Morning Headlines 10/21/15

IBM Reports 2015 Third-Quarter Results

IBM reports Q3 results: total revenue was $19.3 billion, down one percent from 2014, EPS $3.34 vs. $3.68. Q3 marks IBM’s 14 straight quarter in which revenue fell. Stock price dropped 5.7 percent on the news.

KLAS publishes inaugural interoperability study

KLAS publishes its first interoperability report, concluding that private vendor HIEs are the best value-to-effort interoperability option, and reporting that Athenahealth is the easiest system to connect with, followed by Epic and Cerner.

UCHealth-Aspen hospital partnership improves record system

11-bed Aspen Valley Hospital (CO) will partner with the University of Colorado Health to implement Epic within its facility.

Jack Adcock death: Accused doctor ‘called off resuscitation’

In England, a doctor at Leicester Royal Infirmary is fighting manslaughter charges after missing abnormal lab results for a pediatric patient in part because the hospital’s computers system had failed. As the patient deteriorated a Code Blue was called, which the doctor halted because he mistakenly believed there was a DNR order in place.

Morning Headlines 10/20/15

Healthcare Vendors Agree To Interoperability Metric During KLAS Keystone Summit

12 EHR vendor executives met in Utah last week to establish a vendor-neutral set of metrics that KLAS will use to evaluate vendor interoperability performance moving forward. Participating EHR vendors included: Allscripts, athenahealth, Cerner, eClinicalWorks, Epic Systems, GE Healthcare, Greenway Health, Healthland, McKesson, Meditech, Medhost, and NextGen Healthcare.

Johns Hopkins and Microsoft Collaborate to Redesign Health Information Technology for the ICU

The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine partners with Microsoft will co-develop an ICU surveillance system that integrates information from various medical devices and monitors for key trends and complications.

Technology Must Let Doctors Be Doctors

Athenahealth CEO Jonathan Bush pens an op-ed calling for a push to improve the user experience for doctors working in EHRs. The op-ed coincides with the launch of a new Athena-hosted public forum on the subject, and a Jay-Z inspired music video from ZDoggMD.

Digital Health Consumer Adoption: 2015

Rock Health publishes findings from its first survey on consumer adoption of digital health technologies, finding that less than 20 percent of the general public engages with any digital health tools beyond online searches for medical conditions and online doctor review sites. Interestingly, the survey found no correlation between adoption rates and age, gender, income, or education.

Morning Headlines 10/19/15

Hot Startup Theranos Dials Back Lab Tests at FDA’s Behest

The Wall Street Journal publishes a second piece on Theranos, this time reporting that the FDA views its “nanotainer,” a small capsule that it uses to collect samples, as an unapproved medical device. In response, Theranos quietly stopped using its finger-stick testing process on all but one test, and now instead uses traditional methods to collect and process the hundreds of other tests it offers.

SAP’s CEO gets personal in Palo Alto about his own recent health ordeal, delivers a call to action

During a visit to the company’s Palo Alto campus, SAP CEO Bill McDermott discusses a recent accident that left him blind in one eye, using the story to point out health IT inefficiencies he noticed from the perspective of a patient, explaining “In every single meeting, you have to repeat the entire story all over again, because there’s no one electronic medical record that comes before you — or follows you — throughout a case.” He calls the doctors who treated him amazing, though “unstructured in their behavior.”

Nordic accused of sexual harassment, retaliation

A local Madison, WI paper covers a sexual harassment complaint filed by the former Nordic VP of Marketing against the company president, Drew Madden. The complaint, which will be heard this week before the city’s Equal Opportunities Division, alleges that the former VP was “sexually harassed by her supervisor, the president and co-owner of Nordic, and then discharged in retaliation for reporting the harassment.”

Alberta Medical Record Breaches Hit ‘Epidemic’ Levels, Says Privacy Watchdog

In Canada,  Alberta’s Privacy Commission calls data breaches an epidemic after discovering that 48 employees at Calgary’s South Health Campus were inappropriately accessing a patient’s record.

Morning Headlines 10/16/15

Cyberattacks Will Cost U.S. Health Systems $305 Billion Over Five Years, Accenture Forecasts

Accenture publishes a report predicting that the five-year cost of cyber attacks on US healthcare system will be $305 billion, resulting in six million cases of medical identity theft.

Statement from Theranos

Theranos responds to a critical story published in the Wall Street Journal this week that claims Theranos only processes 15 of the 240 tests it offers on its own instruments, while the rest are performed with industry standard lab analyzers.

Cheap Solar Comes to Wisconsin

Epic is profiled by a local paper for having the largest solar energy system in Wisconsin, bringing 2.2 megawats of energy to the Verona campus.

DrFirst Secures $25 Million in Financing from Goldman Sachs

E-prescribing vendor DrFirst closes $25 million in equity financing from Goldman Sachs.

