Morning Headlines 2/24/16

ResMed to Acquire Brightree for $800 Million

ResMed, a sleep apnea medical device manufacturer, will acquire Brightree, a software vendor focused on the clinical and business needs of home health and hospice markets, for $800 million.

Our Next Chapter for Standards and Technology: Introducing the ONC Tech Lab

ONC introduces the ONC Tech Lab, a group that will focus on standards coordination, development of testing tools, pilot project coordination, and health IT innovation.

eClinicalWorks Enters Acute Care Market

eClinicalWorks announces that it will develop a cloud-based acute care EHR with an anticipated general release sometime in 2017.

Oscar Health Gets $400 Million And A $2.7 Billion Valuation from Fidelity

Tech-savvy insurance startup Oscar Health raises a $400 million private equity investment from Fidelity on a $2.7 billion valuation. The company plans to expand to three or four new states per year as its works to grow its membership level to one million subscribers within the next five years.

Morning Headlines 2/23/16

Coalition of Healthcare Leaders Urges 6 Key Reforms

A coalition of payers, providers, patient advocates, and vendors has issued a report calling for legislative action to help the US health system improve six key issues, including interoperability, care coordination, and patient engagement.

Tenet Swings to Loss Amid Charges

Tenet reports Q4 results: revenue was up slightly to $5.03 billion, adjusted EPS $0.35 vs. $1.03, beating estimates on both. The company recorded an overall net loss of $97 million.

Speeding Up the Digitization of American Health Care

Former National Coordinator for Health IT David Blumenthal, MD and former US CTO Aneesh Chopra, MD co-author a HBR article calling for improvements to the usability of EHRs and “penalties for providers and vendors that slow-walk the digital revolution to protect their economic interests.”

Why DOD cares about hospital network attacks

During a panel discussion, DoD deputy CIO Richard Hale calls for improved network cybersecurity at DoD hospitals and an increased emphasis on identifying and prosecuting hackers.

Morning Headlines 2/22/16

Operations postponed at Royal Berkshire Hospital due to IT issues

In England, surgeries had to be rescheduled at Royal Berkshire Hospital after malware infected the hospital’s Windows XP pathology system.

Schedule 13G: Computer Program and Systems, Inc.

Francisco Partners buys an additional 2 million shares of CPSI, bringing its total ownership in the company to 14.6 percent.

Allscripts Healthcare Solutions Paul M. Black on Q4 2015 Results – Earnings Call Transcript

During Allscripts earnings call, CEO Paul Black notes that Q4 bookings of $1.1 billion topped its 2011 record and beat bookings from Q4 2014 by 20 percent.

The Big Mega HIT Purchasing Report

Peer60 releases a report on HIT purchasing trends, finding that population health management and patient engagement solutions are the top purchasing priorities for healthcare executives. 23 percent of respondents reported that their organization plans to switch EHR vendors, with Epic leading in mindshare.

Morning Headlines 2/19/16

IBM to buy data company Truven Health Analytics for $2.6 bln

IBM acquires Truven Health Analytics from Veritas Capital for $2.6 billion. Truven will join the IBM Watson business unit.

Allscripts Announces Fourth Quarter 2015 and Full-Year Results

Allscripts announces Q4 results: revenue climbed one percent to $346 million but missed analyst forecasts, EPS $0.09 vs. –$0.01.

Cerner  Q4 2015 Results – Earnings Call Transcript

In its earnings call, Cerner executives note that the company would have met its bookings guidance but two major deals failed to close by the end of Q4. The company also reports that new business is growing, with 36 percent of its Q4 bookings coming from new clients.

Somerville man accused of plotting attack against Children’s Hospital

A Massachusetts man has been arrested while trying to flee to Cuba for his role in coordinating a denial-of-service attack against Boston Children’s Hospital as part of the hacker group Anonymous.

