Morning Headlines 6/20/24

California plans to enlist AI to translate healthcare information

The state of California seeks bids for an AI system to translate health and social services documents and websites as a first draft for human review.

We must fix prior authorization to protect our patients

A majority of surveyed physicians say that prior authorizations contribute to burnout, while 24% report that PAs have led to serious adverse events for their patients.

UK Hospital Hackers Say They’ve Demanded $50 Million in Ransom

Pathology services vendor Synnovis faces a $50 million ransomware demand from the Qilin group.

SDSU researchers develop AI robot hoping to help those with mental health concerns

San Diego State University researchers develop an AI robot called Pepper that can detect emotions from live video analysis, allowing it to detect mental health issues and to provide insights to clinicians.

Morning Headlines 6/19/24

Google’s Verily to offer GLP-1 drugs through Lightpath, its retooled chronic care app

Alphabet’s Verily will reportedly pivot – for the second time in two years – by retiring its chronic disease management app Onduo and moving to a new one called Lightpath, which will focus on AI-sprinkled diabetes treatment and issuing prescriptions for GLP-1 drugs.

HHAeXchange Acquires Cashé Software, Strengthening Homecare Operations for Thousands of Agencies and Individuals

Home care management solutions vendor HHAeXchange acquires Cashé Software, which offers homecare operations and billing software.

Talkiatry Secures $130M Series C Funding to Mainstream Value-Based Behavioral Health Care

Telepsychiatry services provider Talkiatry raises $130 million in a Series C funding round, bringing its total raised to $245 million.

Morning Headlines 6/18/24

Healthcare firm Concentra reveals quarterly revenue growth in IPO filing

Occupational healthcare provider Concentra files paperwork with the SEC for a $100 million IPO.

Raising the Bar on Interoperability – A Decade of Data Show that “Sometimes” Isn’t Good Enough

New data from ONC finds that the number of hospitals routinely sharing health data grew from 28% in 2018 to 43% in 2023.

US to shut advance payments program for Medicare providers hit by Change hack

CMS will on July 12 stop accepting new applications for the advance payments program it set up to help providers impacted by the Change Healthcare ransomware attack.

Cardamom Health Announces Investment by HealthX Ventures to Expand Advisory and Managed Services for Data, Analytics, and Applications

Cardamom Health will use new funding from HealthX Ventures to hire additional staff and further develop its services for revenue cycle optimization and value-based care.

Morning Headlines 6/17/24

Google-backed Tempus AI closes first day of trading up 9% in Nasdaq stock market debut

Tempus AI, which specializes in precision medicine and intelligent diagnostics, raises $410 million during its IPO, giving it a valuation of $6 billion.

London hospitals cancel over 800 operations after ransomware attack

NHS England reports that London-area hospitals have had to cancel over 800 appointments and operations as a result of the June 3 ransomware attack on pathology services vendor Synnovis.

Disrupted Access to Prescription Stimulant Medications Could Increase Risk of Injury and Overdose

CDC warns that people who have been getting Adderall from telehealth provider Done – whose executives were arrested last week on Adderall-related charges – should not resort to buying the drugs on the street as an alternative.

Morning Headlines 6/14/24

Ascension cyberattack caused after employee accidentally downloaded malicious file

Ascension confirms that its May 8 ransomware attack was launched by a malicious email opened by an unsuspecting employee.

VA awards second option period to Oracle Health in support of Federal Electronic Health Record modernization contract

The VA extends its contract with Oracle Health for a second term of 11 months with an eye to deploying the EHR at new sites in 2025 once reset goals have been met.

Founder/CEO and Clinical President of Digital Health Company Arrested for $100M Adderall Distribution and Health Care Fraud Scheme

Federal agents arrest the CEO and clinical president of ADHD telehealth provider Done on charges of distributing Adderall, healthcare fraud, and obstruction of justice.

Morning Headlines 6/13/24

Veterans Health Administration creates new office to streamline tech initiatives

The VA creates a new Digital Health Office to unify the Veterans Health Administration’s technology initiatives, including those related to health informatics, AI, population health, and connected care.

Brightside Health Expands into Substance Use Disorder, Virtual Intensive Outpatient Treatment

Virtual mental healthcare company Brightside Health acquires Lionrock Recovery, which offers virtual intensive outpatient addiction treatment services.

Canary Speech Secures $13 Million in Series A Funding to Change How the World’s Top Healthcare Organizations Screen for Mental Wellness and Cognitive Health

Canary Speech, a health IT company specializing in the development of AI-powered vocal biomarkers, raises $13 million in a funding round led by Cortes Capital.

