Morning Headlines 12/23/24

US hospital operator Ascension says 5.6 million affected in medical data breach in May

The 140-bed health system’s May ransomware attack compromised the medical and insurance information of 5.6 million people.

Commure Acquires Memora Health, a Digital Care Navigation Platform, to Enhance Intelligent Care Navigation

Commure says that its acquisition of Memora Health will strengthen its suite of patient engagement, clinical documentation, revenue cycle management, and RTLS solutions

Medical Records Co. Wants Rival’s Antitrust Suit Tossed

Epic asks a federal court to dismiss Particle Health’s antitrust lawsuit, saying that it’s a revenge lawsuit that fails to prove anticompetitive behavior.

VA begins early-stage planning for the next Federal Electronic Health Record rollout in mid-2026, continues ongoing improvement efforts at existing sites

Four Michigan facilities will go live on Oracle Health in 2026.

Morning Headlines 12/20/24

Verily’s plan for 2025: Raise money, pivot to AI, and break up with Google

Alphabet’s Verily will reportedly shift focus in 2025 to offering AI tools, data aggregation, and privacy systems for healthcare providers and startups.

Oura Secures $200 Million in Series D Funding

Finland-based smart ring maker Oura raises $200 million in a Series D funding round that values the company at $5 billion, with glucose biosensing company Dexcom participating in the round.

Confido Health secures $3M to put AI-powered digital workers on healthcare’s front lines

Confido Health raises $3 million in funding to continue rollout of its no-code AI agents for appointment management, insurance verification, and care coordination in specialty practices.

Morning Headlines 12/19/24

House Bipartisan Task Force on Artificial Intelligence Delivers Report

The House Task Force on Artificial Intelligence publishes its findings and recommendations, which include five recommendations to improve the safety, security, and trustworthiness of AI in healthcare.

VA EHR in better shape to resume go-lives in FY 2025 after ‘incremental’ fixes

VA officials decline to share specific go-live dates for 2025 implementations of the department’s stalled Oracle Health-based EHR, but do stress that career VA employees who’ve been with the EHR modernization program from the beginning will continue their work under the incoming administration.

Aspirion Expands Revenue Cycle Management Capabilities Through Strategic Acquisition of Boost Healthcare

RCM company Aspirion acquires Boost Healthcare, which specializes in tech-enabled revenue recovery and advisory services.

Morning Headlines 12/18/24

Health Data, Technology, and Interoperability: Protecting Care Access

ASTP publishes the HTI-3 final rule, which addresses information blocking, adds a definition of “reproductive health care,” and protects patients from legal action where an actor limits the sharing of their electronic health information that may relate to reproductive healthcare.

Texas Tech University System data breach impacts 1.4 million patients

Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center announces that a September ransomware attack compromised the information of 1.4 million patients, some of which has been put up for sale by hackers on the dark web.

Kahuna Workforce Solutions Receives Funding from Memorial Hermann Health System

Memorial Hermann Health System invests in Kahuna Workforce Solutions, which offers skills and competency management solutions.

The Innovation Design Unit: Unveiling the future of inpatient care

Nebraska Medicine opens the 17-room Innovation Design Unit at University of Nebraska Medical Center, enabling clinical staff and researchers to design, test, and validate advanced care models, new technologies, and facility designs.

Morning Headlines 12/17/24

Healwell to Acquire Orion Health, Creating a Global Market Leader in Healthcare Data Interoperability & Artificial Intelligence, and Launches $50 Million Bought Deal Financing

Toronto-based Healwell AI will acquire global healthcare technology company Orion Health, based in New Zealand, for $116 million.

Attorney General Mike Hilgers Files Lawsuit Against Change Healthcare for Critical Failures to Protect Consumer Data and Prevent Against Harm from a Widespread Cyberattack

Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers sues Change Healthcare for allegedly violating the state’s consumer protection and data security laws during the ransomware attack in February 2024 that exposed the information of hundreds of thousands of residents.

Rice, Houston Methodist launch groundbreaking Digital Health Institute to transform the future of health care

Houston Methodist and Rice University establish the Digital Health Institute to develop new AI-enhanced solutions for telehealth, patient self-management, medical devices and wearables, predictive analytics, and early detection and diagnosis of conditions.

