Morning Headlines 3/6/25

Freed Raises $30 Million to Free Clinicians

AI medical scribe startup Freed announces $30 million in Series A funding.

Walgreens Nears Roughly $10 Billion Deal to Go Private

Walgreens inches closer to a take-private deal with Sycamore Partners, with sources saying the acquisition could be announced as soon as tomorrow.

Spokane VA Hospital’s health record outage prompts investigation

Oracle Health investigates yesterday’s system outage at six VA medical centers and 26 clinics.

Morning Headlines 3/5/25

23andMe rejects CEO’s second take-private offer

The board of 23andMe rejects the take-private proposal of CEO Anne Wojcicki, who had reduced her proposed price from last month by 84%.

Ntracts Acquires Compliatric, Expands Capability to Support Administrative Compliance Needs in Healthcare

Ntracts, a healthcare contract lifecycle management company based in Tennessee, acquires healthcare regulatory, accreditation, and compliance management technology vendor Compliatric.

Bluebird Kids Health Raises $31.5M to Transform Value-based Pediatric Care

Tech-enabled pediatric practice Bluebird Kids Health (FL) announces $31.5 million in new funding.

Familiar face in the tech policy office

HHS/ASTP appoints Steven Posnack, MS, MHS as acting head of ASTP/ONC.

Morning Headlines 3/4/25

CareCloud Reignites Acquisition Strategy with MesaBilling Acquisition

Ambulatory health IT vendor CareCloud acquires MesaBilling as part of a renewed acquisition push.

Amazon One introduced at NYU Langone Health facilities to improve check-in for its millions of patients

NYU Langone Health patients will soon be able to check in using Amazon One palm scanning technology integrated with the hospital’s Epic system.

Accelerating Rural Access to Distributed and InteGrated Medical Care (PARADIGM) program to Develop Revolutionary Mobile Healthcare Solution

The Advanced Research Projects Agency-Health selects Planned Systems International to support the design of a new mobile care delivery platform incorporating networked medical devices and virtual care capabilities to improve healthcare access for rural patients.

Morning Headlines 3/3/25

Clearlake to buy majority stake in ModMed that values it at $5.3bn

Clearlake Capital is reportedly preparing to acquire specialty-focused health IT vendor ModMed from Warburg Pincus.

Minister Carroll MacNeill launches the new HSE Health App

Ireland’s Health Service Executive launches a health app that allows patients to maintain a medical list, store health-related ID cards, access vaccination records, and search for HSE services.

The next chapter: Moving from Skype to Microsoft Teams 

Microsoft encourages Skype users to transition to Microsoft Teams before it retires the video call application in May.

Morning Headlines 2/28/25

Federal government officials drop out of HIMSS health information conference

Stat reports that federal officials won’t be attending HIMSS25 due to a travel freeze.

Bias Capital Cancels $25 Million Investment in Parker Health Amid Serious Fraud Concerns

Bias Capital cancels its $25 million Series A investment in EHR vendor Parker Health after its due diligence raises concerns of fraud.

As seasoned doctors exit the field, SimCare AI raises $2M to scale clinical training with AI patients

SimCare AI, which creates AI patients for clinician training, raises $2 million in seed funding.

Morning Headlines 2/27/25

These engineers raised $8.1 million for a new healthcare AI startup after OpenAI acquired their last company. See the 11-slide pitch deck they used.

Charta Health, which offers a product that uses AI to automate patient chart reviews to find missed billing codes, raises $8.1 million in seed funding.

Teladoc shares tumble on wider-than-expected loss, disappointing revenue guidance

Teladoc Health shares drop on the news of dips in Q4 and full-year revenue, attributable in part to the company’s poorly performing BetterHelp business.

Defense Health Network-National Capital Region and U.S. Navy Conduct Milestone Virtual Health Test Aboard USS Gerald R. Ford

The Defense Health Network-National Capital Region, Navy Medicine, and Medweb successfully test their ability to conduct a virtual medical consultation between a patient aboard the docked USS Gerald R. Ford and Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.

Morning Headlines 2/26/25

Anne Wojcicki has a new offer to take 23andMe private, this time for $74.7 million

New Mountain Capital and 23andMe co-founder and CEO Anne Wojcicki propose to take the company private in a $74.7 million deal.