Morning Headlines 2/18/16

Hollywood hospital pays $17,000 in bitcoins to hackers who took control of computers

Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center caves to the demands of hackers, paying a $17,000 ransom in bitcoin to restore access to its network. Hackers had initially demanded $3.6 million.

CMS and major commercial health plans, in concert with physician groups and other stakeholders, announce alignment and simplification of quality measures

CMS and insurance lobby group America’s Health Insurance Plans agree on seven sets of  clinical quality measures that will standardize quality reporting across multiple payers.

Cerner Downgraded to Hold at Everccore ISI, Price Target Cut to $52

Cerner stock continues to fall, closing 4.8 percent down at the end of trading Wednesday, after lowering its estimate on projected bookings and being downgraded from ‘buy’ to ‘hold’ by analysts.

The NHS’s future is digital – but not if we simply replicate poor paper processes

The Guardian analyzes the potential impact EHRs will have on NHS care delivery, noting that implementing improved business and clinical workflows within the new systems will ultimately dictate the value derived from the investment.

Morning Headlines 2/17/16

Cerner Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2015 Results

Cerner reports Q4 results: revenue was up 27 percent to $1.2 billion compared to $926 million during the same quarter last year, adjusted EPS $0.61 vs. $0.47. Stock prices dropped 14 percent in after hours trading due to downward adjustments to bookings projections.

Under Armour Partners with IBM and SAP to Widen Connected Fitness Potential

Under Armour generated $53 million in revenue from its connected fitness initiative in 2015, up from $19 million in 2014, after acquiring digital health apps MyFitnessPal and Endomondo for a total of $560 million.

What The Flint Water Crisis Reveals About Public Health

Bill Frist and Karen DeSalvo, MD co-author a Forbes opinion piece reflecting on the Flint water crisis and the need for increased public health spending in the US.

Allscripts, Cerner and CPSI Brands Merit the Most Devoted Hospital Clients, Reveals 2016 Black Book HIT Loyalty Index

A Black Book report measures healthcare IT vendor loyalty from “2,077 crowdsourced hospital users” concluding that Allscripts, Cerner, and CPSI have the highest consumer loyalty in the EHR market.

Morning Headlines 2/16/16

Theranos Files Plan to CMS for Fixing California Lab Problems

Late Friday, Theranos submitted its proposed plan of correction to CMS after being granted a one week extension to submit the documents.

Interoperability Form and Function: Interview with Doug Fridsma

AMIA President and CEO Douglas Fridsma, MD discusses the path forward for interoperability in a recent interview.

State tells Boston Children’s Hospital to slow down

State regulators in Massachusetts have asked Boston Children’s Hospital to prove that its $1 billion expansion plans will not undercut efforts to reduce healthcare spending in the state.

Morning Headlines 2/15/16

New records system takes bite out of Partners earnings

Partners Healthcare (MA) reports net profits of $13 million, down from $74 million last year. The health system blamed the drop in earnings on unexpected costs associated with its $1,2 billion Epic install.

Hack Attack: Hollywood hospital victim of cyber attack

Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center (CA) reports that its network has been  infected with ransomware, with the hackers demanding $3 million to restore access.

NHS will monitor Facebook for comment about hospitals, says new CQC head

In England, the NHS will begin reviewing patient complaints about hospitals posted on Facebook as a source of “early intelligence” that may signal potential problems.

In America, the art of doctoring is dying

A Washington Post opinion piece by a retired internist describes the art of medicine as dead, noting that medical students today are trained to focus on technology and testing, and “know little to nothing about how medicine was once practiced.”

Morning Headlines 2/12/16

CommonWell Health Alliance Membership Continues to Expand Across the Care Continuum

CommonWell Health Alliance announces seven new members:eClinicalWorks, HIMSS, ImageTrend, lifeIMAGE, Mana Health, MediPortal, and Modernizing Medicine.