Morning Headlines 10/15/15

How Jeb Bush’s health plan overhauls IT: 5 things to know

Jeb Bush, cousin of Athenahealth CEO Jonathan Bush, publishes his alternative to Obamacare this week, calling for an end to the Meaningful Use program, or as the proposal states “eliminating government mandates and penalties for healthcare providers who do not use government-approved electronic health records."

Statewide Patient Engagement Campaign Underway

Louisiana launches a statewide patient engagement campaign to teach its residents about the health IT tools at their disposal, such as patient portals and the state’s HIE.

AAFP Letter To Karen DeSalvo, MD

The American Academy of Family Physicians argues that ONC’s recent Interoperability Roadmap is not aggressive enough and fails to hold parties accountable for future delays or failures, noting “The AAFP helped create a standard for the exchange of clinical summaries in 2007 – the Continuity of Care Record. Eight years and billions of dollars later, our members and their practices continue to experience the dismal failure with the current certified EHR technology in supporting clinical summary exchange.”

23andMe Raises $115 Million in Series E Financing Led by Fidelity Management & Research Company

Personal genome testing vendor 23andMe raises a $115 million Series E on a $1.1 billion valuation. 23andMe nearly shut down in 2013, after the FDA shut its direct-to-consumer sales and marketing efforts down, but the company has pivoted and now generates its revenue supporting drug discovery.

Morning Headlines 10/14/15

Verisk Analytics hires Morgan Stanley to sell healthcare business

Morgan Stanley has been hired to sell the healthcare division of Verisk Analytics, a deal that is projected to be worth between $900 million and $1.1 billion.

GPs’ diagnostic skills could be obsolete within 20 years’ time, says Hunt

In the UK, health secretary Jeremy Hunt predicts that within 20 years computers will be used to diagnose conditions rather than doctors, pledging to ensure the NHS is ready when this technology becomes available.

Trends & Insights in Ambulatory EHR

Peer60 publishes a report on the ambulatory EHR market. Epic and Cerner are leading in both market share and mindshare. NextGen holds a strong market share but virtually no mindshare among independent providers and, similarly, Meditech has a strong market share but virtually no mindshare among hospital-owned facilities.

Xerox Provides Update on Government Healthcare Business Strategy

Xerox will walk away from the failed implementations of its Health Enterprise Medicaid platform in California and Montana, writing off $385 million, or $0.22 cents per share, on its third quarter results.

Morning Headlines 10/13/15

Dell buys EMC in largest tech deal ever

As rumored on HIStalk over the weekend, Dell will acquire EMC for $67 billion, paying EMC shareholders with cash and stock worth a combined $33.15 per share, a 28-percent premium over EMC’s closing stock price Friday.

Cerner conference will focus on health care information technology

A local paper covers Cerner’s annual conference, which will draw an estimated 14,000 visitors to the Kansas City area this week.

HealthCare.gov to Get Major Changes to Ease Shopping for Coverage

Healthcare.gov will get new enhancements ahead of this years open enrollment period that will let users search for plans that include their primary care doctor, preferred hospital, and coverage for their prescription medications. Security enhancements include a “Do Not Track” option and other data exchange enhancements that will help safeguard personal information.

Technical Evaluation, Testing, and Validation of the Usability of Electronic Health Records

The National Institute of Standards and Technology publishes recommended guidelines on EHR design based on a patient safety-focused usability study.

Morning Headlines 10/12/15

Philips strengthens collaboration with Amazon Web Services to expand digital health solutions in the cloud

Philips announces that it will integrate its HealthSuite platform with Amazon Web Services’ new Internet of Things platform, allowing it to wirelessly and securely exchange data with a variety of medical devices and sensors.

Dell to use VMware to help pay for EMC deal: sources

Dell will acquire EMC Corp for $55 billion in cash and stock options, according to anonymous insiders. An announcement is expected as early as this week.

Time To Implement IOM Health IT Recommendations For Improving Diagnosis

Hardeep Singh, MD, MPH, and Dean Sittig, PhD and professor of biomedical informatics at the University of Texas, publish a Health Affairs post outlining recommended changes that could help EHRs better support diagnosis.

Fitch Rates Banner Health Series 2015A Rev Bonds ‘AA-‘; Outlook Stable

Fitch affirms Banner Health’s AA- bond rating after its $733 million acquisition of University of Arizona Health Network, concluding that integrating UAHN into Banner is already ahead of schedule and under budget, and noting that UAHN will be joining a health system with 21 HIMSS stage 7 facilities, plans of migrating to a value-based reimbursement model, and a solid financial profile.

Morning Headlines 10/9/15

Cerner Clients Test SMART on FHIR Apps Within EHR

Cerner unveils an HL7 FHIR-based API that will provide its customers a way to integrate EHR data with third-party apps and other health IT applications.

