates

• Ascom publishes a new case study featuring Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust, “Reducing response times and the number of patients falling with Smart Nurse Call.”
• Capital Rx releases a new episode of The Astonishing Healthcare Podcast, “Pharmacy Benefits 101: Pharmacy Audits.”
• The This Week Health Podcast features Clearsense CEO Jason Rose, “Maintaining Efficiency while Ensuring Quality and Secure Data.”
• Clinical Architecture releases a new episode of The Informonster Podcast, “Standardizing Healthcare: Carol Macumber Talks HL7.”
• Consensus Cloud Solutions announces that it has been recognized as a Leader in the “IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Digital Fax 2024 Vendor Assessment.
• DrFirst publishes a new whitepaper, “AI, But Make It Clinical: The Perils and the Promise of Machine Learning in Healthcare.”

Blog Posts

• What Makes Medical Device Risk Management Healthcare’s Most Interesting Opportunity (CereCore)
• Healthcare Trends to Watch in 2025 (AGS Health)
• Reconnecting through technology: How ambient listening bridges the old and new in medicine (Altera Digital Health)
• All About AI: A Conversation with Artera Leaders Guillaume de Zwirek and Ashu Agte (Artera)
• The transformative potential of AI in healthcare: Trends to watch in 2025 (Cardamom Health)
• CloudWave’s Predictions for Healthcare IT in 2025 Part 1: Hospitals Will Adopt a Patient-First Cybersecurity Approach (CloudWave)
• Epic Community Connect: A Strategy for Growth (CTG)

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