Morning Headlines 4/19/19

IBM cutting Watson for Drug Discovery

IBM halts sales of Watson for Drug Discovery due to low demand.

Elizabeth Holmes’ Failed Theranos Was Just Granted 5 New Patents In 2019

CB Insights reports failed blood-testing company Theranos was awarded five new patents in March and April, all filed between 2015 and 2016.

Northwell Health opens Emergency Telepsychiatry Hub, reducing ER wait times

Northwell Health (NY) opens an Emergency Telepsychiatry Hub to serve EDs in New York City, Long Island, and Westchester County.

Morning Headlines 4/18/19

Acting as the data integrator between hospitals and digital health apps brings Redox $33 million

Health data integration vendor Redox raises $33 million, bringing its total funding to $50 million since launching five years ago.

Theranos’ Holmes seeks records on reporter’s communications with FDA, CMS

Elizabeth Holmes files a motion in federal court to force prosecutors to hand over thousands of communication records between the FDA, CMS, and Wall Street Journal reporter John Carreyrou.

EMV Capital Completes the Acquisition of Wanda INC, a Leading Telehealth Company in Silicon Valley

EMV Capital acquires San Francisco-based Wanda, a clinical decision support company focused on preventing adverse events.

Health Care Industry Leaders, Qualis Health and HealthInsight, Become Comagine Health

After merging last year, healthcare consulting firms HealthInsight and Qualis Health rebrand to Comagine Health.

Morning Headlines 4/17/19

Activist investor Jeff Smith: There is a ‘huge’ value opportunity in Cerner

Starboard Value CEO Jeff Smith believes Cerner can increase its operating margins by as much as 9% within the next 18 months if it meets unspecified targets.

In African Villages, These Phones Become Ultrasound Scanners

The FDA-approved Butterfly IQ device transforms a smartphone into an ultrasound scanner, a capability that is having a huge impact on pubic health efforts in Africa.

Advocates battle over health record consent change

Politicians struggle with the privacy and legal issues over changing patient participation in the HIE operated by Vermont Information Technology Leaders from opt-in to opt-out, which VITL says is needed because low participation has caused low HIE usage.

Clearlake-Backed symplr Acquires IntelliSoft

Provider management, credentialing, and payer enrollment technology vendor Symplr acquires competitor IntelliSoft.

Ro, a direct-to-consumer online pharmacy, reaches $500M valuation

Direct-to-consumer telemedicine company Ro raises $85 million, prompting VCs to increase its valuation to $500 million.

Morning Headlines 4/16/19

You can do a vision test from home in 34 states and go buy glasses, but not in Indiana. Here’s why.

Visibly (fka Opternative) takes several Indiana state agencies to court to overturn a law that prohibits the use of online vision tests.

Medusind Has Secured Investment From H.I.G. Capital

EHR and practice management vendor Medusind secures an undisclosed amount of financing from H.I.G. Capital.

AMA, Sling Health expand engagement with physicians and entrepreneurs

AMA and student-run biotech incubator Sling Health develop the Clinical Problem Database to give physicians the opportunity to share their experiences with health IT and clinical services, and entrepreneurs the opportunity to develop solutions that improve those experiences.

Morning Headlines 4/15/19

How elderly, sickly farmers are quenching China’s thirst for data

Private healthcare company WeDoctor sends medical vans to rural areas to perform mandatory exams on behalf of the Chinese government, enabling it to collect enormous amounts of patient data that it uses to train its AI-powered diagnostic engine.

Highmark IT solutions company sheds 239 workers

After adding over 1,000 employees in the last five years, Highmark’s HM Health Solutions IT company lays off 239 workers.

Amazon Alexa is luring health developers, but it will be a while before we use it to call a doctor

Despite Amazon Alexa’s newly announced HIPAA compliance, privacy concerns will compel it to take baby steps in developing skills that will enable patients to connect directly with physicians.

British doctor-on-demand app Babylon bulks up US team to seize slice of projected $400bn market

After announcing last fall that it would spend $100 million to ramp up its hiring for its London-based operations, telemedicine company Babylon Health plans to more than double staffing for its US and Canadian operations.

Morning Headlines 4/12/19

Better care, block by block.

Cityblock Health raises $65 million just three months after announcing a Series A round of $21 million.

Teladoc Health to Develop First Pediatric-Specific Consumer Telehealth Platform with Cincinnati Children’s

Teladoc Health will work with Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center to develop telemedicine software for pediatric hospitals.

Physician-researcher awarded federal grant to bridge evidence and practice for clinicians via electronic medical record

AHRQ awards Northwell Health (NY) SVP Thomas McGinn, MD a $1 million grant to further his work on developing a clinical decision support system that integrates seamlessly with EHRs and presents minimal disruption to provider workflows.

