Morning Headlines 6/20/18

Quest Analytics Acquires BetterDoctor to Create First Health Plan Platform to Ensure Network Adequacy, Provider Data Accuracy and Improved Member Experience

Healthcare provider management and network access technology company Quest Analytics acquires provider management system vendor BetterDoctor.

Ascension Debuts Subsidiary to Help Other Companies Succeed Through Process Automation

Ascension’s shared services subsidiary launches Agilify, which will offer help with intelligent process automation.

Veritas Capital-backed Verscend to Acquire Cotiviti for $4.9 Billion

Verscend Technologies will acquire healthcare payments technology company Cotiviti for $4.9 billion.

Morning Headlines 6/19/18

Walmart Patents System for Accessing Medical Records Stored on a Blockchain

Walmart’s latest patent suggests it will develop a wearable that will give emergency responders access to an unresponsive patient’s medical record using blockchain technology.

Google is training machines to predict when a patient will die

Findings from Google’s Medical Brain team show that its AI has a higher accuracy rate at predicting deaths, discharges, and readmissions than traditional hospital warning systems.

Judge rules in favor of OCR and requires a Texas cancer center to pay $4.3 million in penalties for HIPAA violations

MD Anderson Cancer Center (TX) must pay $4.3 million in penalties for HIPAA violations stemming from three data breaches and non-compliance in following up with device encryption.

Morning Headlines 6/18/18

Elizabeth Holmes indicted on wire fraud charges, steps down from Theranos

The US Attorney indicts Theranos founder and CEO Elizabeth Holmes and former President and COO Sunny Balwani for fraud, charging that as Theranos executives, they knew that the company’s blood testing technology was unreliable and was not competitive with conventional lab testing.

Citing weak demand, IBM Watson Health to scale back hospital business

IBM Watson Health executives tell employees that the company will scale back its hospital pay-for-performance tools business.

UK report warns DeepMind Health could gain ‘excessive monopoly power’

An external review raises red flags over DeepMind Health’s control over NHS data streamed between its real-time, care communication Streams app and future third-party developers.

Walgreens to Move Approximately 1,800 Positions to New Chicago Office

Walgreens will employ 1,800 staffers at a new office in Chicago that will accommodate its expanding Technology Center of Excellence.

Morning Headlines 6/15/18

Hackensack Meridian Health Funds Key Innovation to Improve Health Care in New Jersey

Hackensack Meridian Health uses its $25 million innovation investment fund to finance Pillo Health’s digital home health companion.

Outcome Health names advertising executive as new CEO

Embattled waiting room media company Outcome Health names Matt McNally (Publicis Health) CEO.

Google is hiring people to work on improving visits to the doctor’s office with voice and touch technology

Google looks to grow its Medical Digital Assist project, which is working on physician note transcription using the company’s AI-powered Home and Assistant technology.

Morning Headlines 6/14/18

Medici Raises $22M+ in Private Capital

Text-based telemedicine app company Medici raises $22 million in a Series A funding round.

CD&R and Cardinal Health to invest in naviHealth

Cardinal Health sells a majority stake in post-acute care services and analytics company NaviHealth to private investment firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice for an undisclosed amount.

Countess of Chester cosies up with Cerner in 15-year deal

The Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust will replace its Meditech software with Cerner Millenium.

Morning Headlines 6/13/18

Private equity’s thirst for health care providers

Triggered by news of KKR’s planned acquisition of Envision Healthcare Corporation for $9.9 billion, a new report says that private equity firms love buying healthcare provider companies that wield a lot of market power, especially physician and ED staffing groups and air and ground ambulance companies.

Biotech’s Soon-Shiong hiring bankers for Nant cancer drug IPO

Billionaire doctor Patrick Soon-Shiong, MD says that despite the poor stock performance and heavy criticism of his two publicly traded companies NantHealth and NantKwest, he will IPO a new chemotherapy development company later this year.

GPB Capital Acquires Health Prime International, Building Upon its Healthcare IT Portfolio

Private equity firm GPB Capital acquires Maryland-based RCM/EHR vendor Health Prime International.

Moody’s says Lahey merger could help bond rating of Beth Israel parent

Moody’s downgrades the credit rating of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center parent CareGroup, citing concerns about its $534 million BIDMC expansion project and significantly lower margins at Mount Auburn Hospital following its $110 million FY2017 implementation of Epic.

