Morning Headlines 4/3/20

OCR Announces Notification of Enforcement Discretion to Allow Uses and Disclosures of Protected Health Information by Business Associates for Public Health and Health Oversight Activities During The COVID-19 Nationwide Public Health Emergency

The HHS Office for Civil Rights loosens HIPAA regulations to give healthcare business associates more leeway in sharing PHI “in good faith” during the pandemic.

Microsoft works with healthcare organizations to protect from popular ransomware during COVID-19 crisis: Here’s what to do

As remote workforces increase, Microsoft alerts several dozen hospitals to VPN infrastructure vulnerabilities that may attract ransomware attackers.

Google’s AI accurately predicts physicians’ prescribing decisions 75% of the time

Researchers from the University of California, San Francisco and Google develop an algorithm using EHR data capable of predicting physician prescription choices 75% of the time.

FCC Adopts $200 Million COVID-19 Telehealth Program

The FCC allocates $200 million to help qualifying providers purchase telecommunications, broadband services, and devices essential for offering telehealth services.

Morning Headlines 4/2/20

MHS Genesis deployment suspended amid COVID-19 pandemic

The DoD presses pause on its roll out of MHS Genesis to better enable its care teams to focus on treating COVID-19 patients.

Exclusive: HCA subsidiary lays off dozens of contractors

Health IT consulting firm CereCore lays off dozens of employees contracted to work for parent company HCA Healthcare.

Microsoft helps Swedish Health Services develop COVID-19 app to track hospital resources

Microsoft and Swedish Health Services (WA) develop an app to help staff track COVID-19 patients, and hospital capacity and supplies.

eConsult solution company AristaMD secures $18 million in Series B funding

AristaMD will use $18 million in new funding to further develop and scale use of its e-consult and referral software for primary care physicians.

Morning Headlines 4/1/20

Cerner Millennium EHR to be used at London’s 4000-bed temporary hospital

London’s 4,000-bed Nightingale Hospital, a COVID-19 emergency treatment facility created inside a convention center, will run Cerner Millennium.

Calling all COVID-19 Health IT Projects

ONC updates its Interoperability Proving Ground, making it easier to find projects already underway that are using health IT to address the pandemic.

Olive Raises $51M to Accelerate its AI Workforce for Healthcare

Healthcare workflow automation company Olive raises $51 million in a funding round led by General Catalyst.

Morning Headlines 3/31/20

Trump Administration Engages America’s Hospitals in Unprecedented Data Sharing

To better allocate federal resources to areas in need, CMS asks hospitals to share COVID-19 testing data with HHS, and bed capacity and supply data with the CDC.

Supply chain companies to launch healthcare industry exchange

Supply chain tech company Resilinc will work with Stanford Health and Premier to launch a Web-based supply exchange that will match hospitals in need of COVID-19 equipment with manufacturers and donors.

New COVID-19 Preparedness App Fills Interoperability Gaps For Surge Preparedness

Epic and OCHIN develop an app for the Washington State Health Care Authority that enables healthcare workers, volunteers, and patients to perform COVID-19 screenings and find local emergency care.

Trump Administration Makes Sweeping Regulatory Changes to Help U.S. Healthcare System Address COVID-19 Patient Surge

CMS expands telemedicine coverage to 80 additional services and will now reimburse physicians for virtual visits at the same rate as in-person visits.

Morning Headlines 3/30/20

Apple announces COVID-19 website and app in partnership with CDC and the White House

Apple develops a COVID-19 screening website and app that it developed in a partnership with the CDC, the White House’s coronavirus task force, and FEMA.

Bright.md Raises $8 Million Series C Round to Bring Critical, Asynchronous Virtual Care to Health Care Systems and Their Patients

Bright.md raises $8 million in a Series C funding round, increasing its total to $20.5 million.

Conference Cancelled

Meditech Users Software Exchange cancels its 2020 MUSE Inspire Conference that was scheduled for May 26-29 at Maryland’s Gaylord National Resort & Conference Center.

COVID-19 Community Based Testing Guide

Verily’s Project Baseline issues a guidebook for running COVID-19 community-based testing sites under the a federally supported, state-directed program.

Morning Headlines 3/27/20

Diligent Robotics announces $10M series A

Moxi hospital robot maker Diligent Robotics raises $10 million in a Series A funding round.

Alphabet’s Verily ramps up drive-through coronavirus testing with 1,000 Google volunteers

Verily automates scheduling for its recently expanded drive-up COVID-19 testing sites, part of its Web-based screening and testing project launched in California earlier this month.

New York State COVID-19 Technology SWAT Team

New York State seeks IT volunteers for COVID-19 technology SWAT teams, specifically looking for expertise in product management, development, hardware deployment, and data science.

