Morning Headlines 11/22/16

The Bigger Story, and Agenda, Behind GOP Changes to Obamacare, Medicare and Medicaid

Kaiser Family Foundation president and CEO Drew Altman outlines the GOP proposal to repeal and replace ACA and reform the Medicare and Medicaid programs, plans he describes as “the biggest changes in the direction of federal health programs since the passage of Medicaid and Medicare.”

Top Management and Performance Challenges Facing HHS

OIG lists the top ten challenges facing HHS in the coming year, with health IT coming in third on the list.

UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention Renews Relationship with Cerner to Provide Electronic Health Record

The UAE’s Ministry of Health continues its system-wide implementation Cerner with a contract extension that will add anesthesia management and medication barcode scanning to from Cerner.

US government releases official guidelines for smart guns

The Department of Justice releases voluntary guidance for firearms manufacturers outlining the kinds of “smart gun” safety technology it would like to see in pistols. While adopting the recommendations is optional, DOJ reports that the features will be part of the baseline specifications for law enforcement service pistols. 

Morning Headlines 11/21/16

Factom, Inc. Receives Grant to Create Secure Medical Records Using its Blockchain Technology

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation issues blockchain vendor Factom a grant to build a tool to secure electronic medical records with blockchain technology.

NHS trusts overshoot maximum annual deficit in just six months

Six months into its fiscal year, the NHS has passed its permissible deficit for the year and is on pace to end the year $3 billion over budget.

What Does the Trump Presidency Imply for Healthcare and Healthcare IT?

John Halamka, MD discusses the impact President-elect Trump will likely have on health IT.

Association Between the Opening of Retail Clinics and Low-Acuity Emergency Department Visits

A study investigating the relationship between availability of local retail clinics and ED utilization finds no decrease in the use of emergency services for low-acuity conditions.

Morning Headlines 11/18/16

Neal Patterson’s Remarks from CHC

Cerner CEO Neal Patterson speaks at the Cerner Health Conference, discussing his ongoing cancer treatment and his new perspective of EHRs as a patient.

Theranos Whistleblower Shook the Company—and His Family

The Wall Street Journal’s John Carreyrou tells the story of Tyler Shultz, the inside source that broke the Theranos story to the media and government officials.

Obamacare startup faces losses

Tech-savvy insurance startup Oscar Insurance continues to lose money on public exchanges, its primary business. The startup is now exiting a number of exchange markets in efforts to diversity its revenue stream.

CMS launches new online tool to make Quality Payment Program easier for clinicians

CMS releases an API that will give developers access to Quality Payment Program data.

Morning Headlines 11/17/16

Sign-Ups Under Affordable Care Act So Far Seem Not Hurt by Donald Trump’s Win

Healthcare.gov has processed over a million applications during the first 12 days of open enrollment, outpacing last year by 53,000.

Trump May Repeal Obamacare But He Won’t Touch Obama’s Other Major Health Law

According to Forbes, MACRA, which was passed with bipartisan support, will not be targeted for repeal or revisions under a Trump presidency.

Trump’s HHS secretary could be surgeon Rep. Tom Price

Trump is reportedly considering Representative Tom Price (R-GA) for HHS Secretary. Price was an early Trump supporter and has been a longstanding critic of the ACA.

Health Technology And Human Touch Need Not Be At Odds

In a Health Affairs blog, Eric Topol MD discusses the needed balance between technology and presence in the exam room.

Morning Headlines 11/16/16

Report on the Safe Use Of Pick Lists In Ambulatory Care Settings

Citing a high frequency of pick list-related errors, ONC publishes a report on the safe use of medication and patient pick lists in ambulatory EHR with recommendations for vendors, CMIOs, and end users on how to minimize risks.

CareCloud Completes $31.5 Million Series C Funding Round to Further Modernize Healthcare

Ambulatory EHR vendor CareCloud raises an oversubscribed $31.5 million Series C, bringing its total funding to $103 million.

The American Heart Association and Amazon Web Services Launch Cloud-Based Precision Medicine Data Marketplace to Accelerate Scientific Discovery

The American Heart Association announces that it will begin storing data sets from drug companies, research institutes, and universities in the cloud for researchers to analyze in hopes of advancing cardiovascular disease research.

White House Official Warned VA About New Vets.gov Enrollment App; Records Crisis Continues

The VA goes live with a new online healthcare application without getting approval from the agencies lawyers because of legal and technical issues that ultimately led to 65 percent of applications being lost.

Morning Headlines 11/15/16

Keynote Speaker: John Boehner

HIMSS announces former Speaker of the House John Boehner will keynote HIMSS17.

Cerner and American Well to Embed Telehealth Capabilities into Cerner EHR

Cerner will integrate telehealth services from American Well into its software, allowing providers working within the Millennium EHR to connect with patients over Cerner’s patient portal.

Obama administration disperses last of grants to fund health information exchanges

ONC issues a total of $2.4 million in grants to four state HIEs: Delaware Health Information network, Oregon Health Authority, Rhode Island Quality Institute, and the Utah Health Information Network.