LRGH losing $1M a month

Hospital management company LRGHealthcare (NH) blames a a $13.3 million operations loss in 2018 on an expensive Cerner install and millions paid to service outstanding debt.

Morning Headlines 4/11/19

Partners HealthCare Embraces the Democratization of AI to Accelerate Innovation in Medicine

Partners HealthCare (MA) will equip its clinicians and researchers with the tools necessary to develop their own AI algorithms through its MGH & BWH Center for Clinical Data Science.

InTouch Health Unveils the First Fully Integrated Virtual Care Platform

InTouch Health develops telemedicine software that can be used in any type of healthcare setting.

Feds Charge 24 In Alleged $1.2 Billion Medicare Fraud Scheme

Federal prosecutors charge 24 people, including executives at five telemedicine companies, with $1.2 billion in Medicare fraud.

Concerto HealthAI Enters Precision Oncology Collaboration with Pfizer

Concerto HealthAI will work with Pfizer to advance AI capabilities for oncology using its proprietary AI technology, EHR software, and claims data.

Morning Headlines 4/10/19

Cerner Announces Agreement with Starboard Value Regarding Board Refreshment, Operational Improvement Initiatives and Expanded Capital Return Program to Drive Next Phase of Profitable Growth and Value Creation

Cerner bows to pressure applied by an activist investor by appointing four new board members as nominated by hedge fund operator Starboard Value, which owns 1.2 percent of outstanding CERN shares.

Diameter Health Announces $9.6 Million in Series A-1 Funding Round

Clinical data integration vendor Diameter Health raises a $9.6 million Series A-1 funding round led by new investor Optum Ventures.

Microsoft is shutting down its HealthVault patient record service

Microsoft will shut down its HealthVault service on November 20, 2019.

Ontellus Acquires B2B Health Information Exchange ChartSwap

Multi-vertical records retrieval company Ontellus acquires medical records request vendor ChartSwap.

Morning Headlines 4/9/19

Apple’s Health Opportunity Could be Triple Smartphone Market

Morgan Stanley analysts determine that Apple’s piece of the consumer-centered health pie could eventually be between $15 billion and $313 billion.

NVIDIA and American College of Radiology AI-LAB Team to Accelerate Adoption of AI in Diagnostic Radiology Across Thousands of Hospitals

With help from Nuance and GE Healthcare, the American College of Radiology adds Nvidia’s Clara AI Toolkit to free software it will offer radiologists to help them develop and use AI for diagnostic radiology.

Deep Lens raises $14 million to improve clinical trial recruitment with AI

Digital pathology imaging and diagnosis startup Deep Lens secures $14 million in a Series A round led by Northpond Ventures.

Info for wrong patients possibly sent to thousands of West Virginia veterans

The Veterans Health Administration notifies 4,882 patients of a Xerox software and printing problem that resulted in PHI, including lab results, being mailed to the wrong patients.

Morning Headlines 4/8/19

DocuTap merging with a competitor based in Illinois

Urgent care EHR/PM vendor DocuTAP will merge with urgent care solutions vendor Practice Velocity.

Data payday slow in coming for electronic medical records specialist

Crain’s Chicago Business says the attempt by Allscripts to diversify itself away from smothering competitors Epic and Cerner in a slowing EHR market hasn’t paid off for investors, as disappointing financial reports have sent shares down.

Hardin Memorial Hospital issues statement on ‘information technology disturbance’

Hardin Memorial Hospital (KY) is working to restore systems taken offline by a reported cyberattack of an unstated nature.

Morning Headlines 4/5/19

The Trump administration is forcing this health start-up that took Chinese money into a fire sale

PatientsLikeMe looks for a buyer after the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States demands that its majority owner, a Chinese investment firm, divest its holdings in the company.

Introducing New Alexa Healthcare Skills

Amazon announces the availability of new HIPAA-compliant Alexa healthcare skills from organizations like Livongo, Cigna, and Boston Children’s Hospital.

Memorial Sloan Kettering Leaders Violated Conflict-of-Interest Rules, Report Finds

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center’s relationship with AI startup Paige.AI and other vendors triggers an outside review that finds the organization violated conflict-of-interest policies and fostered a culture that valued profits over research and patient care.

Morning Headlines 4/4/19

UMass prize will fund telemedicine initiative

UMass will roll out video-based substance use disorder evaluation software developed by prize-winning physicians within its Memorial Medical Group at three of its EDs over the next three months.

VA’s IT leadership problem has infected modernization efforts

Officials at a House Veterans Affairs Committee Hearing say the VA’s abysmal CIO track record has hampered – and will continue to hamper – the success of its extremely expensive IT modernization efforts.

