Oracle to win unconditional EU nod for $28.3 billion Cerner deal
The EU reportedly gives Oracle unconditional antitrust clearance for its proposed $28 billion acquisition of Cerner.
Plano Telehealth Startup Raises $14.1M
Virtual care company VitalTech raises $14.1 million in equity.
Kaid Health, developer of AI-powered Whole Chart Analysis software, raises $4.25 million in Series A funding.
Hospital ward where tragic Meltham dad walked out was ‘understaffed with slow computers’
IT problems prevented staff at a hospital in England from seeing that a behavioral health patient was restricted from leaving unsupervised, after which he was killed when he was hit by a train, an inquest hears.
A former health executive in Georgia writes an op-ed piece urging the state to follow Kentucky’s lead in overriding Cures Act requirements that patients be given their lab results immediately, saying that his late wife was stressed by seeing lab results related to her lung cancer that she didn’t understand.
The dangers of digital health monitoring in a post-Roe world
Popular Science advises its readers to use a browser that doesn’t retain a search history, use a VPN, turn off location sharing, use encrypted messaging, avoid asking about potentially illegal topics publicly, and be aware that the US does not protect period tracker users from having their data sold.
The British Medical Association urges ministers to study the benefits of a hybrid working model for some physicians and at certain times, citing experience gained during the pandemic.
Governor Gianforte, DPHHS Announce Major Investment in Montana’s Health Information Exchange
Montana will invest $20 million in the Big Sky Care Connect HIE, which will fund improvements that include a clinical data repository, ADT alerts, a quality measurement program, and image exchange capabilities.
Why So Slow? Legislators Take on Insurers’ Delays in Approving Prescribed Treatments
Lawmakers attempt to speed up prior authorization approvals by imposing insurer time limits, although an electronic PA process may hold the most promise to get patients their meds faster.
Most medical students have experienced digital education, some to the near exclusion of in-person coursework during the pandemic, but they complain about lack of contact with patients, lecturers, and fellow students.
Doximity Announces Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2022 Financial Results
Physician social network and pharma marketing vendor Doximity reports Q4 results: revenue up 40%, adjusted EPS $0.21 versus $0.09, providing lowered guidance that sent shares to all-time lows in after-hours trading Tuesday.
Harris Expands in California with the Acquisitions of Innovative Medical Management and MedBill IQ
Harris acquires workers’ compensation EHR/PM/RCM vendor Innovative Medical Management and MedBill IQ, which will become part of the company’s Resolve Healthcare revenue cycle business unit.
IU health doctor says he was fired for objecting to visit time limit
An internal medicine physician sues Indiana University Health, which he claims fired him for complaining about a policy that limits doctor visits to 10 minutes as monitored via the EHR.
Cerebral just replaced CEO Kyle Robertson as the mental-health startup faces increased scrutiny
The board of mental health telemedicine startup Cerebral votes to oust CEO Kyle Robertson amidst federal scrutiny of its controlled substances prescribing practices.
HealthStream Acquires CloudCME
Healthcare continuing education company HealthStream fully acquires CE application vendor CloudCME for an additional $4 million.
Futura Healthcare Announces Acquisition of Leading Healthcare IT Solutions Provider
IT consulting and staffing firm Futura Healthcare acquires competitor Winola Lake Health IT for an undisclosed sum.
ThoroughCare Announces $3 Million Capital Raise to Advance Care Coordination for Value-Based Care
Care coordination software company ThoroughCare secures a $3 million investment from Cypress Growth Capital.
Chillicothe VA reviewed after allegations of failing to follow a consultation process
A VA Office of Inspector General report determines that lack of prompt EHR documentation and care coordination between a VA provider and private chiropractic clinic contributed to the spinal and rib fractures of an 87 year-old patient.
National Medical Billing Services Announces Acquisition of Medi-Corp, Inc.
National Medical Billing Services, an RCM vendor focused on the surgical market, acquires Medi-Corp, which offers RCM services for anesthesia, ASCs, and pain management providers.
Skylight Health Group Reports First Quarter 2022 Financial Results
Skylight Health Group, a multi-state practice management company, attributes its 18% dip in revenue from the previous quarter to implementation of Athenahealth’s EHR across its practices, and a reduction in COVID-19-related urgent care visits.
A practicing Venezuelan cardiologist has been charged with the use and sale of ransomware, and profit-sharing arrangements with his customers.
Change Healthcare brings lawsuit against former employee
Change Healthcare sues a former employee, now working at Olive, for violating his contract’s non-compete clause by going to work for a direct competitor.
PatientIQ, a patient outcomes data and insights vendor, raises $20 million in a Series B funding round.
Amwell Announces Results for First Quarter 2022
Amwell announces Q1 results: revenue up 11%, EPS –$0.26 versus –$0.16, missing analyst expectations for both.
A randomized clinical trial finds that remote monitoring and financial incentives had no impact on readmissions or deaths among discharged heart failure patients.
Cerner will issue the VA an unspecified credit for failing to meet the minimum system uptime requirements specified in the $10 billion contract.
Two owners of a “purported” telemedicine company plead guilty to participating in an elaborate scheme of bribes, kickbacks, and fraudulent prescriptions for drugs and medical equipment that netted them $32 million and cost insurers $64 million.