MLB to standardize medical information in wake of A.J. Preller suspension

In the wake of Padres GM A.J. Preller being suspended for hiding medical information during trade talks, the MLB has agreed to a new standardized approach to medical data sharing.

Morning Headlines 11/14/16

Social Security and Veterans Affairs Partnership Means Faster Disability Decisions for Veterans

The Social Security Administration integrates its disability claims processing system with the VA, speeding up the claims approval process by granting SSA immediate access to medical documents.

Donald Trump, in Exclusive Interview, Tells WSJ He Is Willing to Keep Parts of Obama Health Law

During a Wall Street Journal interview, Donald Trump says that he will preserve some components of the ACA, such as the pre-existing condition exemption and the ability to keep children on a parents insurance plan until the age of 26.

Cerner uses employees’ DNA in pilot research; aims to use genetic info to improve health

Cerner is analyzing full DNA sequences donated  by 82 employees to help the company study how genetics impacts obesity, metabolic syndrome, osteoporosis, and depression.

Morning Headlines 11/11/16

Siemens plans public listing of healthcare business

Siemens announces plans for an IPO of its $15 billion Siemens Healthineers medical business.

Red Hat mHealth survey shows strong ROI and anticipated growth despite budget headwinds

A Red Hat survey of healthcare organizations finds that 82 percent have a fully implemented mobile strategy, outperforming commercial enterprises. 78 percent of those healthcare organizations also report an ROI on their mobile app investments.

VA to launch online appointment scheduling

The VA will begin offering online appointment scheduling in January 2017, starting first with primary care appointments, and then followed by mental health, optometry, and audiology appointments.

‘The polls clearly got it wrong’: The autopsy will take months

Experts say that understanding how statisticians got the election polling forecasts so wrong will take approximately six months of analysis.

Morning Headlines 11/10/16

Policy experts say quick repeal and replace of ACA unlikely

Health policy experts say that despite GOP control of the White House, Senate, and House of Representatives, and persistent promises from Congress to repeal or replace, a full repeal of ACA remains unlikely due to the simple fact that millions of Americans would lose their health insurance.

Cerner, HCA stocks dip with ACA uncertainty

On the stock market, healthcare stocks are slipping on uncertainty around a potential ACA repeal. Cerner stock fell 4.6 percent overnight, while HCA’s stock price fell 12.4 percent.

Kaiser Foundation Health Plan and Hospitals Report Year-to-Date and Third Quarter 2016 Financial Results

Kaiser Permanente reports Q3 results: revenue grew to $48.3 billion, resulting in $672 million in operating income, up from $363 million for the same quarter last year.

How some hospitals are replacing pricy EpiPens with a $10 version

In response to increasing EpiPen prices, the University of Utah Health Care system is replacing EpiPen’s within the system with a $10 EpiKit, which will include a vial of epinephrine, two needles, alcohol wipes, two syringes, and instructions.

Morning Headlines 11/9/16

Healthcare company laying off 60 workers in Charlotte

McKesson lays off 60 Charlotte, NC-based employees from its Enterprise Information Solutions (Paragon) business.

Knowing When and How to Use Medical Products

CMS Acting Administrator Andy Slavitt co-authors a JAMA article with two senior FDA officials calling for more diverse clinical trial populations and an increased use of data from EHRs, claims, and registries to support the decision to approve and pay for new drugs.

Walgreen Sues Theranos, Seeks $140 Million in Damages

Once a key strategic customer, Walgreens sues Theranos for breach of contract, seeking $140 million in damages, equal to the amount it invested in the startup.

Adelaide hospitals hampered by nine-hour system outage

In Australia, three major hospitals report that a nine hour network outage prevented clinicians from accessing its Allscripts EHR.

Morning Headlines 11/8/16

2016 Report To Congress on Health IT Progress

ONC submits its HITECH-mandated annual report to Congress. The report predictably focuses on the current state of interoperability and the path to improvement.

HealthCare.gov Site Straining to Keep Up With Enrollees

Since the November 1 start of the 2016/2017 enrollment period, HealthCare.gov has been using virtual waiting rooms to temporarily hold end users during peak enrollment periods so that the site does not crash under the increase in traffic.

Head of NYC’s cash-bleeding public hospital system to step down

NYC Health & Hospitals president Ram Raju, MD will retire at the end of this month, and will be temporarily replaced by Stanley Brezenoff, who ran New York’s health system in the 1980s, until a permanent replacement is named.

Dangerous Infusion Errors Top ECRI Institute’s Annual Health Technology Hazards List

ECRI Institute publishes a list of the top 10 health tech hazards for 2017.

Morning Headlines 11/7/16

Grant Aims to Boost Health IT Safety Initiative

ECRI Institute lands a $3 million grant to fund a 3-year project aimed at improving the design, implementation, and use of EHR and other health IT products.

Data Analytics in Healthcare | 2016

A Peer60 report finds that 90 percent of health systems have a data analytics strategy in place, but that 22 percent rely on a homegrown solution, and another 43 percent use multiple analytics vendors to cobble together actionable intelligence.