HealthStream Announces Fourth Quarter & Full-Year 2024 Results

Healthcare workforce technology company HealthStream reports Q4 results: revenue up 5.2%, EPS $0.16 versus $0.15.

Making America Healthy Again by Empowering Patients with Clear, Accurate, and Actionable Healthcare Pricing Information

President Trump issues an executive order directing several departments including HHS to enforce existing healthcare price transparency regulations within 90 days.

Healthcare Malware Hunt, Part 1: Silver Fox APT Targets Philips DICOM Viewers

Malware researchers find that a China-based hacker group is disguising its malware as a Philips DICOM viewer.

Morning Headlines 2/25/25

EXA Capital Acquires PrecisionCare

EXA Capital acquires EHR and care management software vendor PrecisionCare.

Retrieve Medical Holdings Inc. Announces Letter of Intent to Acquire Cúratus LLC, Strengthening AI-Powered Healthcare Solutions

Clinical documentation software company Retrieve Medical will acquire Curatus, which specializes in AI-powered provider data management.

VA EHR office shrinks headcount under Trump’s federal workforce policies

The VA’s EHR Modernization program faces a new round of scrutiny as lawmakers balk at vague cost estimates and lack of a master deployment schedule, office staff face layoffs and resignations, and a new GAO report highlights the program’s continued lack of progress on taking recommended actions.

Morning Headlines 2/24/25

Blue Orca is Short Teladoc Health, Inc.

A short-selling investment firm claims that mental health therapists in Teladoc Health’s BetterHelp business are using ChatGPT to respond to patients during therapy sessions without the patient’s knowledge.

Waystar Reports Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2024 Results

Waystar reports Q4 results: revenue up 19%, EPS $0.11 versus –$0.12, beating analyst expectations for both.

AI health-care startup OpenEvidence raises funding from Sequoia at $1 billion valuation

OpenEvidence, which has developed a clinical decision support chatbot for providers, announces $75 million in funding.

Arizona advances bill to keep AI from rejecting medical claims

Following several other states, lawmakers in Arizona advance a bill that will, if passed, require a provider to review a claim or prior authorization before it can be denied.

Morning Headlines 2/21/25

Hims & Hers Acquires At-Home Lab Testing Facility, Expanding Capabilities to Ultimately Include Affordable Whole Body Testing for Subscribers

Vanity prescription vendor Hims & Hers acquires Trybe Labs, an at-home lab testing provider that processes customer self-collected blood samples.

Hummingbird Healthcare Closes $20M Funding Round in Support of Mission to Elevate Patient Access

Patient access software and services company Hummingbird Healthcare raises $20 million in a Series B funding round.

Millie Secures $12M Series A to Continue Closing Gaps in Maternal Healthcare

Tech-enabled maternity clinic Millie will use $12 million in new funding to open new clinics in California and expand its IT capabilities and services.

HHS Office for Civil Rights Imposes a $1,500,000 Civil Money Penalty Against Warby Parker in HIPAA Cybersecurity Hacking Investigation

Hybrid eyeglasses prescription and retailer company Warby Parker will pay a $1.5 million HIPAA violations penalty related to a 2018 data breach that wound up exposing the PHI of 200,000 people.

Morning Headlines 2/20/25

Azara Healthcare and i2i Population Health Unite to Supercharge Safety Net Population Health Management

Population health and value-based care company Azara Healthcare acquires I2I Population Health Management.

URAC Launches Development of Health Care AI Accreditation

Healthcare accreditor URAC announces plans to release a healthcare AI accreditation program later this year.

Walgreens Gains After CNBC Says Sycamore Takeout Is ‘Alive’

Walgreens shares jump on the news that private equity firm Sycamore Partners has revitalized its interest in acquiring the retail pharmacy chain.

Valsoft Enters the Managed Care Space with the Acquisition of Chordline Health

Canadian software business acquisition company Valsoft acquires North Carolina-based Chordline Health, which specializes in managed care software.

Morning Headlines 2/19/25

FDA cuts hit AI division, even as Trump invests in the technology

Report says that FDA has laid off many AI and digital health employees who were involved in healthcare AI regulation.

Ex-Palantir Veteran to Run Data, IT Security for RFK Jr.’s Health Department

HHS appoints Clark Minor, a Palantir software executive, as CIO.

