Morning Headlines 11/22/24

House passes veterans’ package without EHR accountability measures

House lawmakers remove Congressional EHR oversight provisions before passing a VA legislative package that is now up for consideration by the Senate.

Headspace Axes 13% of Workforce, Transition Therapist Network to Part-Time and Contract Roles

App-based mental healthcare company Headspace lays off staff therapists and 13% of its workforce, and reshuffles executive roles as it looks to cut costs and improve revenue.

Alberta creates its own AI-powered scribe

ED physicians at Canada’s Alberta Health Services are testing a doctor-created AI scribe in a two-year project that is being funded by a Canadian Medical Association grant.

Morning Headlines 11/21/24

Verisma Acquires Olah, Streamlining Patient Data Management for Hospitals and Healthcare Facilities Nationwide

Release-of-information vendor Verisma acquires Olah Healthcare Technology, which offers enterprise archiving for legacy data.

Synapticure Raises $25 Million Series A to Expand Virtual Care for Patients and Caregivers Living with Neurodegenerative Diseases in all 50 States

Synapticure, a virtual provider of care for neurodegenerative disease patients, raises $25 million in Series A funding.

TigerConnect Acquires Twiage, Enhancing Real-Time EMS to Hospital Communication for Streamlined Emergency Care

Care collaboration and communication software company TigerConnect acquires Twiage, a New York City-based business that coordinates communication between EMS and hospital emergency departments.

Morning Headlines 11/20/24

Review of the Department of Health and Human Services’ Compliance with the Federal Information Security Modernization Act of 2014 for Fiscal Year 2024

HHS OIG rates HHS’s information security program as “not effective” in its annual review, the same rating it gave HHS last year.

Citizen Health Announces $14.5 Million Seed Funding and Strategic Partnership to Transform the Health Experience for Patients with Rare and Complex Conditions

Citizen Health formally debuts with $14.5 million in seed funding to offer patients health data technology tailored to those suffering from rare diseases.

ThoroughCare Secures $5 Million in Series A Funding from Empactful Capital

Care coordination software vendor ThoroughCare raises $5 million in Series A funding.

Sanford Health Unveils Physical Hub for Virtual Care

Sanford Health (SD) opens its new Virtual Care Center to offer areas for provider education and training, innovation, and patient and family experience simulations.

SIS Expands Capabilities with Strategic Acquisition of Surgical Notes

Surgical Information Systems acquires Surgical Notes, which offers billing, coding, and transcription services to ambulatory surgery centers.

Morning Headlines 11/19/24

BrightHeart Secures FDA Clearance for First AI Software Revolutionizing Prenatal Fetal Heart Ultrasound Evaluations

Ahead of its launch in the US, Paris-based BrightHeart receives FDA clearance for its AI-powered fetal heart ultrasound assessment software.

Trust reverses £65m EPR procurement decision after court claim

Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust decides not to implement an EHR developed by Altera Digital Health and Insight Direct due to ongoing legal wrangling it would likely face from disgruntled software competitor System C.

Guidehealth and Emory Healthcare Announce Population Health Collaborative to Expand Primary Care Access Across Georgia

Emory Healthcare (GA) will launch new a population health program across its primary care network using technology and value-based managed care services from Guidehealth.

Morning Headlines 11/18/24

Upheal secures $10M to help reduce provider burnout and improve client outcomes with their AI-powered platform

Upheal, which offers a clinical documentation personal assistant for mental health professionals, raises $10 million in a Series A funding round.

DEA and HHS Extend Telemedicine Flexibilities through 2025

The DEA and HHS will extend telemedicine prescribing flexibilities for an additional year.

HealthLynked Corp. Announces Third Quarter and Year-to-Date 2024 Results with Strategic Restructuring, Third-Party Debt Repayment, and Core Technology Focus

Urgent care telehealth provider HealthLynked reports Q3 results: revenue down 56%, EPS –$0.01 versus $0.00.

Morning Headlines 11/15/24

Impilo Secures Series A Funding! Looking to Transform Healthcare Access Nationwide

Remote care software and services startup Impilo announces $11.5 million in Series A funding.

