Morning Headlines 8/4/23

TytoCare raises $49 million to build out AI-enhanced chronic care

Home Smart Clinic company TytoCare raises $49 million in a Series D extension round, bringing its total raised to $206 million.

SimplePractice Announces Strategic Purchase of Assets of Luminello

SimplePractice, a health and wellness technology company owned by EngageSmart, acquires psychiatry-focused EHR and practice management vendor Luminello.

FBI investigating ransomware attack affecting Eastern Connecticut Health Network, Waterbury Health

A ransomware attack on Prospect Medical Holdings, which operates 17 hospitals in five states, causes facilities to experience network outages, diversions, and closures.

Waystar Acquires HealthPay24, Accelerating Mission to Simplify Healthcare Payments

Waystar acquires patient payments company HealthPay24 from EngageSmart.

Morning Headlines 8/3/23

Duke Health Forges 5-year Partnership with Microsoft to Reshape Health Care

Duke Health will create an AI Innovation Lab and Center for Excellence in partnership with Microsoft, with one of its research topics being the reliability and safety of generative AI in healthcare.

Firmament-Backed e4health Acquires eCatalyst, Expanding Coding & HIM Capabilities

Health information management, coding, and health IT consulting business E4Health acquires competitor ECatalyst Healthcare Solutions for an undisclosed sum.

CVS beats on earnings and revenue as the company slashes costs

CVS Health reports a Q2 revenue boost of 10.3% a day after confirming that it will cut 5,000 corporate jobs as it reprioritizes spending to focus more on care delivery and technology.

Morning Headlines 8/2/23

Amazon Clinic expands nationwide to provide messaging and video visits for common health conditions

Amazon Clinic expands its telemedicine service to all 50 states and Washington, DC.

House appropriators propose $1.9B for VA electronic health record in 2024

A proposed 2024 VA appropriations bill allocates $1.2 billion for Oracle Cerner’s EHR, $424 million for infrastructure readiness, and $253 million for program management.

Informa Markets and HIMSS Join Forces to Expand the HIMSS Global Health Conference & Exhibition, the Leading Healthcare Technology Show in the US

Informa Markets formally announces its acquisition of the HIMSS Global Health Conference & Exhibition, noting that it will provide an enhanced customer experience that will include improved digital features, registration processes, and marketing tools; as well as innovative product discover applications.

Healthmap Raises $100 Million to Support Ongoing Expansion of Kidney Health Management

Tech-enabled kidney care company Healthmap Solutions raises $100 million in a funding round led by WindRose Health Investors.

Morning Headlines 8/1/23

Hackers threaten to auction off DNA patient records from Oklahoma hospital

The Karakurt Data Extortion Group threatens to publish samples and then auction off patient data, including genetic records, stolen from McAlester Regional Health Center.

FeelBetter Raises $5.9M to Optimize and Personalize Medication Management for Polypharmacy Patients

Precision medication management software startup FeelBetter raises nearly $6 million in a funding round led by Firstime Ventures and Shoni Health Ventures.

Ransomware attackers steal personal info of over 600K Medicare beneficiaries

CMS begins notifying Medicare beneficiaries that contractor Maximus Federal Services was impacted by the MoveIt file transfer software data breach in late May.

CharmHealth and Bioverge Invest in My Diabetes Tutor to Bring Diabetes Education to the 37 Million Americans Battling the Disease

Ambulatory-focused health IT vendor CharmHealth invests in patient education and engagement software startup My Diabetes Tutor.

Morning Headlines 7/31/23

Surescripts Completes Settlement with Federal Trade Commission

Surescripts settles Federal Trade Commission charges from 2019 that accused the company of anti-competitive practices in the electronic prescribing and eligibility markets.

IT giants to bid for HSE patient records contract

Salesforce, Oracle Health, and Epic will likely bid to provide Ireland’s proposed patient record system, the cost of which could exceed $2 billion over 10 years.

CAMC initiates telemedicine site at Montgomery General

In West Virginia, Charleston Area Medical Center establishes a telemedicine hub at Montgomery General Hospital to help patients gain easier access to CAMC providers.

Morning Headlines 7/28/23

Informa Reports Half-Year Revenue Surge and Accelerated Growth Through More Acquisitions and Investments

Informa Markets, a London-based B2B events and publishing company, announces via its six-month financial report that it will acquire the HIMSS Global Health Conference & Exhibition.