SailPoint and Imprivata Enter Strategic Partnership to Deliver Unified Identity Security and Access Management for Healthcare Organizations

Enterprise identity security company SailPoint Technologies acquires Imprivata’s identity governance and administration business.

Morning Headlines 12/16/24

American Telemedicine Association Launches Center of Digital Excellence (CODE) to Accelerate Digital Integration in Care Delivery

The American Telemedicine Association launches the ATA Center of Digital Excellence, whose big-name health system members will work to advance the integration of digital care pathways.

Cyber criminals claim they hacked 17 million patient records at PIH Health hospitals

An unidentified ransomware group threatens via fax to publish data stolen from PIH Health (CA) during a December 1 ransomware attack that continues to impact the provider’s IT systems.

Tuva Health Launches Open-Source Platform to Transform Healthcare Analytics Industry

Tuva Health, an open-source healthcare data and analytics startup, raises $5 million in seed funding.

Morning Headlines 12/13/24

Health Data, Technology, and Interoperability: Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement (HTI-2) Final Rule

ASTP publishes a slimmed-down version of the TEFCA HTI-2 final rule.

1m Raises $10 million in Series A Funding to Bring Modern Risk Management Capabilities to Healthcare Organizations

Health system risk analytics vendor 1m raises $10 million in Series A funding, most of it from large health systems.

Greenlight Health Data Solutions and Pattern Health Merge to Expand Healthcare, Life Sciences and Insurance Solutions

Greenlight Health Data Solutions, which specializes in patient health record retrieval and sharing, acquires patient engagement, research, and clinical trials software company Pattern Health.

Morning Headlines 12/12/24

CoachCare Announces $11 Million Investment from Catalyst Investors, Expanding Growth Potential

Remote patient monitoring and virtual care management vendor CoachCare raises $11 million in new funding.

Dallas-Based Healthcare IT Leader Secures $53M Investment to Transform Patient Care and Expand Global Reach

SpinSci, a healthcare technology company specializing in patient engagement and access solutions, announces a $53 million investment from Aldrich Capital Partners.

Particle Health lands $10 million in funding after lobbing antitrust lawsuit against medical records giant Epic

Business Insider reports that healthcare API company Particle Health has raised $10 million.

Morning Headlines 12/11/24

Oracle Announces Fiscal 2025 Second Quarter Financial Results

Oracle reports Q2 results: revenue up 9%, EPS $1.10 versus $0.89, missing Wall Street expectations for both and sending shares moderately down.

Healthier Capital Invests in Hyro’s Responsible AI Agents for Healthcare

Healthcare conversational AI company Hyro extends its Series B round of funding, bringing its total raised to $50 million.

Walgreens shares soar 20% on reported talks to sell itself to Sycamore Partners

Walgreens is reportedly considering selling itself to private equity firm Sycamore Partners in a take-private transaction.

Evidently Closes $15M Series A

Healthcare workflow AI startup Evidently raises $15 million in a Series A funding round.

Morning Headlines 12/10/24

CompuGroup Medical enters into an investment agreement with CVC Capital Partners

CVC Capital Partners offers to acquire German health IT company CompuGroup Medical in a take-private deal valued at $1.2 billion.

Attorney General James Secures $550,000 from Hudson Valley Health Care Facility Operator for Failing to Protect Patient Data

HealthAlliance, a health system in New York’s Hudson Valley, will pay a $550,000 fine for its failure to prevent a cyberattack in July 2023 that exposed the information of 243,000 patients.

Security Alert: Munson Warns of Possible Employment & Financial Scam

Munson Healthcare (MI) warns people of a scam involving bad actors posing as Munson HR staff offering job applicants false jobs and sending them fraudulent checks for equipment purchases.

Morning Headlines 12/9/24

HHS Office for Civil Rights Imposes a $548,265 Penalty Against Children’s Hospital Colorado for HIPAA Privacy and Security Rules Violations

HHS OCR fines Children’s Hospital Colorado $548,000 for HIPAA breaches involving phishing and cyberattacks.

New Dashboard to Track Progress Toward 50 Percent Reduction in Patient and Workforce Harm

The HHS National Action Alliance for Patient and Workforce Safety develops an online patient and healthcare workforce safety dashboard incorporating hospital data from CMS and AHRQ, with plans to expand to clinic and nursing home data.