OncoHealth Secures Strategic Investments from Arsenal Capital Partners & McKesson Corporation
Oncology-focused digital health company OncoHealth secures unspecified investments from Arsenal Capital Partners and McKesson.
Health Catalyst Acquires ARMUS; Bolsters Clinical Quality Offering and Outsourced Services
Data and analytics software vendor Health Catalyst acquires Armus, which offers clinical registry development and data management services.
HHS Announces $16.3 Million to Expand Telehealth Care in the Title X Family Planning Program
HHS allocates $16.3 million to Title IX family planning clinics for expansion of telehealth infrastructure.
Bon Secours Mercy Health Introduces Accrete Health Partners
Bon Secours Mercy Health (OH) launches Accrete Health Partners, a holding company that will focus on streamlining the health system’s digital health services, partnerships, and investments.
Hybrid pediatric mental healthcare startup Handspring Health raises $6.2 million in funding.
Harris Completes Purchase of Allscripts Hospitals and Large Physician Practices Business Segment
Harris rebrands the hospital and large physician practice software business it acquired from Allscripts to Altera Digital Health.
RCM solutions vendor Med-Metrix acquires PatientPal, which offers patient engagement and front-end RCM software.
Omnicell Discloses Some Systems Affected by Ransomware
Omnicell reports that a ransomware attack last week impacted some of its systems, adding that customer operation of its medication management devices was unaffected.
Mental health EHR and research startup Osmind raises $40 million in a Series B round that brings its total funding to $57 million.
CareCloud Reports First Quarter 2022 Results
CareCloud reports Q1 results: revenue up 19%; adjusted EPS of $0.23 vs. $0.19, beating Wall Street expectations for both revenue and earnings.
AMIA and HL7 Announce Partnership to Advance Interoperability in the Healthcare Community
The American Medical Informatics Association and Health Level Seven International will work together over the next two years to further interoperability standards.
Founded by orthopedic surgeons in 2017, virtual MSK care startup Upswing Health secures $5 million in seed funding.
Vital computer system has gone down more than 50 times since launching in Spokane, VA confirms
The VA confirms that Cerner was unavailable 50 times for at least some users singe going live in its Pacific Northwest sites, though the outages were not widespread.
Cerebral Receives Subpoena From Federal Prosecutors
Federal prosecutors subpoena online mental healthcare startup Cerebral as part of an investigation into potential violations of the Controlled Substances Act.
An OIG joint audit of efforts by the DoD and the VA to make their Cerner systems interoperable notes that migration of legacy data into Cerner could have been more consistent, medical device integration could be improved, and user access should be limited to information needed to perform job duties.
Allscripts Announces First Quarter of 2022 Results
Allscripts reports an uptick in Q1 revenue and that CEO Paul Black will step down.
Office overseeing EHR interoperability between DoD, VA not having ‘active role’ in rollout
Lack of oversight and planning by the Federal EHR Modernization Program Office has hampered interoperability between the DoD and VA’s new Cerner systems, according to a new joint report from the DoD and VA inspectors general.
OptimizeRx reports Q1 results: revenue up 22%, adjusted EPS $0.01 vs. $0.04, beating revenue expectations and meeting those for earnings.
Offor Health Completes Series A Round With Additional $9 Million Led by AXA Venture Partners
Offor Health, which specializes in providing mobile surgical services to in-office settings, raises $9 million in a Series A funding round.
Workflow automation solution for post-acute care Element5 closes $30M in Series B round of funding
Post-acute care workflow automation vendor Element5 raises $30 million in a Series B funding round, bringing its total raised to $45 million.
Cruces-based telehealth company Electronic Caregiver to add 770 jobs
Remote patient monitoring company Electronic Caregiver will hire 770 employees as it expands its headquarters in New Mexico with the addition of a clinical triage center.
Cerner Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2021 Results
Cerner reports Q1 results: revenue up 4%, adjusted EPS $0.93 versus $0.78, meeting earnings expectations but falling short on revenue.
VA secretary urges EHR rollout to continue, but ‘very concerned’ about system outages
VA Secretary Denis McDonough says the agency will continue rolling out its new Cerner software despite five recent outages that have caused some lawmakers to call for a halt to implementations.
The American College of Physicians and the American Telemedicine Association will develop a framework for assessing digital health technologies that are used by providers and consumers.
Virtual care enabler Capable raises $6 million
Capable Health, developer of plug-and-play virtual care software, raises $6 million in seed funding.
Kidney care-focused analytics and population health management vendor Healthmap Solutions raises $35 million, bringing its total funding to $135.6 million.
Allscripts Closes Sale of Hospital and Large Physician Practices Business to Constellation Software
Allscripts finalizes the sale of its hospital and large physician practices business to Harris parent company Constellation Software for up to $700 million in cash.
Health startup MyNurse to shut down after data breach exposed health records
Virtual chronic care management and remote patient monitoring startup MyNurse announces it will shut down alongside its notice to users of a March data breach.
HIStalk Sponsor Announcements
Re: "People preferred the [patient] portal over the telephone for getting test results, updating personal information, getting medical records copies,…