WashU Medicine, BJC Health System launch Center for Health AI

Washington University School of Medicine and BJC Health System in Missouri develop the Center for Health AI, which will develop and deploy healthcare AI technologies to improve patient care, streamline clinical workflows, and reduce administrative burdens.

Landmark Agreement Signed by Governor Albert Bryan Jr. to Share Data and Transform Care Coordination and Care Delivery for US Virgin Islanders

The US Virgin Islands Office of Health Information Technology will work with CRISP Shared Services to develop an HIE.

Morning Headlines 11/14/24

Inside Forward’s failed attempt to revolutionize the doctor’s office

AI-powered doc-in-the-box manufacturer Forward shuts down after an eight-year run, during which it raised $650 million.

The Future of Telehealth.org with Doxy.me

Telemedicine software developer Doxy.me acquires professional development and consulting organization Telehealth.org.

Harvard Medical School Alum Donates $6 Million for AI Health Care Education

Inovalon founder and CEO Keith Dunleavy, MD donates $6 million to his alma mater, Harvard Medical School, to expand education in AI in healthcare.

HHS has still not addressed key cyber recommendations, GAO says

A new report from the Government Accountability Office points out that HHS has failed to act on GAO cybersecurity recommendations made earlier this year, and stresses that the department must do a better job of coordinating ransomware mitigation efforts and tracking provider adoption of cybersecurity practices.

Morning Headlines 11/13/24

$3 billion startup Sword Health cuts some physical therapists as it ramps up AI to treat more patients

Digital physical therapy services provider Sword Health reportedly lays off 13 physical therapists, about 17% of its clinicians, as it prepares for an IPO and follows through on plans to manage more patients using AI.

23andMe cuts 40% of its workforce and discontinues therapeutics division

23andMe will eliminate 200 roles and shutter its therapeutics division in an effort to restructure its business, which has seen declining revenue and plummeting shares over the last 12 months.

Quadrivia: Babylon founder Ali Parsa launches AI assistant for doctors, gets seed funding from Swedish VC Norrsken

Babylon founder Ali Parsa launches healthcare AI assistant company Quadrivia with seed funding from Norrsken.

Morning Headlines 11/12/24

VA proposes to eliminate copays for telehealth, expand access to telehealth for rural Veterans

The VA considers doing away with copays for all of its telehealth services and establishing a grant program to fund an expansion of its Accessing Telehealth through Local Area Stations programs, which serves veterans in rural areas.

Embargo Ransomware Gang Sets Deadline to Leak Hospital Data

The Embargo ransomware group threatens to publish data stolen from Memorial Hospital and Manor (GA) last week unless its ransom demands are met before November 12.

Astrana Health Announces Definitive Agreement to Acquire Certain Businesses and Assets of Prospect Health System

Provider enablement company Astrana Health will acquire Prospect Health’s hospital and medical groups, pharmacy, health plan, and managed services organization for $745 million.

Morning Headlines 11/11/24

Doximity (DOCS) Tops Q2 Earnings and Revenue Estimates

Clinician network and drug marketing operator Doximity reports Q2 results: revenue up 20%, adjusted EPS $0.30 versus $0.22, beating expectations for both and sending DOCS shares up 34% in valuing the company at $11 billion.

McKesson, Oracle competing for Veradigm

McKesson, Oracle, and private equity firm Thoma Bravo are reportedly competing to acquire health IT, data, and analytics company Veradigm in a deal expected to close by Thanksgiving.

Waystar Reports Third Quarter 2024 Results

Waystar reports Q3 results: revenue up 22%, adjusted EPS $0.14 versus –$0.09, beating expectations for both.

Leidos awarded Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network operations contract

HHS awards Leidos a $235 million contract to modernize the country’s Organ Procurement and Transplant Network (OPTN).

Morning Headlines 11/8/24

Independent Alliance formed to Drive Smart Hospital Advancement

The non-profit Alliance for Smart Healthcare Excellence launches with former HIMSS CEO Steve Lieber as president and CEO.

Health Catalyst Third Quarter 2024 Earnings

Health data and analytics vendor Health Catalyst reports a slight uptick in Q3 revenue to $76.4 million, exceeding mid-point quarterly guidance projections.

