Morning Headlines 3/5/21

Leading Health Innovators Launch Alliance To Advance Care In The Home

Several health systems and home-based care companies form Moving Health Home, a coalition that will try to convince the federal government to permanently pay for telehealth, remote patient monitoring, virtual disease prevention and management, caregiver support, and medical record sharing as an alternative to in-hospital care.

Startup co-founded by Duke health execs aims to help people with multiple chronic health conditions

New Duke University personalized chronic care spinout ZealCare will launch later this month, co-founded by former Duke University Health System CEO Ralph Snyderman, MD and personalized healthcare research fellow Connor Drake, PhD.

Dräger Partners with Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory on Medical Device Interoperability Initiative

Medical and safety technology vendor Dräger will work with several healthcare organizations to develop medical device interoperability standards in a US Army-funded project that will use IEEE’s service-oriented device connectivity (SDC) standard.

Morning Headlines 3/4/21

Amazon Care’s health provider has quietly filed paperwork to operate in 17 more states

Care Medical, which powers the Amazon Care virtual and house-call clinic offered to Amazon employees in Seattle, has filed paperwork to operate in 17 additional states.

One Medical’s Coronavirus Vaccine Practices Spark Congressional Investigation

The House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis launches an investigation into One Medical’s COVID-19 vaccination practices after NPR uncovers that it provided vaccines to ineligible patients, including some with ties to company leadership.

Post-Cyberattack, Universal Health Services Faces $67M in Losses

Universal Health Services estimates September’s cyberattack has caused $67 million in losses, according to its latest earnings report.

DispatchHealth Raises $200 Million in Series D Financing to Build Largest System of In-Home Medical Care

App-based house call company DispatchHealth raises $200 million in a Series D round of funding that brings its total raised to $417 million.

Morning Headlines 3/3/21

Health Gorilla raises $15 million to build secure APIs for medical records

Healthcare API developer Health Gorilla raises $15 million in a Series B round of funding it plans to use for market expansion and product development.

Why drug prescriptions should include diagnoses

HHS OIG Principal Deputy Inspector General Christi Grimm, MPA and HHS OIG Chief Medical Officer Julie Taitsman, MD, JD say that prescriptions should be required to include the condition for which the drug is being prescribed.

Hill-Rom accused of wrongfully pulling plug on $375 million deal

Hill-Rom cancels its plan to acquire ambulatory ECG monitoring vendor Bardy Diagnostics for $375 million, citing potentially unexpected reductions in Medicare reimbursements for patient-monitoring devices.

Preventative Wellness Startup Reperio Health Nets $6 Million in Seed Funding to Expand Proactive Health Monitoring

Reperio Health raises $6 million in seed funding to advance the rollout of its kits for employer-provided, at-home wellness screenings.

Morning Headlines 3/2/21

MTBC Announces Name Change to CareCloud, Inc., Doubles Down on Innovation & Growth

Ambulatory health IT vendor MTBC will change its name to CareCloud, which it acquired in January of last year.

Top Health Industry Leaders Launch Historic Coalition to Modernize California’s Health Information Systems

Fourteen healthcare organizations come together to form Connecting for Better Health, a California-based coalition in support of state efforts to create a unified HIE.

Babylon Expands its US-Based C-Suite Team to Lead Ambitious Growth Plans

UK-based virtual care company Babylon Health names Steve Davis (Expedia) CTO, Stacy Saal (Amazon) COO, and Paul-Henri Ferrand (Brex) chief business officer.

Morning Headlines 3/1/21

As Demand for Virtual Health Care Surges, Evernorth Announces Acquisition of Long-Term Partner, MDLive

Cigna’s Evernorth health services business will acquire telehealth vendor MDLive.

Marani Health (Formerly Odonata Health) Raises $3.7M; Appoints Health Care Veteran Jodi Hubler to the Board

Mayo Clinic-backed maternal and fetal remote patient monitoring company Marani Health raises $3.7 million.

Health Catalyst Reports Fourth Quarter and Year End 2020 Results

Health Catalyst reports Q4 results: revenue up 22%, EPS –$0.16 versus -$0.21, beating estimates for both.

Digital healthcare SPAC Blueprint Health Merger files for a $200 million IPO

Led by former Thomson Reuters and Virgin Pulse CEOs, Blueprint Health Merger’s SEC filings indicate it plans to raise $200 million in an IPO.

Morning Headlines 2/26/21

Allscripts Announces Fourth Quarter 2020 Results and Outlook For 2021

Allscripts reports Q4 results: revenue down 7%, adjusted EPS $0.29 versus $0.17, beating earnings estimates but falling short on revenue.