Inspirata Acquires Health Analytics Company, Caradigm; Plans to Use its Award-Winning Platform to Accelerate Development of its Cancer Information Data Trust

Cancer informatics technology vendor Inspirata acquires Caradigm from GE Healthcare. Imprivata bought Caradigm’s identity management business in October 2017. Microsoft, originally a 50-50 Caradigm joint venture investor with GE Healthcare to which it contributed its Amalga data platform, sold its share to GE Healthcare in April 2016.

Morning Headlines 6/12/18

IBM’s problems with Watson Health run deeper than recent layoffs, former employees say

Former IBM employees say Watson Health’s troubles stem from the company’s inability to successfully merge the health data assets of Phytel, Explorys, and Truven Health – companies it acquired between 2015 and 2016.

VA Awards Contract to 1Vision and AMC Health for Telehealth Solutions

AMC Health and 1Vision will provide enrolled veterans access to telehealth services as part of the VHA Home Telehealth Program.

Apple, Cerner, Microsoft, and Salesforce

Former deputy national coordinator for health IT and Alliance for Better Health CEO Jacob Reider, MD downplays the likelihood of top Athenahealth suitors successfully picking up where Jonathan Bush left off.

Morning Headlines 6/11/18

UMass Inventor Insists On Due Credit For Nurses Who Innovate

UMass Amherst nursing professor Rachel Walker, PhD, RN is named to the American Association for the Advancement of Scientists.

“SHE ABSOLUTELY HAS SOCIOPATHIC TENDENCIES”: ELIZABETH HOLMES, SOMEHOW, IS TRYING TO START A NEW COMPANY!

WJS reporter and “Bad Blood” author John Carreyrou provides a couple of new tidbits about Elizabeth Holmes.

NYU Langone Health tests out Amazon Business programs

NYU Langone Health is testing Amazon Business for allowing employees to order supplies directly as it works to evolve into a more digitally-savvy organization.

VA Moves to Launch Implant Registry with FDA, CMS, DoD Input

The VA will create a medical implant registry to allow it to notify patients about recalls, identify devices in emergencies, and track outcomes.

Morning Headlines 6/8/18

CEO to be named soon for Berkshire, Amazon, JPMorgan healthcare venture

Berkshire Hathaway Chairman Warren Buffett tells CNBC that he and JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon have selected a CEO for their healthcare venture with Amazon and will name the individual within the next two weeks.

Clinical Trial Participants’ Views of the Risks and Benefits of Data Sharing

A survey of clinical trials participants finds that 93 percent are willing to share their clinical data with university scientists and 82 percent are OK with researchers from for-profit companies looking at their information.

MTBC Selected as Acquisition ‘Stalking Horse’, Sale Hearing Scheduled for June

A New York bankruptcy court selects MTBC as the “stalking horse” primary bidder for the assets of Houston-based Orion HealthCorp, which offers revenue cycle services, practice management, and group purchasing.

Unionize Epic

A Madison, WI weekly says its time for Epic employees to unionize following the Supreme Court’s ruling that forcing employees into arbitration over labor issues and prohibiting them from filing class action lawsuits is legal.

Morning Headlines 6/7/18

Trump seeks to reorganize the federal government

White House officials plan to propose a reorganization of the federal government that would consolidate welfare programs under HHS – a move that would necessitate renaming the department.

HP sees up to 5,000 job cuts as part of restructuring plan

HP expects to lay off between 4,500 and 5,000 employees by 2019 as part of restructuring plans originally announced in 2016.

MyHeritage Statement About a Cybersecurity Incident

Consumer DNA testing company MyHeritage alerts customers to a data breach that compromised the email addresses and passwords of 92,283,889 users.

A meditation app loved by Wall Street and Silicon Valley wants to unveil a prescription-strength version with FDA approval

Headspace launches new subsidiary Headspace Health with an eye towards developing FDA-approved, prescription-strength meditation apps targeted at specific medical conditions.

Morning Headlines 6/6/18

Microsoft has acquired GitHub for $7.5B in stock

Developers flee the GitHub platform as rumors solidify that Microsoft has acquired the open source repository for $7.5 billion in stock.

Florida Hospital and GE Healthcare Partners to Build ‘Command Center’ to Guide Clinical Operations

Florida Hospital will develop a clinical operations command center for its nine campuses using GE Healthcare’s AI-powered Wall of Analytics.