Quil, The Joint Venture Between Independence Health Group And Comcast, Names Carina Edwards Chief Executive Officer

Digital health company Quil names former Imprivata executive Carina Edwards CEO.

HealthVerity Announces $25 Million in Series C Funding

Patient data retrieval and management company HealthVerity raises $25 million.

Morning Headlines 4/3/19

Walgreens Boots Alliance Reports Fiscal 2019 Second Quarter Results

Walgreens announces executive changes, store layout redesign, and cost-cutting measures following its announcement of disappointing quarterly results.

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Joins DirectTrust’s Accredited Trust Anchor Bundle

The VA joins DirectTrust’s anchor bundle, which will allow its employees to use Direct messaging and information exchange to communicate with 1.8 million providers.

Abernethy tapped as FDA’s CIO

Politico reports that FDA Principal Deputy Commissioner and former Flatiron Health executive Amy Abernethy, MD will become the agency’s CIO, taking over from CISO and interim CIO Craig Taylor.

Theranos Whistleblowers To Launch Tech Ethics Venture

Theranos whistleblowers Erika Cheung and Tyler Shultz will launch the nonprofit Ethics in Entrepreneurship to help connect startups with ethicists, more experienced entrepreneurs, and resources that will help them avoid the fate of the disgraced blood-testing company.

Morning Headlines 4/2/19

Brian Tyler Becomes McKesson’s New CEO

McKesson COO and President Brian Tyler succeeds John Hammergren as CEO.

NTT DATA Services Acquires State Healthcare Consulting Practice from Cognosante

NTT Data Services acquires Cognosante Consulting, which has supported IT projects for HHS departments and state agencies.

We’ve Got to Have More Time

Healthcare trade groups including the AMA, MGMA, and CHIME call for a 30-day extension of the comment period on the ONC’s 21st Century Cures Act proposal and the CMS interoperability rule.

Critical Alert Completes Acquisition of Sphere3

Former Sphere3 CEO Kourtney Govro becomes VP of Critical Alert’s business development and managing director of the its new Sphere3 Clinical Advisory Division.

Morning Headlines 4/1/19

West Michigan doctor’s office hacked, doctors held for ransom

A two-doctor ENT practice in Michigan closes for good and its partners retire after they refuse to pay a hacker $6,500 to restore their ransomware-encrypted systems.

Queensland Health rejects call to pause electronic medical record rollout

Queensland Health officials reject the Australian Medical Association of Queensland’s calls to halt the rollout of the Cerner-powered IEMR, saying all of AMAQ’s issues with the software have been resolved or are in the process of being addressed.

UM Health Spinoff Fifth Eye Nabs $11 Million VC Round

Post-operative patient monitoring startup Fifth Eye raises $11 million in a Series A round.

Mount Sinai and Hasso Plattner Institute Launch New Institute for Digital Health

Mount Sinai Health System (NY) and the Hasso Plattner Institute will spend $15 million to develop an institute that will develop digital health products with real-time predictive and preventive capabilities.

University Healthcare System to invest $170 million in new medical record technology

University Health System (TX) will spend $170 million to implement Epic over a three-year period.

Morning Headlines 3/29/19

Teladoc Health Launches Telemedicine Service in Canada, Expanding Portfolio of Available Healthcare Solutions

Teladoc Health will launch its services in Canada.

FDA Chief Calls For Release Of All Data Tracking Problems With Medical Devices

Departing FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, MD says the agency will make good on its promise to release thousands of patient safety reports.

Hackers attempt to access Northampton General Hospital computers 240 times a day

Officials at Northampton General Hospital in England say they are fending off 240 data-breach attempts a day, and worry that the problem will only escalate as NHS facilities become paperless.

Morning Headlines 3/28/19

Artificial Intelligence (AI) Health Outcomes Challenge

CMS announces the AI Health Outcomes Challenge, which will award up to $1.65 million to winners who develop AI-powered technologies that can predict unplanned hospital and SNF admissions, and adverse events.

Health care leaders back Xealth with Series A funding to digitally enable patient care

Digital prescription startup Xealth raises $11 million in a funding round led by McKesson Ventures, Novartis, Philips, and ResMed.

Sutter Health, Suki Introduce Digital Voice Assistant to Support Patient Care

Sutter Health (CA) will pilot an AI-enabled digital voice assistant developed by Suki in primary care, dermatology, and orthopedics.

Centene to Buy WellCare in $17.3 Billion Health-Care Deal

Public and private payer Centene acquires WellCare Health Plans for $17 billion.

Alphabet-backed Clover Health is cutting tech jobs after realizing it needs more health-care experts

Medicare Advantage payer Clover Health lays off 140 employees as part of a restructuring that will help it focus more on healthcare rather than software expertise.