Morning Headlines 2/21/25

Hims & Hers Acquires At-Home Lab Testing Facility, Expanding Capabilities to Ultimately Include Affordable Whole Body Testing for Subscribers

Vanity prescription vendor Hims & Hers acquires Trybe Labs, an at-home lab testing provider that process customer self-collected blood samples.

Hummingbird Healthcare Closes $20M Funding Round in Support of Mission to Elevate Patient Access

Patient access software and services company Hummingbird Healthcare raises $20 million in a Series B funding round.

Millie Secures $12M Series A to Continue Closing Gaps in Maternal Healthcare

Tech-enabled maternity clinic Millie will use $12 million in new funding to open new clinics in California expand its IT capabilities and services.

HHS Office for Civil Rights Imposes a $1,500,000 Civil Money Penalty Against Warby Parker in HIPAA Cybersecurity Hacking Investigation

Hybrid eyeglasses prescription and retailer company Warby Parker will pay a $1.5 million HIPAA violations penalty related to a 2018 data breach that wound up exposing the PHI of 200,000 people.

Morning Headlines 2/20/25

Azara Healthcare and i2i Population Health Unite to Supercharge Safety Net Population Health Management

Population health and value-based care company Azara Healthcare acquires I2I Population Health Management.

URAC Launches Development of Health Care AI Accreditation

Healthcare accreditor URAC announces plans to release a healthcare AI accreditation program later this year.

Walgreens Gains After CNBC Says Sycamore Takeout Is ‘Alive’

Walgreens shares jump on the news that private equity firm Sycamore Partners has revitalized its interest in acquiring the retail pharmacy chain.

Valsoft Enters the Managed Care Space with the Acquisition of Chordline Health

Canadian software business acquisition company Valsoft acquires North Carolina-based Chordline Health, which specializes in managed care software.

Morning Headlines 2/19/25

FDA cuts hit AI division, even as Trump invests in the technology

Report says that FDA has laid off many AI and digital health employees who were involved in healthcare AI regulation.

Ex-Palantir Veteran to Run Data, IT Security for RFK Jr.’s Health Department

HHS appoints Clark Minor, a Palantir software executive, as CIO.

MultiPlan Enters New Era and Unveils New Brand, Claritev, Reflecting Company’s Transformation and Mission to Support the Healthcare Continuum

Out-of-network price platform vendor MultiPlan changes its name to Claritev.

Ohio Becomes First State to Require Hospitals to Publish Prices

A new Ohio law prohibits hospitals that don’t post their prices publicly, as required by the federal government, from collecting medical debt and filing negative credit reports against patients.

Morning Headlines 2/18/25

Abridge Announces $250M Series D Investment and New Contextual Reasoning Engine to Streamline Clinical and Financial Workflows at the Point of Care

Ambient documentation company Abridge confirms reports of a $250 million Series D funding round, bringing its total raised to over $450 million.

Carecierge Revolutionizes Healthcare Delivery with Cutting-Edge Tools for Care Teams

Carecierge launches to offer physician practices workflow optimization software.

Innovaccer Launches ‘Agents of Care’ to Transform Healthcare Operations, Enhance Care Delivery

Innovaccer develops AI agents to help providers automate tasks related to patient scheduling and intake, referrals, prior authorizations, care gap identification and coordination, coding review, and patient access.

Morning Headlines 2/17/25

Agentic AI Startup, VoiceCare AI, Launches to Automate Healthcare Back Office and Super-Staff Workforce

Mayo Clinic will pilot voice AI agent technology from VoiceCare AI, which recently launched with $3.85 million in funding, in three areas for pre-authorization and benefit confirmation.

Donate Life America and Epic Bring Organ Donor Registration to MyChart

Epic integrates organ donation registration capabilities into MyChart in collaboration with the non-profit Donate Life America.

Trusting Health Care Systems to Use Artificial Intelligence

A JAMA commentary piece notes that patients don’t trust how health systems will use AI, leading author Jessica Ancker, MD, MPH to recommend that health systems clearly disclose AI interactions, specify who can access AI-generated data, and inform patients when AI is used to influence clinical decisions.

Morning Headlines 2/14/25

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. Sworn in as 26th Secretary at HHS, President Trump Signs Executive Order to Make America Healthy Again

Newly sworn in HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., JD, LLM will manage a $2 trillion budget and oversee CMS, CDC, FDA, NIH, the Public Health Service, HHS OIG, AHRQ, Office for Civil Rights, and ASTP.