RapidAI Announces $75 Million Growth Investment Led by Vista Credit Partners

AI-powered clinical decision support and workflow startup RapidAI raises $75 million, bringing its total raised to $100 million.

Biofourmis Cuts 120 Jobs Worldwide, Including 48 in US

Remote monitoring and digital therapeutics technology vendor Biofourmis lays off 120 employees, 48 of them based in the US.

Morning Headlines 7/27/23

AWS Announces AWS HealthScribe, a New Generative AI-Powered Service that Automatically Creates Clinical Documentation

Amazon Web Services launches AWS HealthScribe, which allows developers to create clinical documentation tools that use speech recognition and generative AI.

PaceMate Announces Strategic Investment from Lead Edge Capital

Cardiac data management software company PaceMate secures funding from Lead Edge Capital.

Oxford Finance Closes $105 Million Debt Facility with Headspace

After announcing a round of layoffs earlier this month, app developer Headspace Health announces $105 million in senior debt facility financing.

Morning Headlines 7/26/23

Combining Human Expertise with Artificial Intelligence: Experimental Evidence from Radiology

A study finds chest x-ray analysis didn’t improve when radiologists were assisted by AI tools that, on their own, outperformed two-thirds of the radiologists involved.

RetinAI and Retina Consultants of America Join Forces to build the Most Comprehensive U.S.-based Real World Evidence Database in Ophthalmology

Imaging analysis vendor RetinAI and retina care provider Retina Consultants of America will partner to develop a real-world evidence database in ophthalmology.

Teladoc Health shares rise 5% following improved outlook

Teladoc Health shares rise in after-market trading after reporting a Q2 revenue increase of 10%.

Morning Headlines 7/25/23

NextGen Healthcare Reports Fiscal 2024 First Quarter Results

NextGen Healthcare reports a 16% uptick in Q1 revenue as well as an increase in earnings, beating analyst expectations for both.

Cigna Sued Over Algorithm Allegedly Used To Deny Coverage To Hundreds Of Thousands Of Patients

A pair of plaintiffs in California file a class-action lawsuit against Cigna over its alleged practice of wrongfully rejecting claims in mere seconds using an automated system.

Axxess Acquires Complia Health

Home healthcare technology company Axxess acquires competitor Complia Health for an undisclosed sum.

Collectly wants to make paying healthcare bills easier so medical providers don’t lose $200B

Patient billing startup Collectly raises $29 million in a Series A funding round.

Morning Headlines 7/24/23

‘Hi, Doc!’ DM’ing the doctor could cost you (or your insurance plan)

University of California San Francisco research finds that charging for patient portal messages hasn’t reduced email volume as hoped for, given that providers typically only charge for about 3% of messages.

CHC Consulting Group: Leading FQHC and Community Healthcare Consulting Firm Launches Two Subsidiaries, Turbo RCM and CHC Tech RX

FQHC-focused CHC Consulting Group launches new subsidiaries focused on RCM and healthcare technology.

MCI Onehealth Technologies Inc. Enters into Agreements with WELL Health Technologies Corp. to Sell Clinical Assets, Raise New Financing and Empower its AI-Focused Digital Healthcare Business

MCI Onehealth Technologies, which manages a Canadian primary care network and develops health IT, will sell its clinical assets to competitor Well Health Technologies, enabling it to focus solely on AI-powered health IT and clinical research.

Morning Headlines 7/21/23

Franciscan Health parent to shift 61 employees to outside firm

Franciscan Alliance will rebadge 61 IT employees of Franciscan Health Indianapolis to managed services provider R4 Solutions.

UpLift gets $11M Series A for insurance-based telemental health

Virtual mental healthcare company UpLift, which markets its services primarily to payers, raises $10.7 million in Series A funding.

HHS Office for Civil Rights and the Federal Trade Commission Warn Hospital Systems and Telehealth Providers about Privacy and Security Risks from Online Tracking Technologies

The HHS Office for Civil Rights and the FTC warn 130 hospitals and telemedicine companies of the security and privacy risks related to the use of online tracking technologies within their websites or apps, which may be sharing the sensitive personal health data of consumers without their permission to third parties.