Electronic Health Record Adoption and Rates of In-hospital Adverse Events

A retrospective study analyzing 2012-2013 patient visits finds that “fully electronic EHR” use is associated with a 17 to 30 percent decrease in adverse events for patients with cardiovascular disease, pneumonia, or for surgical patients.

Insurer Centene ends search for missing hard drives

Insurer Centene announces that it found the six missing hard drives containing PHI from 950,000 patients that went missing last month.

US News Withdraws Rankings of 2 Children’s Hospitals

US News has removed Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital (TX) and Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital (NY) from its annual ranking of children’s hospitals after discovering significant errors in the data submitted by the hospitals.

Morning Headlines 2/11/16

Obama budget would lift HHS spending to $1.1 trillion, entice Medicaid expansion

The President’s 2017 budget includes $82 million for ONC with $5 million earmarked for use on interoperability efforts.

Walgreens Threatens to End Theranos Agreement

As lab vendor Theranos works to resolve inspection issues discovered by CMS auditors, its primary customer, Walgreens, threatens to end the business relationship altogether.

What’s a $4.5B campus look like? Get a sneak peek

Cerner streams a live tour of the Kansas City campus is its currently constructing.  The project will add 4.7 million square feet of new office space at a cost of $4.5 billion.

HIMSS Submits Comments on NIST Cybersecurity Framework RFI

HIMSS responds to NIST’s recently published cybersecurity framework FRI, in which it applauds the effort, but calls for the framework to be a voluntary, private-sector led initiative that could be used as a tool to develop best practices around cybersecurity.

Morning Headlines 2/10/16

Justification For Other Than Full and Open Competition

Leidos is awarded a $51 million contract to host its recently purchased Cerner EHR system.

Senate Health Committee Unanimously Passes Alexander, Murray Legislation to Improve Health Information Technology for Patients, Doctors, Hospitals

The Senate passes the Improving Health Information Technology Act, a bipartisan bill co-sponsored by Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Patty Murray (D-Wash.). Alexander explains, “Our goal is to make our country’s electronic health record system something that helps patients rather than something that doctors and hospitals dread so much that patients are not helped”

Cerner Launches Developer Experience For SMART on FHIR Applications

Cerner launches a developer platform that will give third-party developers an opportunity to code with its SMART on FHIR API within a sandbox environment.

Skagit Regional Health approves $316 million budget; adds jobs

Skagit Regional Health (WA) will spend $72 million implementing Epic over the next 10 years.

Morning Headlines 2/9/16

£4.2 billion investment to bring the NHS into the digital age

NHS Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt announces a new $6 billion initiative to fund the health system’s push toward a paperless care delivery environment.

Theranos has a week to respond to the searing report about its business

Theranos is granted a one week extension to address inspection deficiencies found by CMS auditors during a routine inspection of its California lab.

Give Up Your Data to Cure Disease

A New York Times opinion piece weighs the trade off between patient privacy and  the research value that EHR data sets offer, arguing “We need to get over it. These digital databases offer an incredible opportunity to examine trends that will fundamentally change how doctors treat patients.”

Morning Headlines 2/8/16

One Medical Buys Virtual Nutritionist App Rise

Concierge medicine provider One Medical acquires digital health startup Rise for $20 million. Rise markets an app that provides one-on-one nutrition and diet coaching, and has raised $4 million since its 2013 launch.

Obamacare’s Low Enrollment Numbers Also Show Why Exchange Coverage Will Get Worse

A Forbes opinion piece argues that public insurance exchange coverage options will continue to get worse.

JHU launches new healthcare engineering center

Johns Hopkins University launches The Malone Center for Engineering in Healthcare, a research center focused on data analytics, system design and analysis, and technology and devices.

athenahealth Jonathan S. Bush on Q4 2015 Results – Earnings Call Transcript

On its quarterly earnings call, Athenahealth CEO Jon Bush noted that its recently announced partnership with University of Toledo will help it develop a system suitable for larger academic health systems.