CVS shares pop 15% on big earnings beat, even as high medical costs drag down insurance unit

CVS Health reports Q4 results: revenue up 4%, EPS $1.30 versus $1.58, beating expectations for both and sending battered shares up 15%.

Vitalchat Secures Series A Funding Led by GHC Industries to Scale Virtual Nursing and Telehealth Solutions

Vitalchat, which offers an AI-powered inpatient virtual nursing and procedural telehealth platform, raises $6 million in a Series A funding round.

Morning Headlines 2/13/25

Candid Health Raises $52.5 Million Series C to Enhance GenAI Features, Expand Revenue Cycle Automation Platform to More Providers

RCM automation company Candid Health announces Series C funding of $52.5 million, bringing its total raised to $99.5 million.

Keragon, an AI-powered healthcare automation platform, secured a $7.5M seed round six months post-launch

Healthcare automation startup Keragon raises $7.5 million in a seed funding round, bringing its total raised to $10.5 million since launching in 2024.

Leading Global Healthtech Company, Harrison.ai, to Bring Proven AI-Powered Medical Diagnostic Support and Workflow Solutions to the United States; US$112 Million Series C Fuels Global Expansion

Australia-based Harrison.ai, which offers AI diagnostic solutions for radiology and pathology imaging, will use $112 million in new funding to expand its US operations.

Morning Headlines 2/12/25

PSI Secures $156M VA Contract for EHR Test & Evaluation Support

The VA awards Planned Systems International a contract to support the EHR Modernization Integration Office’s software testing and evaluation as Oracle Health is rolled out to additional facilities.

Apple brings heart rate monitoring to Powerbeats Pro 2

Apple adds a heart rate monitoring feature to its newest earbuds that is compatible with its Health app and several other popular fitness apps.

Backline by DrFirst, Five Wishes, and MyDirectives Partner to Offer ACP Complete, a Beginning-to-end Advance Care Planning Solution

Backline by DrFirst, Five Wishes, and MyDirectives launch ACP Complete, an advance care planning solution that guides patients via virtual consultations.

Morning Headlines 2/11/25

HealWell Receives Regulatory Approval from Overseas Investment Office of New Zealand to Acquire Orion Health

New Zealand’s Overseas Investment Office approves Toronto-based Healwell’s plan, first announced in December, to acquire Orion Health.

Cotiviti Announces Agreement to Acquire Edifecs

Cotiviti, a healthcare payments and analytics company based in Salt Lake City, will acquire healthcare interoperability vendor Edifecs.

Pinehurst Radiology Closes ‘Indefinitely’ Due To Cybersecurity Threat

Pinehurst Radiology Associates (NC) will close “for the foreseeable future” as it struggles to recover from a ransomware attack that forced it to take systems offline and cancel services.

Morning Headlines 2/10/25

FDA Alerts Patients of Potential to Miss Critical Safety Alerts Due to Phone Settings When Using Smartphone-Compatible Diabetes Devices

The FDA warns users of diabetes devices — including continuous glucose monitors, insulin pumps, and automated insulin dosing systems — that critical alerts may be missed due to their phone settings.

Sentara’s virtual nursing system to serve nearly 1,800 hospital beds

Sentara will expand its virtual nursing program, launched using ThinkAndor technology at its hospital in Norfolk, VA, last November, to its remaining 11 hospitals by October of this year.

Frederick Health in Frederick, Md., provides update on operations, ransomware attack

Frederick Health works to restore its IT systems after a ransomware attack discovered on January 27 forced it to revert to downtime procedures.

Telehealth Platform Doximity Stock Soars as AI Boosts Performance

Physician networking and clinical workflow tools company Doximity’s shares jump on the news of its Q3 2025 results, with revenue and EPS going above and beyond analyst expectations.

Morning Headlines 2/7/25

Little Otter Secures $9.5 Million to Transform Family Mental Health Nationwide

Virtual family mental health provider Little Otter raises a $9.5 million funding round.

Healthmap Solutions Acquires Carium to Enhance Digital Engagement Capabilities within Healthmap’s Population Health Management Platform

Healthmap Solutions, a population health management vendor focused on kidney care, acquires virtual care management and coordination company Carium.

Veterans Affairs reboots Oracle health records project for $330M

The VA restarts its Oracle Health implementation by making a $330 million payment to Oracle to support planned 2026 deployments at four Michigan sites.