Pentagon investigates White House doctor Ronny Jackson

The DoD’s OIG is investigating allegations about White House physician and one-time VA secretary nominee Ronny Jackson, MD, who has been accused of improperly providing sleeping pills, drinking on the job, and sharing the medical information of VP Mike Pence’s wife without her consent.

Morning Headlines 6/5/18

Apple opens Health Records API to developers

Apple announces that it will give users the ability to share health data stored on their devices with third-party developers and researchers.

Judge rules Theranos investors cannot pursue class action

A California judge rules that over 200 Theranos investors can’t pursue a class-action lawsuit against the company, which they claim defrauded them out of millions of dollars.

Teladoc Acquires Global Virtual Care Provider, Advance Medical

Teladoc acquires Advance Medical, a telemedicine company serving Latin American and Asian markets, for $352 million.

Morning Headlines 6/4/18

IBM says it’s reaching for the ‘moon’ with Watson Health. That hasn’t stopped layoffs.

IBM acknowledges that last week’s layoffs affected a small percentage of Watson Health’s workforce, the rest of which will forge ahead with a new implementation project slated for Apollo Hospitals in India.

Intelligent Medical Objects (IMO) Announces Leadership Transition to Support Next Chapter of Growth and Innovation

Ann Barnes (MedData) joins IMO as CEO, replacing co-founder Frank Naeymi-Rad, who will become chief innovator and remain chairman of the board.

Illinois upholds Epic’s $62 million university contract

The Illinois Procurement Policy Board rejects Cerner’s challenge of the seven-year, $62 million Epic contract signed by University of Illinois Hospital and Health Sciences System.

Morning Headlines 6/1/18

ClearBridge Investments Sends Letter to Board of Directors of athenahealth Inc.

Athenahealth investor ClearBridge Investments urges the health IT company to launch sale proceedings in light of a “litany of executive turnover, misexecution on several initiatives and persistent downward trajectory of a variety of financial measures.”

Withings will return after buying out Nokia’s health business

Withings will sell the Nokia Health products it re-acquired earlier this year, and relaunch the Withings brand by the end of 2018.

Propeller Health Raises $20 Million, Accelerating Development of Digital Medicines for Respiratory Health and Other Diseases

Propeller Health secures $20 million with help from Aptar Pharma, which will help the company scale its digital therapeutics beyond its core chronic respiratory disease market.

Morning Headlines 5/30/18

Providence St. Joseph Health Helps Ease, Enhance End-Of-Life Care

Providence St. Joseph Health publishes a state-specific online advance directive toolkit and customizes its EHR to store the advance directives of its patients.

IBM’s Watson Health wing left looking poorly after ‘massive’ layoffs

IBM Watson Health reportedly had big layoffs last week, with the “resource action” mostly focused on employees from its big-bet acquisitions Truven, Merge, and Phytel.

Orion Health cuts 177 jobs as more red ink spills

As layoffs mount, reports suggest that New Zealand-based Orion Health is considering selling all or part of the company to unnamed parties.

ResMed to Acquire HEALTHCAREfirst, a Cloud-based Software and Services Provider for Home Health and Hospice Agencies

Home monitoring technology vendor ResMed will acquire HealthcareFirst.

Morning Headlines 5/29/18

How I remember my lost military comrades

Former senator, governor, and US Navy Seal Bob Kerrey suggests spending a short time alone to remember those who have been lost and those who lost them.

Me and My Numb Thumb: A Tale of Tech, Texts and Tendons

Doctors are seeing many people with problems caused by thumb overuse in texting.

Next time you buy a TV at Best Buy, you may be also offered health care

Best Buy plans to offer home monitoring technology and services to seniors.

Morning Headlines 5/28/18

Steward Health Care pressured doctors to restrict referrals outside chain, suit says

A doctor files a class action lawsuit against venture capital-owned hospital chain Steward Health Care, claiming he was pressured to refer patients only to other Steward facilities

Emory Healthcare and Sharecare to launch Emory Healthcare Innovation Hub

The health system and digital health vendor, both based in Atlanta, will develop, test, and implement digital health products.

Digital Ambulance Chasers? Law Firms Send Ads To Patients’ Phones Inside ERs

Personal injury lawyers in Philadelphia are using geofencing technology to identify smartphone users who are in hospital EDs, then sending their devices a weeks-long string of “call if you’ve been injured” ads.