An Epic donation: Local tech giant transforms former headquarters into daycare for COVID-19 frontline workers

Epic partners with a local childcare provider to convert the use of its former headquarters in Madison, WI to childcare space for UW Health employees.

Morning Headlines 3/26/20

Scripps Research launches DETECT study, leveraging wearable data to flag viral illnesses

The Scripps Research Translational Institute kicks off an app-based study that will use health data from wearables to more quickly pinpoint the onset of viral illnesses like the flu and coronavirus.

Rapid Response to COVID-19: Health Informatics Support for Outbreak Management in an Academic Health System

UC San Diego Health providers and researchers outline the ways in which the EHR is essential to supporting a health system’s management of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Inbox Health Raises $3.5 Million in New Venture Funding

Patient billing company Inbox Health raises $3.5 million in a funding round led by Healthy Ventures.

Morning Headlines 3/25/20

COVID-19 Healthcare Coalition Forms to Support the U.S. Healthcare System and Help Protect U.S. Populations

Consulting firm Mitre and several companies form the COVID-19 Healthcare Coalition, a data-driven effort to study community mitigation efforts, identifying people who have been exposed and need testing; and helping health systems manage staff, space, and supply chains.

HHS Awards $100 Million to Health Centers for COVID-19 Response

HHS allocates $100 million to help nearly 1,400 health centers across the country acquire medical supplies, support screening and testing needs, and expand telemedicine capabilities.

HTD Health Acquires CareVoice, an Advance Care Planning Platform

Health IT software development company HTD Health acquires digital advance care planning vendor CareVoice.

Morning Headlines 3/24/20

Amazon will deliver and pick up at-home test kits provided by new coronavirus program in Seattle

With help from Amazon Care and local health systems, the Seattle Coronavirus Assessment Network launches to deliver and pick up at-home COVID-19 testing kits in Seattle’s King County.

Thoma Bravo shuts down Imprivata process as covid-19 fears fuel market volatility

Thoma Bravo calls off its potentially $2 billion sale of digital healthcare identity company Imprivata.

Go inside the nerve center of a Western Washington hospital system dealing with coronavirus

CHI Franciscan relies on a mission control center to monitor capacity, supplies, and staffing for COVID-19 patients across its eight hospitals.

Telehealth Startups Pause At-Home COVID-19 Testing After FDA Tightens Guidelines

Several telemedicine companies halt their roll outs of at home COVID-19 testing kits after the FDA stresses that it has not authorized any testing kits for at-home use.

As some local businesses close, Jacksonville healthcare company hires hundreds

The HCI Group will hire for between 500 and 600 jobs in the coming weeks as it ramps up efforts to help hospitals with their health IT and managed services needs during the pandemic.

Morning Headlines 3/23/20

CMS Announces Relief for Clinicians, Providers, Hospitals and Facilities Participating in Quality Reporting Programs in Response to COVID-19

CMS will grant exceptions for reporting requirements and data-submission extensions for healthcare providers participating in Medicare quality reporting programs.

Boris Johnson met with healthtech startups Babylon and Thriva to discuss scaling up coronavirus testing

The UK government enlists the help of healthcare and consumer technology companies to address the coronavirus pandemic.

Pence’s medical licensing comment stirs confusion

Vice President Pence’s statement about waiving state licensure limitations on telehealth doctors has created confusion, since only states can waive those restrictions, few have done so, and the federal government’s legal authority to preempt states is not clear.

Negative for ‘Coronavirus,’ positive for COVID-19: Stanford Medicine reformats reports after confusion

Stanford Health redesigns lab reports in its MyHealth portal after several students complained that their reports indicated testing negative for coronavirus, only to be notified soon afterward that they were positive for COVID-19.

Morning Headlines 3/20/20

Hospitals ask for $100 billion coronavirus bailout

The American Hospital Association, American Medical Association, and American Nurses Association ask the federal government for $100 billion to offset COVID-19 diagnosis and treatment.

Ransomware Gangs to Stop Attacking Health Orgs During Pandemic

Several ransomware hacker groups say they will refrain from attacking healthcare organizations during the pandemic.

Surge in patients overwhelms telehealth services amid coronavirus pandemic

Telehealth services are being overwhelmed with a surge in patients that is stressing their technology and their supply of physicians.

Local medical tech startup shuts down operations

Medical credentialing-as-a-service startup MedSpoke closes, citing recent changes to its client base.

Morning Headlines 3/19/20

RubiconMD Raises Another $18M to Connect Primary Care Physicians to Specialists

E-consult software vendor RubiconMD raises $18 million in a Series C funding round led by Deerfield Management.

