News 8/1/25

Top News

Several dozen health tech companies pledge at a White House-sponsored HHS event Wednesday titled “Make Health Tech Great Again,” to collaborate on interoperability and develop consumer-facing health tools in a patient-centric ecosystem. Thirty companies will build apps, 11 provider organizations will support adoption, and seven EHR vendors will promote data sharing and help “kill the clipboard” by reducing paper intake forms.

CMS says it will launch a digital health app library on Medicare.gov. It also outlined several related efforts:

• Enhancing the Medicare Plan Finder tool.
• Expanding the National Provider Directory.
• Adding digital IDs to Medicare.gov.
• Issuing FHIR-based digital insurance cards to improve access to Blue Button data.
• Launching the CMS Aligned Network to respond to patient and provider data queries.

The goals of the CMS Interoperability Framework include giving patients access to their medical and payer information using digital credentials and allowing providers to use their choice of technologies to obtain treatment access. It sets a July 4, 2026 date for participating networks to offer FHIR API access to chart notes, clinical documents, and encounter notifications.

Welcome to new HIStalk Platinum Sponsor LiveData. Hospitals and ASCs come to LiveData for tools that improve surgical revenue, margin, and patient safety. Its PeriOp Manager is a modular, real-time “system of engagement” integrated across the complete patient journey – pre-op case scheduling, block optimization, day-of awareness, OR safety, and retrospective analytics. It serves the perioperative suite and services procedure service lines as well. The company’s OR-Dashboard with Active Time Out module was recognized as a Joint Commission Leading Practice, thanks to its impact on improving safe surgery checklist compliance. The PeriOp Planner module has been shown on average to increase block utilization by 34%, decrease cancellations by 54%, and increase case volume by 4-6%. Surgery departments using LiveData modules have documented other improvements in KPIs like case scheduling accuracy, first-case-on-time-starts, and OR turnover speed. LiveData helps its clients realize fast financial and strategic gains in competitive environments. Thanks to LiveData for supporting HIStalk.

Here’s a LiveData explainer video.

Sponsored Events and Resources

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

Acquisitions, Funding, Business, and Stock

Blackstone will acquire revenue cycle management firm AGS Health for $1.1 billion. Blackstone was rumored to be the leading bidder in late May.

Cybersecurity startup Axonius acquires medical device security technology vendor Cynerio for $100 million.

Clinisys acquires lab system competitor Orchard Software from Francisco Partners, which acquired the company in 2019.

People

Highmark Health hires Alistair Erskine, MD, MBA (Emory Healthcare) as chief information and digital officer.

Jared Allen, MBA (Premier) joins Sonifi Health as SVP of healthcare sales.

Medical University of South Carolina names Amar Nagaram (Indiana University Health) as enterprise CIO.

Announcements and Implementations

England’s NHS pilots an AI-powered virtual physical therapy clinic, using Flok Health, which offers same-day automated video visits. Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust reduced waiting times by 44%.

CVS-owned Aetna enhances its app with Aetna Care Paths, which gives members a personalized view of their benefits and provides AI-supported personalized health and wellness programs.

Clearwater launches an Enterprise Cyber Risk Management solution.

Government and Politics

ASTP/ONC submits a prescription drug cost transparency rule that addresses using EHRs to submit prior authorizations, choose drugs that are consistent with the patient’s insurance, and exchange prescription information electronically with pharmacies and insurers.

Other

An editorial in Radiology recommends separating the roles of radiologists and AI in diagnostic workflows, challenging the prevailing view that they should collaborate directly. It proposes that AI systems first generate a clinical summary from patient data, which radiologists then use to interpret images and produce the final report. The authors say that this division allows radiologists to focus on critical thinking and image interpretation while leveraging AI’s strengths in pattern recognition and data synthesis.

Sponsor Updates

• Konza Health pledges its support for the CMS Digital Health Ecosystem and Interoperability Framework.
• Black Book Research’s latest survey highlights a growing divide over AI regulation in US healthcare.
• Ellkay supports Ochsner Health (LA) in decommissioning its Cerner system.
• FinThrive will present at Mid America Summer Institute August 5 in Omaha, NE.
• A new Five9 study finds that its Intelligent CX Platform delivered $14.5 million in business value and a 212% ROI through automation and growth.
• Health Data Movers releases a new episode of its “QuickHITs” podcast titled “Building the Nest: Rebecca Woods on Community, Mentorship, and Showing Up Authentically.”
• Healthcare IT Leaders offers a new report titled “The State of Oracle Health in 2025.”
• Impact Advisors releases a new episode of its “Impactful AI” podcast titled “The AI-Powered Clinician.”
• Infinx publishes a new case study titled “How a Regional Hospital Reclaimed 30,000 Clinical Hours With Automated Prior Authorization Workflows.”
• Linus Health expands the availability of its Anywhere cognitive assessment platform to payers, pharmaceutical companies, wellness providers, and consumers.
• Med Tech Solutions publishes a new case study featuring Dayspring Health titled “Rural FQHC Migrates to the Cloud and Installs Technology Pieces to Modernize Service and Minimize Downtime.”
• The “Health Stealth Radio” podcast features MRO Chief Interoperability Officer Anthony Murray in an episode titled “TEFCA truth and interoperability tactics.”

Blog Posts

• Trust Is the True Test for AI in Healthcare (Medicomp Systems)
• Decisions, decisions: Things to consider when choosing an AI vendor (Altera Digital Health)
• A Strategic Guide to the Rural Health Transformation Fund (Findhelp)
• Proven Ways to Strengthen Active Directory Security (Fortified Health Security)
• No More Guesswork: Regional One Health Transforms Patient Safety (Inovalon)
• Hope and Healing: How EHRs Can Drive Suicide Prevention Across Care Settings (Meditech)
• The Strategic Value of Clinician EHR Coaching in Healthcare (Med Tech Solutions)

Contacts

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