Project One transition ongoing at Phoebe Putney Health System

A local paper covers the October 1 go-live of Meditech at  640-bed Phoebe Putney Health System (GA). CIO Jesse Diaz reports that the switch over generated upwards of 1,000 calls a day in the command center initially, but that in the week since going live the system has stabilized and morale in the hospital is good.

FDA Launches Pilot to Standardize REMS Information for Easier Systems Integration

The FDA is launching a four-month pilot program aimed at integrating Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategies into EHR systems.

Social Security Administration joins CommonWell Health Alliance

The Social Security Administration partners with CommonWell to expedite access to medical records and improve disability claims processing wait times.

Morning Headlines 10/8/15

Connecting Health and Care for the Nation: A Shared Nationwide Interoperability Roadmap

ONC publishes the final draft of its 10-year interoperability roadmap, which calls on vendors to expand API support, asks providers to migrate to value-based reimbursement models faster, and encourages government agencies to clarify privacy and security policies that impact data sharing.

MU 3 is out: 5 reactions from industry leaders

Executives from CHIME, HIMSS, AHA, AMA, and Athenahealth weigh in on the MU3 final rule.

Allscripts Solidifies Management Team, Enhances Organizational Structure

Allscripts CFO Rick Poulton will be the next company president, assuming the role from current CEO Paul Black who has held dual positions as president and CEO since joining the company in December 2012. The company also announces that Black’s contract, which was set to expire at the end of 2015, has been extended through December 2018.

With E.U. striking down data-sharing pact, U.S. healthcare firms face challenges

An EU court has struck down the Safe Harbor Framework, a data sharing agreement that allows US-based companies to store the sensitive information of European citizens on US-based servers, a decision that could impact US health IT vendor operating in Europe.

Morning Headlines 10/7/15

Medicare and Medicaid Programs; Electronic Health Record Incentive Program—Stage 3 and Modifications to Meaningful Use in 2015 through 2017

CMS publishes an update addressing both MU3 and its proposed modification to Meaningful Use in 2015 through 2017. The updated rules set the 2015 MU reporting period at 90-days, and makes MU3 optional in 2017, but mandatory in 2018.

The Joint HIT Standards and Policy Committee meeting

John Halamka, MD and CIO of BIDMC, reports that every major EHR vendor CEO met in Salt Lake City last week, where they discussed data sharing and agreed to  “objective measures we can use to quantify interoperability.” Halamka says that details of the meeting and the agreement will follow in the coming weeks.

Transparent Ratings on Usability and Security to Transform 8 Information Technology (TRUST IT) Act of 2015

HELP committee members Senators Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) introduce legislation that would establish an EHR 5-star rating system and also require that EHR vendors file an attestation stating that they do not engage in information blocking.

Orion Health Awarded Defense Healthcare Management System Modernization Program Subcontract

Orion Health is added to the Leidos-Cerner DoD contract. Orion’s Rhapsody integration engine will be used to connect Cerner Millennium with civilian facilities.

Morning Headlines 10/6/15

Why Teladoc Needs Medical Attention

Teladoc stock dropped more than 20 percent on Friday after news broke that one of its largest customers, insurance provider Highmark Inc., would not renew its contract. Losses continued on Monday as its stock price shed another four percent.

Q3 update: 2015 digital health funding exceeds 2014

Rock Health publishes its quarterly digital health investment report, concluding that, with $3.3 billion in investment activity, 2015 is outpacing 2014’s record-breaking year by a narrow margin.

Harnessing Consumer Engagement for Better Health, Better Care and Lower Cost

An ONC blog post published by National Coordinator for health IT Karen DeSalvo, MD  highlighting the latest patient engagement findings, claims that in 2014, “over half of individuals who were offered online access to their medical record viewed their record at least once.” DeSalvo goes on to say that ONC is developing a policy framework that outlines best practices for using patient-generated health data in research and care delivery.

Harvard Pilgrim forms population health venture with New Hampshire systems

New Hampshire-based hospitals Dartmouth-Hitchcock, Elliot Health System, and Frisbie Memorial Hospital partner with Harvard Pilgrim Health Care in a joint venture called Benevera Health that will provide care and share financial risk for 80,000 local residents.

Morning Headlines 10/5/15

Mercy debuts new $54 million virtual care center

Mercy Health goes live with its $54 million telehealth command center, where 290 clinicians are monitoring 2,400 beds spread across 33 hospitals, providing a wide range of services including telestroke, teleICU, and remote specialist consultations.

UT Southwestern, Texas Health Resources form huge health care network

Texas Health Resources and the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center agree to merge EHRs and coordinate patient care across 27 hospitals throughout North Texas.