United States Sues Telehealth Providers and Executives for Unfair and Deceptive Conduct

Cerebral will pay $7 million to settle federal complaints of a variety of deceptive business practices, though the DoJ and FTC will continue to pursue Cerebral founder Kyle Robertson and several business associates for their role in subsequent, similar practices at telehealth companies launched after Cerebral shut down.

Koda Health Secures New Funding to Expand Advance Care Planning Capabilities

Koda Health, an advance care planning software startup spun out of Texas Medical Center, closes an oversubscribed seed funding round.

Morning Headlines 6/12/24

Oracle Announces Fiscal 2024 Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Full Year Financial Results

Oracle reports Q4 results: revenue up 3%, adjusted EPS $1.63 versus $1.67, missing Wall Street expectations for both.

NeuroFlow Acquires Owl, Creating the Largest End-to-End Platform for Behavioral Health Measurement and Engagement Across the Care Continuum

NeuroFlow, whose system helps risk-bearing healthcare organizations surface and support behavioral health needs, acquires Owl, which offers a measurement-based care platform.

HealWell AI to Acquire VeroSource Solutions and its Cloud-based Health Data Interoperability Platform to Help Large Enterprises Adopt AI-Powered Population Health Capabilities

In Canada, preventative care-focused digital health company HealWell AI acquires healthcare data software vendor VeroSource for $24.5 million.

Morning Headlines 6/11/24

CityMD Agrees to Pay over $12 Million for Alleged False Claims to COVID-19 Uninsured Program

CityMD, a VillageMD-owned chain of urgent care practices in New York and New Jersey, will pay $12 million to settle allegations that the company submitted false payment claims to a federal COVID testing program for uninsured patients.

Med-Metrix Announces the Acquisition of HBCS, Further Strengthening the Company’s End-to-End RCM Capabilities

RCM software and services vendor Med-Metrix acquires Hospital Billing & Collection Service, a competitor based in Delaware.

Biden-⁠Harris Administration Bolsters Protections for Americans’ Access to Healthcare Through Strengthening Cybersecurity

The White House partners with Microsoft and Google to offer rural hospitals free and low-cost cybersecurity resources.

Morning Headlines 6/10/24

Oracle $16 Billion VA Health Software Scores Badly in Internal Report

An internal VA report finds that less than 20% of its Oracle Health users believe that the system helps them deliver high-quality care and just 13% believe that it helps keep their patients safe.

Anterior grabs $20M from NEA to expedite health insurance approvals with AI

Prior authorization automation startup Anterior raises $20 million in a Series A funding round.

Mount Sinai Health System named 2024 Hearst Health Prize winner

Mount Sinai Health System wins the 2024 Hearst Health Prize for its NutriScan AI application that identifies malnutrition in hospitalized patients by analyzing EHR data.

Morning Headlines 6/7/24

Healthcare software firm Waystar raises $968 mln million in IPO, sources say

Waystar reportedly raises $968 million in its IPO, giving it a valuation of $3.69 billion.

Walmart shut down its healthcare clinics after losses reached nearly a quarter of a billion dollars

Endpoints News reports that Walmart lost $230 million last year alone on its Walmart Health clinics before announcing their closure a few weeks ago.

Health Catalyst Acquires Oncology-Focused Health Technology Company Carevive

Health Catalyst acquires Carevive Systems, which offers cancer treatment support tools for oncology providers and life sciences researchers.

DirectTrust and Digital Therapeutics Alliance Announce Partnership to Provide Accreditation for Digital Therapeutics Industry

DirectTrust launches an accreditation program for digital health apps, which will use privacy, security, transparency, and interoperability criteria as provided by the Digital Therapeutics Alliance trade association.

Morning Headlines 6/6/24

Direct Recruiters, Inc., a Starfish Partners Company and Health Innovations, LLC Join Forces to Revolutionize Healthcare Staffing and Analytics

Direct Recruiters announces that it will acquire Health Innovations, a staffing firm specializing in placing clinical executives and analytics leaders.

Eko Health scores $41M to detect heart and lung disease earlier and more accurately

Smart stethoscope developer Eko Health raises $41 million in Series D funding, bringing its total raised to $165 million.

Solarity Announces Strategic Growth Investment from TA

Automated clinical data processing vendor Solarity announces an undisclosed amount of funding from TA Associates.

Morning Headlines 6/5/24

Sword Health Introduces Phoenix, the First AI Care Specialist and Raises $130 Million in a Mix of Primary and Secondary Sale, Increasing Valuation to $3 Billion

Sword Health, which offers AI-powered digital support solutions for issues related to musculoskeletal problems, physical therapy, and pelvic therapy, raises $130 million.