Morning Headlines 7/20/23

TPG to Acquire Leading Specialty Healthcare IT Platform Nextech

Confirming speculation from several weeks ago, TPG acquires ambulatory healthcare IT vendor Nextech from Thomas H. Lee Partners for $1.4 billion.

GenHealth.AI Accelerates into Healthcare AI Market with New Funding, Advisor Appointments and Use Cases Across Healthcare

Financial and care management-focused generative AI startup GenHealth.AI raises $13 million.

Teladoc Health Expands Collaboration in AI with Microsoft to Address Healthcare Workforce Crisis

Teladoc Health will use Microsoft’s AI services and its Nuance DAX ambient documentation product into its virtual care platform, expecting to automate the creation of clinical documentation during virtual exams.

Morning Headlines 7/19/23

Greenwood Village-based DocBuddy secures $1.84M to scale its digital health care workflow solution

DocBuddy, which offers an EHR workflow solution, raises $1.8 million in a seed funding round.

NeuroFlow Acquires Parent Company of BHL and BHL Touch

Behavioral health technology vendor NeuroFlow acquires Capital Solution Design, whose measurement-based care solutions are used by the VA.

Request for Health Information Technology Advisory Committee (HITAC) Nominations

The GAO seeks nominations for appointments to the Health Information Technology Advisory Committee.

Researchers Develop AI Model to Better Predict Which Drugs May Cause Birth Defects

Mount Sinai data scientists develop an AI model that may predict which pre-clinical compounds and medicines, particularly those new to market, could cause birth defects.

Morning Headlines 7/18/23

Thoma Bravo Announces Strategic Growth Investment in Bluesight to Support the Company’s Acquisition of Medacist

Medication supply chain technology company Bluesight will use a strategic growth investment from Thoma Bravo in its acquisition of Medacist, a drug diversion monitoring and medication management software vendor.

Unicorn K Health raises $59 million in down round

Israeli digital primary care startup K Health raises $59 million in a funding round led by Cedars-Sinai.

These Chicago execs want their fraud convictions overturned. Here’s their argument.

Outcome Health co-founders Rishi Shah and Shradha Agarwal want their fraud convictions overturned based on the argument that prosecutors seized more of their assets than was warranted before trial, leaving them unable to employ their first-pick attorneys.

Morning Headlines 7/17/23

Electronic Health Records Vendor NextGen Healthcare Inc. to Pay $31 Million to Settle False Claims Act Allegations

NextGen Healthcare will pay $31 million to settle allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by misrepresenting the capabilities of select versions of its EHR software, and that it offered kickbacks in the form of credits of up to $10,000 to users whose recommendations led to new sales.

Phreesia Acquires MediFind, Reinforcing its Commitment to Patient-Centered Care and Expanding its Offerings to Consumers

Patient intake and engagement software vendor Phreesia acquires MediFind, which uses AI-powered technology to help patients find best-fit physicians.

Amazon lays off about 80 workers in pharmacy division

Amazon Pharmacy, the online retailer’s standalone prescription delivery service, lays off 80 employees.

Morning Headlines 7/14/23

Department of Defense Stateside Deployment of MHS GENESIS Complete

The Defense Health Agency announces that stateside roll out of MHS Genesis has been completed on time and on budget.

VA opposed to new EHR requirements but open to more major acquisition review 

VA officials say they are opposed to proposed legislation that would impose strict requirements on the department’s EHR Modernization program, but express support for legislation that would increase oversight of future acquisitions projects.

NICU telemedicine now at North Country Hospital

North Country Hospital (VT) establishes a NICU telemedicine program that gives its pediatricians access to real-time video consults with neonatologists at University of Vermont Medical Center.

Morning Headlines 7/13/23

Fold Health streamlines admin work for primary care providers

Primary care-focused administrative software developer Fold Health raises $6 million.

Parker Health Secures $25 Million in Series A Funding to Transform American Healthcare

Parker Health, developer of FHIR-based health management software that aggregates patient data from a variety of sources, raises $25 million.

Gradia Health Secures $4.2M in Seed Funding to Improve Ongoing Care for Patients With Chronic Conditions

Virtual concierge care startup Gradia Health announces $4.2 million in seed funding.