Trump administration will allow doctors to practice across state lines to address pandemic

HHS will allow physicians to practice across state lines in an effort to prevent staffing shortages during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A new app would say if you’ve crossed paths with someone who is infected

MIT and Harvard researchers develop an open-source app that tracks the movements of users and alerts them if they come near someone who has self-reported testing positive for the coronavirus.

Morning Headlines 3/18/20

Notification of Enforcement Discretion for telehealth remote communications during the COVID-19 nationwide public health emergency

HHS OCR will not assess penalties on providers who use non-compliant communication technologies to provide telehealth services during the COVID-19 public health emergency.

As Coronavirus Spreads, a Telemedicine Company Raises $60M

AmWell raises $60 million in equity, according to a recent SEC filing.

Medicare Telemedicine Health Care Provider Fact Sheet

CMS issues a fact sheet on how Medicare will pay for virtual services during the pandemic.

LOINC Prerelease Terms

LOINC publishes codes for COVID-19 lab testing.

Morning Headlines 3/17/20

Alphabet’s Verily launches a limited coronavirus screening website

Verily pilots a COVID-19 resource, screening, and testing website for Google account holders in the San Francisco Bay Area who agree to sharing some of their data with the company.

Cyber-Attack Hits U.S. Health Agency Amid Covid-19 Outbreak

HHS recovers from a Sunday cyberattack in which its servers were overloaded with hits over the course of several hours.

Tempus Announces $100 Million in Series G Financing

Cancer-focused precision medicine company Tempus will use a $100 million investment to expand into new consumer markets and offerings for diabetes, depression, and cardiology.

Telemedicine companies are struggling to serve ‘extreme volumes’ of patients as coronavirus calls surge

Patients face virtual care delays as telemedicine companies experience IT glitches and staffing shortages due to COVID-19-related visits.

With launch of COVID-19 data hub, the White House issues a ‘call to action’ for AI researchers

The federal government releases the COVID-19 Open Research Dataset, a machine-readable collection of constantly updated scientific literature that health officials hope AI researchers will use to uncover new insights into COVID-19’s incubation, treatment, symptoms, and prevention.

Morning Headlines 3/16/20

New CPT code announced to report novel coronavirus test

The American Medical Association creates a CPT 2021 code for the SARS-CoV-2 novel coronavirus, which will allow tracking of cases.

WebMD Acquires the StayWell Company

WebMD Health acquires Merck subsidiary The StayWell Company, which offers employee well-being, patient education, and patient engagement platforms.

Hartford HealthCare will bring 700 jobs to downtown Hartford and build new venture studio in $24 million renovation of office complex

Hartford Healthcare (CT) will spend $14 million to develop a new access center that will coordinate care and schedule appointments for patients across its 400 locations, pilot a telehealth urgent care clinic, and house an incubator space for healthcare startups. 

Epic Systems cancels spring XGM conference that draws thousands

Epic cancels its Experts Group Meeting (XGM) 2020, which was expected to draw 9,000 attendees to Epic’s Verona, WI campus April 27 – May 8.

Cerner employees to work remotely

Cerner tells employees who can do so to work remotely until March 30, adding that its offices will remain open with social-distancing policies to employees whose work requires them to be on site.

Morning Headlines 3/13/20

b.well Connected Health Secures $16 Million in Series A Funding

Employee-focused PHR vendor B.Well Connected Health raises $16 million in a Series A funding round, increasing its total to $27 million.

Heartbeat Health Raises $8.2M Series A to Expand Delivery of Best-in-Class Virtual Cardiovascular Care

Virtual cardiovascular care management solution vendor Heartbeat Health raises $8.2 million in a Series A funding round.

Epic tells employees to continue ‘essential’ travel, against county health officials’ advice

In addition to considering cancelling its upcoming, on-campus XGM event at its headquarters, Epic makes several social-distancing changes to workplace policies to slow the spread of COVID-19.

Morning Headlines 3/12/20

Leading Digital Transformation Services Firm emids Receives Investment from BlueCross BlueShield Venture Partners

Health IT and consulting company Emids announces an undisclosed amount of funding from BlueCross BlueShield Venture Partners.

Amazon and Gates Foundation may team up to deliver coronavirus test kits to Seattle homes

Amazon Care considers the logistics of working with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to deliver COVID-19 home testing kits in Seattle.

Former National Coordinators Applaud Interoperability Rules

Six former ONC leaders applaud the publication of the final interoperability rules and highlight several areas they are especially pleased with, including the development and enforcement of information-blocking rules.

Diagnostic Errors, Maternal Health Top ECRI’s 2020 Patient Safety Concerns

ECRI includes patient matching in the EHR, overrides of automated dispensing cabinets, and communication breakdowns across care settings in its annual list of top patient safety concerns.