Morning Headlines 2/5/16

Health IT & Health Information Services: 2015 Year-End Market Review

Healthcare Growth Partners publishes its annual market review, noting that “at this point in the market cycle, health IT behaves more like a policy-based economy than a market-based economy.”

Athenahealth, Inc. Q4 Earnings Retreat 21 percent

Athenahealth reports Q4 results: revenue of $257 million compared to $213 million during the same quarter last year, adjusted EPS $0.45 vs. $0.58, missing analyst estimates on revenue but beating on earnings.

Head Of California Exchange Scolds UnitedHealth For Blaming Woes On Obamacare

California health insurance exchange executive director Peter Lee criticizes UnitedHealth for blaming Obamacare exchanges for its financial losses, explaining “Instead of saying we screwed up, they said Obamacare is the problem and we may not play any more. It was giving an excuse to Wall Street and throwing the Affordable Care Act under the bus.”

Top 20 Employee Benefits & Perks

Glassdoor ranks Epic 16th on its list of Top 20 Employee Benefits and Perks, citing the company’s policy of granting a paid four-week sabbatical to employees after five years of employment.

Morning Headlines 2/4/16

Practice Fusion Lays Off 25% Of Workers To Create Positive Cash Flow

Practice Fusion confirms that it has laid of 25 percent of its workforce, across all divisions, in an effort to become cash positive.

Bipartisan Senate bill seeks to expand telemedicine services

A group of bipartisan senators introduce the CONNECT for Health Act, a bill aimed at expanding telemedicine services through expanded Medicare benefits.

2016 Clinical Analytics for Population Health Management Market Trends Report

A Chilmark report predicts that the data analytics market will grow as more health systems shift to value-based reimbursement models.

Healthcare: For here or to go?

An Accenture report predicts that startups working in the on-demand healthcare market will see investment levels quadruple by 2017, growing to nearly a billion dollars in annual investment.

Morning Headlines 2/3/16

White House To Request $1 Billion For Cancer ‘Moonshot’

President Obama will ask Congress to back his recently announced Cancer Moonshot project with $755 million for  cancer research. Congress already approved $195 million in research funding for 2016, bringing the projects total budget to nearly $1 billion over the next two years.

Aetna Reports Surge in Profit and a Dark Spot

Aetna reports Q4 results: revenue of $15 billion contributed to a 38 percent increase in profit, EPS $0.91 vs $0.65, missing on earnings but meeting revenue expectations. Like UnitedHealth, the company noted that its public exchange business was losing money.

Roper Industries Misses Q4 Street Views On EPS, Revenues

Roper Industries, parent company of Sunquest, reports Q4 results: revenue was flat at $943 million compared to $946 million during the same quarter last year, EPS $1.82 vs. $1.85, missing analyst estimates for both.

Theranos continues to dodge opportunities to validate its inventions

Theranos indefinitely delays its promise to allow its partner Cleveland Clinic to independently verify its technologies, while also confirming that it would not publish data to validate its tests before securing FDA approval for them.

Morning Headlines 2/2/16

Athenahealth Names Prakash Khot as Chief Technology Officer

Athenahealth hires Prakash Khot as its new CTO. Khot was previously the CTO of Kaseya, and spent several years with Salesforce prior to that, where he rose to the position of SVP of Engineering, overseeing big data and analytics development.

American Heart Association, IBM Watson Health and Welltok Team Up to Transform Heart Health

American Heart Association announces a strategic partnership with IBM Watson and patient engagement vendor Welltok to develop employer-focused solutions to improve heart health.

Certification Frequency and Requirements for the Reporting of Quality Measures under CMS Programs; Extension of Comment Period

CMS issues a 15-day extension to the public comment period for its RFI seeking input on certification and testing of EHR products used for quality measure reporting.

Defining Value in Health Care: CMS Releases Updated Benchmarks for ACOs

Aledade publishes a blog analyzing the recent CMS update to ACO benchmarks.