Morning Headlines 2/6/25

Teladoc Health to Acquire Catapult Health, Advancing Integrated Care Strategy

Teladoc Health will spend $65 million to acquire Catapult Health, a virtual provider of preventative care including at-home wellness and diagnostic testing.

KKR-backed Cotiviti nears deal for rival healthcare data group Edifecs

Healthcare payments and analytics vendor Cotiviti is reportedly close to acquiring competitor Edifecs for $3 billion.

‘Landmark’ moment as NHS clinics use AI to ‘detect breast cancer cases earlier and faster’

Britain’s NHS launches a 700,000-patient trial of using AI to screen for breast cancer.

Morning Headlines 2/5/25

Sword teases AI mental health expansion

Digital physical therapy company Sword Health will retool itself as an AI care company that will address all labor-intensive care delivery models.

Okta competitor SailPoint races toward $11.5B IPO

Thoma Bravo-owned identity security and access management company SailPoint hopes to raise $11.5 billion in its second IPO, which may take place as early as next week.

Senate confirms Doug Collins as VA secretary

The Senate confirms US Navy veteran, Air Force chaplain, and former Rep. Doug Collins (R-GA) as VA secretary.

Highmark Health cuts 208 jobs at EnGen subsidiary amid ongoing restructuring efforts

Highmark Health lays off 208 employees at its EnGen business, which offers healthcare technology and support to payers and providers.

Morning Headlines 2/4/25

Affineon Secures $5M to Power Physician Productivity

Affineon Health, which offers AI-powered productivity solutions for managing physician inboxes, raises $5 million in seed funding.

Zest Health Announces $13M in Funding to Curb Unnecessary Pharmaceutical Spend through High-Touch Care

Virtual dermatology clinic Zest Health announces a $13 million seed funding round led by Roivant Health.

Middletown-based medical clinic network hit by data breach impacting 1M patients in multi-state hack

Connecticut-based Community Health Center notifies patients of a data breach that first occurred in October and was finally discovered last month.

Morning Headlines 2/3/25

Veradigm ends strategic review after no firm bids

Veradigm’s strategic review fails to attract acquisition bids from the five organizations that had expressed interest, leading it to instead focus on making operational improvements and working to get its shares re-listed.

Chief VA watchdog who helped expose flawed computer system in Spokane speaks out after being fired by Trump

The White House fires VA Inspector General Mike Missal, whose VA OIG report that highlighted patient harm that was linked to its Oracle Health rollout led to the project being temporarily halted.

Hospitals say Steward demanding millions more for essential IT services

The new owners of hospitals formerly owned by the bankrupt Steward Health Care cry foul over the fact that Steward is charging more than was agreed upon to provide transitional medical record and billing services.

Morning Headlines 1/31/25

Khosla Ventures Backs UK Startup’s Plan to Bring Cancer AI Tool to US

UK-based startup C the Signs, which uses routinely collected EHR data to help primary care doctors detect 50 types of early-stage cancer, announces an $8 million investment from Khosla Ventures and plans to enter the US market.

Announcing MedSender’s Series A

AI medical assistant software startup MedSender raises $5 million in Series A funding.

23andMe Special Committee Announces Exploration of Strategic Alternatives

Once valued at $6 billion, genetic testing company 23andMe says that it is running out of cash and will try to find a buyer for the second time.

Kode Raises $27M in Series B Funding to Transform Medical Coding and Data Management

Kode Health, which operates a gig matching service for HIM coders and hospitals, raises $27 million in a Series B funding round.

HealthBus Expands Healthcare Solutions with Strategic Acquisition of BetterHealthcare

Employer-focused digital healthcare services and benefits integration company HealthBus acquires BetterHealthcare, which offers providers patient engagement software.

Morning Headlines 1/30/25

Trump administration cancels meetings of health technology advisory committee

The White House indefinitely cancels meetings of the Health Information Technology Advisory Committee and its workgroups, which operate under HHS’s ASTP/ONC.

Systole Health Launches Innovative Virtual Group Health Care for Women’s Heart Health with Pre-Seed Funding Round

Systole Health, which offers heart healthcare for women via virtual group visits, raises $2 million in pre-seed funding.

Paragon Health IT Announces Divestiture of Paragon Consulting Partners and Rebranding as Strings

Paragon Health IT will divest its consulting business, change the parent company’s name to Strings, and refocus on AI-driven healthcare workload management system.

NeuroFlow Acquires Quartet Health Expanding Its Customer Base

Behavioral health technology and analytics vendor NeuroFlow acquires behavioral healthcare enablement and delivery company Quartet Health.