CVS posts mixed results, holds off on guidance in Joyner’s first earnings report as CEO

CVS Health reports Q3 results: revenue up 6%, EPS $0.07 versus $1.75, beating expectations for both.

TruBridge Announces Third Quarter 2024 Results

RCM, EHR, and patient engagement company TruBridge reports nearly flat Q3 revenue of $83.8 million, with its Financial Health business accounting for 65% of total revenue.

Morning Headlines 11/7/24

VitalHub Announces Acquisition of Strata Health

Health and human services software vendor VitalHub acquires digital care navigation company Strata Health for $23 million.

Health Commons Project Completes Acquisition of OneHealthPort to Advance Healthcare Innovation and Access across Washington State

Health Commons Project, which operates a public health accelerator program in Washington, acquires HIE and health data company OneHealthPort.

Health Catalyst Signs Definitive Agreement to Acquire Top-Rated Cybersecurity Provider, Intraprise Health

Health data and analytics company Health Catalyst acquires cybersecurity business Intraprise Health, its second acquisition in just over three months.

Morning Headlines 11/6/24

Once-growing diabetes startup backed by Blue Cross files for bankruptcy

Automated insulin dosing software vendor Hygieia files for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection.

R1 RCM Reports Third Quarter 2024 Results

R1 RCM sees its 14.7% uptick in Q3 revenue tempered by a $20 million loss it attributes to customer and vendor technology outages.

In latest interoperability expansion, Epic advances personalized care

Epic releases an expanded set of APIs that support USCDI v3, supporting tribal affiliation, disability status, caregiver relationships, preferred language, and Social Drivers of Health.

Morning Headlines 11/5/24

Telehealth Company Cerebral Agrees to Pay Over $3.6 Million in Connection with Business Practices that Encouraged the Unauthorized Distribution of Controlled Substances

Online mental healthcare company Cerebral will pay $3.6 million as part of a 30-month non-prosecution agreement for encouraging unauthorized distribution of controlled substances between 2019 and 2022.

Medicare finalized coverage for some mental health apps. Now what?

A new CMS rule will enable providers to bill Medicare for certain FDA-approved mental health apps and related services.

Memorial Hospital and Manor investigating cyber attack

Memorial Hospital & Manor (GA) deals with a ransomware attack discovered early Saturday morning.

Morning Headlines 11/1/24

Small-Hospital EHR (1–200 Beds) 2024

KLAS finds that 42% of under-200 bed hospitals use legacy systems, while most new considerations involve Epic Community Connect, Meditech Expanse, and Oracle Health.

What’s Going On With All The Empty Cerner Buildings?

Oracle has closed two of the former Cerner’s three campuses and is using the former Innovations Campus to house the limited number of employees who don’t work remotely.

Jennie Stuart Board hosts meeting concerning possible merger

The Kentucky health system confirms that its desire to be acquired involves a conversion from Altera Digital Health to Epic.

Morning Headlines 10/31/24

Global Payments sharpens core focus with $1.1 billion medical software unit sale

Global Payments will sell AdvancedMD to Francisco Partners for $1.1 billion, which Global Payments acquired in 2018 for $700 million.

Cedars-Sinai Launches Health Sciences University

The health system’s new health university will offer a PhD in health artificial intelligence.

Elon Musk wants you to submit medical data to his AI chatbot

The billionaire asks his followers on X to submit their medical images to his AI platform Grok to be used for its training, raising significant privacy concerns.

Morning Headlines 10/30/24

Oracle announces new AI-powered electronic health record

Oracle Health will release a new EHR in 2025 that is not built on the architecture of Cerner Millennium.

Digital Hypertension Management Solutions

A new report by the Peterson Health Technology Institute finds that hypertension tools for blood pressure monitoring, medication management, and behavior change don’t reduce healthcare spending, especially those that try to encourage patient behavior change.

Oracle Health’s Clinical AI Agent Helps Doctors Spend More Time with Patients

Oracle Health announces a new version of its Clinical Digital Assistant and its name change to Clinical AI Agent.

Philips to further roll-out RATE: AI for early infection detection at U.S. Department of Defense through four-year, $25 million contract

The Department of Defense will invest $25 million to roll out a wearable version of a pre-symptomatic infection detection algorithm for active duty personnel.