MultiPlan Enters New Era and Unveils New Brand, Claritev, Reflecting Company’s Transformation and Mission to Support the Healthcare Continuum

Out-of-network price platform vendor MultiPlan changes its name to Claritev.

Ohio Becomes First State to Require Hospitals to Publish Prices

A new Ohio law prohibits hospitals that don’t post their prices publicly, as required by the federal government, from collecting medical debt and filing negative credit reports against patients.

Morning Headlines 2/18/25

Abridge Announces $250M Series D Investment and New Contextual Reasoning Engine to Streamline Clinical and Financial Workflows at the Point of Care

Ambient documentation company Abridge confirms reports of a $250 million Series D funding round, bringing its total raised to over $450 million.

Carecierge Revolutionizes Healthcare Delivery with Cutting-Edge Tools for Care Teams

Carecierge launches to offer physician practices workflow optimization software.

Innovaccer Launches ‘Agents of Care’ to Transform Healthcare Operations, Enhance Care Delivery

Innovaccer develops AI agents to help providers automate tasks related to patient scheduling and intake, referrals, prior authorizations, care gap identification and coordination, coding review, and patient access.

Morning Headlines 2/17/25

Agentic AI Startup, VoiceCare AI, Launches to Automate Healthcare Back Office and Super-Staff Workforce

Mayo Clinic will pilot voice AI agent technology from VoiceCare AI, which recently launched with $3.85 million in funding, in three areas for pre-authorization and benefit confirmation.

Donate Life America and Epic Bring Organ Donor Registration to MyChart

Epic integrates organ donation registration capabilities into MyChart in collaboration with the non-profit Donate Life America.

Trusting Health Care Systems to Use Artificial Intelligence

A JAMA commentary piece notes that patients don’t trust how health systems will use AI, leading author Jessica Ancker, MD, MPH to recommend that health systems clearly disclose AI interactions, specify who can access AI-generated data, and inform patients when AI is used to influence clinical decisions.

Morning Headlines 2/14/25

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. Sworn in as 26th Secretary at HHS, President Trump Signs Executive Order to Make America Healthy Again

Newly sworn in HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., JD, LLM will manage a $2 trillion budget and oversee CMS, CDC, FDA, NIH, the Public Health Service, HHS OIG, AHRQ, Office for Civil Rights, and ASTP.

CVS shares pop 15% on big earnings beat, even as high medical costs drag down insurance unit

CVS Health reports Q4 results: revenue up 4%, EPS $1.30 versus $1.58, beating expectations for both and sending battered shares up 15%.

Vitalchat Secures Series A Funding Led by GHC Industries to Scale Virtual Nursing and Telehealth Solutions

Vitalchat, which offers an AI-powered inpatient virtual nursing and procedural telehealth platform, raises $6 million in a Series A funding round.

Morning Headlines 2/13/25

Candid Health Raises $52.5 Million Series C to Enhance GenAI Features, Expand Revenue Cycle Automation Platform to More Providers

RCM automation company Candid Health announces Series C funding of $52.5 million, bringing its total raised to $99.5 million.

Keragon, an AI-powered healthcare automation platform, secured a $7.5M seed round six months post-launch

Healthcare automation startup Keragon raises $7.5 million in a seed funding round, bringing its total raised to $10.5 million since launching in 2024.

Leading Global Healthtech Company, Harrison.ai, to Bring Proven AI-Powered Medical Diagnostic Support and Workflow Solutions to the United States; US$112 Million Series C Fuels Global Expansion

Australia-based Harrison.ai, which offers AI diagnostic solutions for radiology and pathology imaging, will use $112 million in new funding to expand its US operations.

Morning Headlines 2/12/25

PSI Secures $156M VA Contract for EHR Test & Evaluation Support

The VA awards Planned Systems International a contract to support the EHR Modernization Integration Office’s software testing and evaluation as Oracle Health is rolled out to additional facilities.

Apple brings heart rate monitoring to Powerbeats Pro 2

Apple adds a heart rate monitoring feature to its newest earbuds that is compatible with its Health app and several other popular fitness apps.

Backline by DrFirst, Five Wishes, and MyDirectives Partner to Offer ACP Complete, a Beginning-to-end Advance Care Planning Solution

Backline by DrFirst, Five Wishes, and MyDirectives launch ACP Complete, an advance care planning solution that guides patients via virtual consultations.