Quarter of doctors’ appointments wasted – report

A study in the UK finds that 27 percent of primary care visits could have been avoided with better use of technology and care coordination. The report found that PCPs spent the time equivalent of 15 million appointments rearranging hospital schedules and chasing test results.

Morning Headlines 10/2/15

Alexander to Administration: 5 Reasons to Take More Time Before Making Final the Stage 3 Rule for the Electronic Health Records Program

Senator Lamar Alexander (R- TN), chairman of the Senate’s HELP Committee, continues with his efforts to delay the implementation of MU3 by publishing a list of five key reasons for the proposed delay, adding “there is broad and bipartisan interest in seeing the administration take its time to get this done right.”

Profit Heaven: UNC Hospitals quadruple operating income in 2015

UNC Hospitals (NC) reports an operating income of $115 million, quadrupling its 2014 figure. The system credits added beds and its Epic implementation for the financial turnaround.

Medical software boom: eClinicalWorks buys third Westboro building for $21.1M

Massachusetts-based practice management vendor eClinicalWorks buys a 192,000 square-foot office building as it makes plans to add 1,000 employees to its workforce.

Morning Headlines 10/1/15

Electronic Health Records: Nonfederal Efforts to Help Achieve Health Information Interoperability

A GAO report on EHR interoperability concludes that the five major barriers to improved interoperability are cost, inadequate data standards, variation in state privacy rules, poor patient record matching technology, and a lack of trust between sharing entities.

2015 Industry Drill-Down Report – Healthcare

A Raytheon-Websense security report finds that cyberattacks on healthcare entities surged 600 percent in 2014 and the industry now experiences 340 percent more security attacks than the average industry. Researchers explain, “Criminals often move to the easiest targets, and with retail and banking becoming more secure, healthcare networks became a prime target.”

MedAssets to cut 5% of workforce in cost-cutting move

MedAssets, an Alpharetta, GA-based healthcare performance improvement company, will lay off 180 full time employees, or five percent of its total workforce, by the end of 2015.

HealthTap Launches Compass, A Revolutionary New Personal Healthcare Application That Will Give Employees of Flex the Ability to ‘Tap In’ to Intelligent, Efficient World-Class Healthcare 24/7

Online consumer health startup HealthTap announces plans to move into the employer wellness market with an app that offers telehealth consults, treatment planning, and patient reminders.

Morning Headlines 9/30/15

Senate Committee Chairmen Urge Administration to Immediately Adopt Stage Two Modifications for Electronic Health Records Program, Make Rules for Stage Three Final No Sooner Than 2017

Senators John Thune (R-SD) and Lamar Alexander (R-TN), along with a 116-member bipartisan group of representatives, ask the administration to immediately adopt MU2 modifications that would introduce a 90-day reporting period for 2015 and scales back patient engagement metrics.

Thousands of ‘directly hackable’ hospital devices exposed online

White-hat hackers Scott Erven and Mark Collao find thousands of medical devices that are exposed online and vulnerable to attack. At one large, multi-facility health system, the team discovered “21 anesthesia, 488 cardiology, 67 nuclear medical, and 133 infusion systems, 31 pacemakers, 97 MRI scanners, and 323 picture archiving and communications gear.”

OCR Should Strengthen Its Followup of Breaches of Patient Health Information Reported by Covered Entities

An HHS OIG report recommends that the Office of Civil Rights collect breach reports on all data breaches, instead of just just large ones. The report also recommends improved tracking of corrective actions and prior breaches.

Study casts doubt on computer-aided mammograms

A  study of computer-assisted mammogram analysis finds that computers do not find more tumors than radiologists, despite costing $400 million annually and being used to screen 90 percent of all mammograms processed annually.

Morning Headlines 9/29/15

Patients file lawsuit against two D.C. hospitals alleging excessive fees to obtain medical records

Georgetown University Hospital and George Washington University Hospital are named in a class action lawsuit for failing to provide electronic copies of medical records when requested and instead charging patients $1,000 or more in processing fees for paper copies of their records.

A better way to treat cancer

Brian Druker, MD, director of the Knight Cancer Institute at OHSU and 2009 recipient of the Lasker Award, publishes a piece on the impact that genetic sequencing and precision medicine is having on cancer treatments.

Census Estimates Show Progress Toward ACA Coverage Goals — But There Is More To Be Done

Health Affairs analyzes a recent Census Bureau report confirming an 8.5 percent drop in the USuninsured population, concluding that the gains were driven largely by subsidies and Medicaid expansions introduces within the Affordable Care Act.

Dow Industrials Sink 313 Points

The DJIA falls 1.9 percent Monday, due partly to healthcare and biotechnology stocks dropping as Congress and presidential hopefuls discuss Valeant Pharmaceuticals and controlling drug price gouging. The Nasdaq Biotechnology Index dropped six percent, erasing gains for the year.