Kareo is Now Tebra – Website Transition Effective December 5

Ambulatory health IT vendor Kareo, which merged with PatientPop in 2021, officially takes on the Tebra brand name.

Morning Headlines 12/6/24

Cleerly raises $106M from Insight Partners for AI heart health early detection

AI-powered cardiovascular imaging company Cleerly raises $106 million in its latest funding round.

An HHS OIG analysis of simulated cyberattacks finds that the IT system of the of the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network

The HHS Office of Inspector General recommends that the federal Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network ramp up cybersecurity efforts after simulated cyberattacks uncover 22 vulnerabilities within its IT system.

Schneider Hospital Reports Second “Cybersecurity Incident” This Year

Schneider Regional Medical Center in St. Thomas, USVI, deals with a cybersecurity attack discovered over the weekend, its second in six months.

Morning Headlines 12/5/24

Artificial intelligence tops 2025 health technology hazards list

Non-profit healthcare safety group ECRI names AI as its top healthcare technology hazard for 2025.

Ransomware virus attack on PIH Health leads to network shutdown for hospitals in Downey, LA, Whittier

A ransomware attack first detected on Sunday forces PIH Health (CA) to take its IT systems offline and revert to downtime procedures

First Federal Health Agency Joins TEFCA, Selecting eHealth Exchange as its QHIN

The Indian Health Service adopts TEFCA and designates EHealth Exchange as its QHIN.

Morning Headlines 12/4/24

Soda Health closes oversubscribed $50M Series B led by General Catalyst to scale its Smart Benefits Operating System

Soda Health, whose platform allows members to use their health insurance benefit dollars on approved goods and services, raises $50 million in a Series B funding round.

Inside VA’s $369B FY 2025 Budget

The VA’s proposed $370 billion 2025 budget includes $900 million earmarked for the department’s Oracle Health-based EHR.

Healwell Acquires Control of Mutuo Health Solutions To Build Next Generation of AI-Powered Physician Co-Pilots

Toronto-based AI-enabled decision support vendor Healwell acquires a majority stake in Mutuo Health Solutions, which offers an ambient scribe product.

ECRI acquires The Just Culture Company to transform healthcare patient and workforce safety

Healthcare quality organization ECRI acquires The Just Culture Company, which addresses workforce culture.

Morning Headlines 12/3/24

CoachCare Acquires Revolution Health Solutions, Marking Its Sixth Acquisition

Remote patient monitoring and virtual care management company CoachCare acquires competitor Revolution Health Solutions.

Power Diary Rebrands to Zanda with a Bold Vision for Health Practice Management

Practice management software vendor Power Diary rebrands to Zanda.

Elimu Informatics Secures an SBIR Grant to Develop an EHR-interoperable Asthma Care Solution

Elimu Informatics will use an NIH grant to develop a SMART-on-FHIR clinical decision support app for asthma management.

Morning Headlines 12/2/24

Veterans Health Administration notifying Veterans of potential information disclosure

The Veterans Health Administration notifies 2,302 patients at six different VA healthcare systems of a third-party data breach that may have exposed their personal health information.

HHS Office for Civil Rights Settles with Holy Redeemer Hospital Over Disclosure of Patient’s Protected Health Information, Including Reproductive Health Information

Holy Redeemer Family Medicine (PA) pays $35,581 to settle federal allegations that it potentially violated HIPAA when it disclosed a patient’s full health record to a prospective employer, rather than the single test result requested by the patient.

CEO of Chicago-based VillageMD steps down as Walgreens considers selling stake in business

VillageMD CEO and co-founder Tim Barry steps down as parent company Walgreens Boots Alliance considers selling all or parts of the business.

Morning Headlines 11/28/24

Practice Better Secures US$13 Million in Growth Capital from CIBC Innovation Banking to Accelerate Expansion of Holistic Health Solution

Practice Better, a vendor of practice management software for health and wellness organizations, announces $13 million in new capital.

Sirona Medical Secures $42M in Series C Financing to Enhance Customer Success With Its Cloud-Native Unify Platform

Radiology workflow software company Sirona Medical announces $42 million in Series C funding, bringing its total raised to over $104 million.

Care IO Secures Strategic Seed Funding to Revolutionize Healthcare Data Collaboration

New Jersey-based healthcare data governance and interoperability startup Care IO announces an undisclosed amount of seed funding.