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

Medical 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.

Morning Headlines 3/11/20

Changes and Clarifications from the Proposed Rule to the Final Rule

ONC publishes a six-page summary of changes that were made to the draft version of HHS’s interoperability rules in producing the just-released final version that took public comments into account.

HealthStream Acquires NurseGrid, #1 Rated and Top Downloaded App for Nurses

HealthStream acquires 20-employee nurse scheduling app vendor NurseGrid for $25 million in cash.

Genstar Capital Announces Recapitalization of ConnectiveRx

Genstar Capital recapitalizes ConnectiveRx, continuing as the majority investor and bringing in new funds as minority participants.

DXC Technology to Sell U.S. State and Local Health and Human Services Business to Veritas Capital for $5.0 Billion

DXC Technology will sell its technology-enabled health and human services business to Veritas Capital for $5 billion.

Morning Headlines 3/10/20

Pager Announces $33M Financing Round

Concierge care coordination app developer Pager raises $33 million in a Series B round, bringing its total raised to $63 million.

PatientKeeper Appoints Philip Meer CEO

Former Evariant EVP Philip Meer becomes CEO of PatientKeeper.

HHS Finalizes Historic Rules to Provide Patients More Control of Their Health Data

ONC publishes its 1,244-page Cures Act Final Rule.

Morning Headlines 3/9/20

It’s true: Virtual HIMSS20 is happening!

HIMSS will develop a special virtual edition of HIMSS20 and is asking members which sessions they would like to see.

VA leaders optimistic on July go-live date for new health record

VA officials are confident Mann-Grandstaff VA Medical Center’s Cerner go-live will happen in July, provided several milestones are finally met including building interfaces between Cerner and VA systems, training end users, and conducting operational assessments.

Epic changing employees’ travel plans as coronavirus concerns continue

Epic reassesses employees travel plans as customer hospitals become care sites for COVID-19 patients.

AMIA Statement on AMIA 2020 Informatics Summit Cancellation

AMIA cancels its 2020 Informatics Summit that was scheduled for March 23-26 in Houston due to coronavirus concerns.

Morning Headlines 3/6/20

HIMSS Announces Cancellation of the 2020 Global Health Conference & Exhibition

HIMSS cancels HIMSS20 at the recommendation of its medical advisory panel.

Apple is rejecting coronavirus apps that aren’t from health organizations, app makers say

Apple is rejecting coronavirus-related apps that aren’t from hospitals or governments.

Vecna Technologies Awarded Cerner Integration Contract

Cerner awards Vecna Technologies a contract to integrate its patient self-service platform with the VA’s Cerner EHR.