Healthcare Bluebook Now Owns Largest Healthcare Quality-Cost Database in the U.S.

Healthcare Bluebook acquires the quality division of Quantros.

USDA Invests $42 Million in Distance Learning and Telemedicine Infrastructure to Improve Education and Health Outcomes

The USDA will invest $42 million in 86 projects through its Distance Learning and Telemedicine program to help rural residents gain better access to healthcare and education.

Medisafe Secures $30M in Series C Funding to Build Future Model of Patient Support

Digital prescription support vendor Medisafe raises $30 million in a Series C funding round, increasing its total to $52 million.

Teladoc Health Reports Fourth-Quarter and Full-Year 2020 Results

Teladoc Health reports Q4 results: revenue up 151%, EPS –$3.07 versus –$0.26, beating revenue expectations but falling short on earnings that were affected by acquisition and share payout costs from its $18.5 billion acquisition of Livongo in October 2020.

Morning Headlines 2/25/21

High-End Medical Provider Let Ineligible People Skip COVID-19 Vaccine Line

One Medical comes under fire after leaked internal documents show that the membership-based primary care company has let ineligible patients – some with ties to company leadership – receive COVID-19 vaccinations before other, higher-risk groups.

Redox Market Momentum Leads to $45M in Series D Raise Led by Adams Street Partners

Healthcare API developer Redox raises $45 million in a Series D round that brings its total funding to $95 million.

Ontario Systems Continues Growth

Revenue recovery software vendor Ontario Systems acquires Pairity, which offers AI-based solutions for accounts receivable management.

Innovaccer Raises Series D at $1.3 Billion Valuation, Launches Innovaccer Health Cloud to Power the Future of Health

Innovaccer confirms a rumored funding round led by Tiger Global Management, bringing its total raised to $225 million.

Morning Headlines 2/24/21

Our Care Studio pilot is expanding to more clinicians

Google Health expands the pilot of its EHR search and data presentation tool, which it has named Care Studio.

Enforcement Discretion Regarding Online or Web-Based Scheduling Applications for the Scheduling of Individual Appointments for COVID-19 Vaccination during the COVID-19 Nationwide Public Health Emergency

The HHS Office for Civil Rights won’t penalize certain potential HIPAA violators for their use of COVID-19 vaccine scheduling tools during the nationwide public health emergency.

DirectTrust Announces Implementation Guide for Event Notifications via the Direct Standard

DirectTrust publishes an implementation guide for sending ADT event notifications via the Direct Standard.

Morning Headlines 2/23/21

Alphabet-backed Oscar Health eyes as much as $6.7 billion IPO valuation

Tech-enabled insurance startup Oscar Health hopes to raise over $1 billion through its IPO early next month.

St. Margaret’s Health – Spring Valley breached by cyber security attack

St. Margaret’s Health-Spring Valley (IL) reverts to paper-based processes after its IT team discovered a data breach over the weekend and shut down all of its Web-based systems.

Conversion Labs Begins Trading Under New Company Name, LifeMD, and Ticker Symbol, LFMD

Conversion Labs rebrands to LifeMD to reflect its transition to direct-to-consumer telemedicine and online prescription delivery.

Morning Headlines 2/22/21

Des Moines University telehealth center could create hundreds of jobs

Des Moines University, in partnership with a local health system, will develop a $4 million telehealth training center that will create 678 jobs.

Spok Reports 2020 Fourth Quarter and Full Year Operating Results

Spok reports Q4 results: revenue down 5%, EPS $-$2.44 versus -$0.50.

New Columbus, Ohio Insurtech Company, Circulo, Raises $50M to Disrupt Medicaid

Columbus-based Medicaid Managed Care insurer Circulo raises $50 million in funding and announces that it will use software from Olive and share its CEO Sean Lane.

Morning Headlines 2/19/21

Leading Imaging Software Company Intelerad Medical Systems Announces Acquisition of LUMEDX

Imaging vendor Intelerad acquires Lumedx, which offers cardiovascular information systems and analytics.

Carevive Closes Oversubscribed $18M Series C Equity Raise

Cancer care management software vendor Carevive raises $18 million in a Series C funding round.

IBM Explores Sale of IBM Watson Health

Sources say IBM is considering selling its IBM Watson Health business, which includes Merge Healthcare, Phytel, and Truven Health Analytics.

Olive founder Sean Lane raises $50M to start Medicaid managed care company

Olive CEO Sean Lane will soon launch Circulo, a managed care company that will leverage Olive’s AI, automation, and data analytics.