Tracker flags up failures to report clinical trials

Researchers create an automated tool that identifies organizations that withhold clinical trial results by comparing completed clinical trials listed in ClinicalTrials.gov with reports in PubMed and then calculating what percent of an organization’s trials have no published results. Sanofi was found to be missing results from 65 percent of their trials, while Mayo Clinic is missing 50 percent of its results.

Remarks by Andy Slavitt: The Need to Partner on Drug Innovation, Access and Cost

In a speech given at a pharma conference, CMS Acting Administrator Andy Slavitt warns that significant drug price increases has become the healthcare issues Americans most want action taken on, noting that in the next few years “these costs will put unsustainable pressure on the Medicare program and action is going to be necessary to address them.”

Morning Headlines 11/4/16

Allscripts announces third quarter 2016 results

Allscripts reports Q3 results: revenue climbs 11 percent to $392 million, adjusted EPS $0.14 vs. $0.13, missing on both.

Cerner (CERN) Q3 2016 Results – Earnings Call Transcript

In its Q3 earnings call, Cerner CFO Marc Naughton explains that revenue and bookings came in below guidance because of lower than expected technology resale and software licensing sales, with technology resale revenue declining 21 percent and software licensing declining 12 percent.

University College London Hospitals set for Epic adventure

In England, University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust selects Epic as its next EHR vendor.

HHS announces Phase 1 winners of the Move Health Data Forward Challenge

HHS selects ten teams as the winners of the first phase of its Move Health Data Forward Challenge, which asks developers to use APIs to help patients securely share their health data with providers, family members or other caregivers.

Inside Magic Leap, The Secretive $4.5 Billion Startup Changing Computing Forever

Forbes profiles Magic Leap, a secretive virtual reality startup that has raised $1.4 billion in investments from major firms, including Google, Andreessen Horowitz, and Kleiner Perkins.

Morning Headlines 11/1/16

Red Cross Blood Service data breach: personal details of 550,000 blood donors leaked

In Australia,the personal information of 550,000 blood donors is exposed after a web developer working for the Red Cross inadvertently leaves an unsecured file with the information into the Internet.

Fall 2016 Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grades Out Now

The Leapfrog Group publishes its 2016 Hospital Safety Grades, ranking patient safety across 2,600 US hospitals.

Appeals court revives FTC’s bid to block Advocate/NorthShore merger

The FTC wins an appeal to block the merger of Illinois-based Advocate Health Care and NorthShore University Health System.

Morning Headlines 10/31/16

Why McKesson Corporation Shares Fell 23% In A Day

McKesson shares drop 23 percent following a poor Q2 financial report and lowered earnings guidance for 2017.

Athenahealth lays off more than 100 in restructuring effort

Athenahealth eliminates 150 jobs in San Francisco and Atlanta as it consolidates its R&D functions.

Nanaimo MDs offered extra pay to stick with controversial software

In Canada, Nanaimo Regional General Hospital is offering physicians extra money to keep using its recently implemented Cerner system to compensate for “the extra burden the new electronic health record has placed on many physicians during the roll-out phase of IHealth.”

Healthcare IT Trends in the UK — Who’s Winning & Losing | 2016

A Peer60 survey of hospital executives in the UK reveals a high level of concern over physician and nursing staffing shortages.

Morning Headlines 10/28/16

McKesson Reports Fiscal 2017 Second-Quarter Results and Revised Fiscal 2017 Outlook

McKesson reports Q2 results: revenue climbed slightly to $50 billion, EPS $1.35 vs. $2.65, missing expectations for both. The company also lowered guidance, driving share prices down 13 percent in after-hours trading.

Quality Systems, Inc. Reports Fiscal 2017 Second Quarter Results

Quality Systems, parent company to NextGen, reports Q2 results: revenue remained flat at $127.2 million compared to $125.4 million during the same quarter last year, adjusted EPS $0.23 vs. $0.21, beating analyst expectations for both.

Anthem to invest $20 million in 2,000-job IT hub in Midtown’s Bank of America Plaza

Anthem announces that it will build a 2,000 employee software development center in Atlanta, at a cost of $20 million.

Cleveland Clinic Unveils Top 10 Medical Innovations Most Likley To Be Game Changers

Cleveland Clinic includes FHIR in its list of top 10 ten medical innovations that will transform healthcare in 2017.

Morning Headlines 10/27/16

Why the Key Indicators to Watch on Health-Care Marketplaces Come in 2017

Kaiser Family Foundation president and CEO Drew Altman addresses premium increases and a drop off in plan options on ACA marketplaces.

Copycat enrollment websites hamper ACA sign-up efforts

A proliferation of websites competing with Healthcare.gov are causing concern for regulators working to ensure that the ACA open enrollment period runs smoothly.

Northwestern leads consortium to integrate patient-reported outcomes into electronic health records

NIH awards Northwestern University a $6.3 million grant to begin integrating patient reported outcomes into EHR systems, with both Cerner and Epic signed on to support the effort.