Cybersecurity Event Update

Ascension restores EHR access in its Florida, Alabama, and Austin markets, and hopes to make the system available to the entire organization by June 14.

WM to Acquire Stericycle, a Leader in Medical Waste Services, for $7.2 Billion

Waste Management will acquire Stericycle, which specializes in medical waste disposal, compliance training, and secure information destruction, for $7.2 billion.

AssureCare Acquires Cureatr and SinfoniaRx Technology

AssureCare acquires the medication management technologies of Cureatr, which abruptly shut down last October, and of Cureatr affiliate SinfoniaRx Technology.

Morning Headlines 6/4/24

TouchSource Acquires Healthcare Business and Patient Room Network From True Sync Media

Digital signage and wayfinding technology vendor TouchSource acquires True Sync Media’s healthcare business, which sells waiting room display solutions and content.

General Catalyst-backed Jasper Health lays off staff

Jasper, which offers tech-powered support to cancer patients, reportedly lays off half its staff.

BD to Acquire Edwards Lifesciences’ Critical Care Product Group for $4.2 Billion to Expand Smart Connected Care Solutions and Become an Advanced Monitoring Technology Leader

BD will acquire the critical care monitoring solution group of Edwards Lifesciences, which includes AI-enabled clinical decision support tools, for $4.2 billion in cash.

Morning Headlines 6/3/24

OCR Updates Change Healthcare Cybersecurity Incident FAQs

HHS OCR provides specific information related to breach notification responsibility from the Change Healthcare cyberattack.

Wrongful death lawsuit alleges baby dies as a result of Springhill Medical Center’s negligence during cyberattack

A woman whose baby died in childbirth during a cyberattack says that the hospital is refusing to pay its previously agreed-on settlement.

Google Is Using A.I. to Answer Your Health Questions. Should You Trust It?

Google’s AI Overviews, which displays AI-generated search result summaries before showing the individual links, can provide health information that is incorrect or that uses unreliable sources.

Demands were sent to 4 hospitals/systems re: AI products for use in healthcare facilities

An investigative reporter finds that Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has used the state’s consumer protection laws to demand that Houston Methodist, Parkland Health, Children’s Health, and Texas Health Resources provide his office with their AI-related contracts, policies, and disclosures.

Morning Headlines 5/31/24

Cybersecurity Event Update

Ascension says it has restored EHR access in one of its markets.

NHS computer issues linked to patient harm

Half of NHS trusts say that they have documented EPR-caused patient harm, including three deaths and 126 instances of serious IT-caused harm.

Thankfully Business Insider Is Not Responsible for Healthcare Modernization

Oracle EVP Ken Glueck calls a recent negative BI article “clickbait,” declares Epic’s Judy Faulkner to be “the single biggest obstacle to EHR interoperability,” and says that Epic will fail and Oracle Health will succeed.

Morning Headlines 5/30/24

Virtual Therapeutics, Akili Interactive Enter Into Definitive Merger Agreement to Establish Leading Digital Health Company

Virtual Therapeutics, which offers game-based mental health apps,will acquire game-based cognitive treatment vendor Akili for $34 million in cash.

HHS names acting chief AI officer as it searches for permanent official

HHS taps national coordinator for health IT Micky Tripathi, PhD, MPP as acting chief artificial intelligence officer – in addition to his existing role — while it searches for a permanent replacement for Greg Singleton.

Dollar General pulls mobile clinic mentions from website, partner no longer offering appointments

Endpoints reports that Dollar General has removed from its website mentions of its mobile clinics, which it operates in a partnership with DocGo, less than 18 months after launching the service.

Healthcare payments firm Waystar aims up to $3.83 bln valuation in US IPO

Waystar targets a valuation of nearly $4 billion for its US IPO, 50% more than its previous valuation in 2019.

Morning Headlines 5/29/24

Veradigm Announces Leadership Update

MDRX shares rose 16% Tuesday on news that it has replaced its interim CEO and is exploring strategic alternatives that could include a sale of the company.

2024 VA AI Tech Sprint Award Ceremony

The VA announces AI competition winners in ambient documentation and outside medical record summarization.

Cybersecurity Event Update

Ascension’s most recent cyberattack update from May 24 says that its recovery progress will be visible this week and that partners are reconnecting to its network.

Cue Health to Pursue Wind Down of the Business

Connected health vendor Cue Health, which went public in 2021 at a valuation of $2.3 billion, lays off all of its employees and files Chapter 7 bankruptcy following FDA’s warning that its COVID-19 tests are unreliable.