Google to open first Minnesota office to advance Mayo Clinic cloud partnership

Google will open an office in Rochester, MN to better facilitate its work with Mayo Clinic, which includes projects related to engineering, AI, and machine learning.

Morning Headlines 2/18/21

MedPilot Acquired by Vytalize Health

Medicare ACO-focused practice management company Vytalize Health acquires patient financial engagement startup MedPilot.

Former Nuance CEO takes over at Qualifacts

Paul Ricci (SOC Telemed) has joined Qualifacts as president and CEO.

Derek A. Pickell appointed Chief Executive Officer, CompuGroup Medical US

CompuGroup Medical US names industry long-timer Derek Pickell as CEO.

Morning Headlines 2/17/21

CloudMD to Acquire VisionPros, a Rapidly Growing Digital Eyecare Platform with a Robust Suite of Digital Vision Care Tools

Canada-based CloudMD will acquire online eyeglass, contact lens, and online vision test vendor VisionPros for up to $80 million in cash, shares, and performance earn out.

Healthcare-focused SPAC Digital Transformation Opportunities files for a $250 million IPO

Digital Transformation Opportunities, a Bellevue, WA-based blank-check company focused on working with businesses in healthcare IT, plans to raise $250 million in an IPO.

Fastest Growing EMR Provider Medfar Raises Nearly $25 Million Investment Led by Walter Capital Partners

Canadian EHR vendor Medfar Clinical Solutions raises $25 million in an investment round led by Walter Capital Partners.

Morning Headlines 2/16/21

Zocdoc Announces $150 Million in Growth Financing from Francisco Partners

Online provider search and appointment-booking app Zocdoc raises $150 million in a private equity round led by Francisco Partners, bringing its total raised to $376 million.

Healthcare startup Innovaccer to enter unicorn club, in talks with Tiger Global for $100-$150 million funding

Sources say analytics and interoperability vendor Innovaccer will soon raise between $100 million and $150 million from investor Tiger Global.

RapidSOS Raises $85M Series C Led by Insight Partners to Scale Emergency Response Data Platform

RapidSOS, a software vendor specializing in aggregating and sharing emergency-related data with first responders, raises $85 million in a Series C funding round.

Morning Headlines 2/15/21

Dexcom Launches Inaugural Venture Capital Fund

Continuous glucose monitoring device vendor Dexcom launches a venture capital fund that will identify and invest in opportunities to supplement its core business.

Vocera Announces Fourth Quarter 2020 Financial Results

Vocera announces Q4 results: revenue up 14%, adjusted EPS $0.28 versus $0.15, beating Wall Street expectations for both.

Sutter Health’s layoffs to total 277, mostly in IT

Sutter Health (CA) files documents with state regulators outlining its plans to fire hundreds of IT workers.

OCR Settles Sixteenth Investigation in HIPAA Right of Access Initiative

HHS OCR settles its 16th HIPAA Right of Access case, with Sharp HealthCare paying $70,000 for taking seven months to send an electronic copy of a patient’s records to a third party.

Sharecare and Falcon Capital Acquisition Corp. Reach Agreement to Combine, Creating Publicly Traded Digital Health Company

Sharecare will merge with SPAC Falcon Capital in a deal that will value the newly combined company at $3.9 billion.

Morning Headlines 2/12/21

Providence, 13 other health care systems back data platform Truveta

Providence and several other big health systems form Truveta, a Seattle-based startup that will provide its hospital owners, drug companies, and researchers with anonymized patient data for approved research projects.

Watchdog: pause on VA’s $16B electronic health records project might be needed

A GAO report recommends that the VA postpone new Cerner implementations until it can address critical severity and high severity test findings.

Signify Health IPO prices well above expectations, valuing company at over $5.3 billion

Value-based care coordination and payments vendor Signify Health prices its IPO at a valuation of $5.3 billion.

Cerner Reports Fourth Quarter and Full-Year 2020 Results

Cerner reports Q4 earnings: revenue down 3%, adjusted EPS $0.78 versus $0.75, meeting earnings expectations and exceeding on revenue.

Morning Headlines 2/11/21

Alleva Raises Seed Funding to Further Capacity to “Help the Helpers”

Behavioral health EHR startup Alleva raises an undisclosed amount of seed funding, bringing its total raised to $3 million.

OCR Settles Fifteenth Investigation in HIPAA Right of Access Initiative

Renown Health in Nevada will pay $75,000 to settle allegations that it violated HIPAA by failing to fulfill a patient’s medical records request in a timely manner, including sending digitized records to a third party.

Therapy Brands, backed by Lightyear Capital, Oak HC/T, is up for sale

Therapy Brands, parent company of numerous mental and behavioral health software brands, puts itself up for sale.