Morning Headlines 12/21/23

Get Well Announces Expansion Into Health Plans, Brings Health Plan Strategy Expert Christian Bagge to Lead Go-to-Market Efforts

Digital patient engagement vendor Get Well announces plans to expand into the payer space, bringing on former MPulse Mobile VP Christian Bagge to lead the effort.

Knownwell Raises $20M Series A From A16Z to Scale the First Patient-Centered Healthcare Home For Those With Overweight and Obesity

Knownwell, a hybrid primary care and weight management clinic based in Needham, MA, raises $20 million in a Series A funding round.

Amy Abernethy to step down as Verily’s chief medical officer in latest departure from company

Amy Abernethy, MD, PhD, will leave Verily to join an unnamed nonprofit healthcare institute focused on policy and innovation.

Morning Headlines 12/20/23

Justice Department Disrupts Prolific ALPHV/Blackcat Ransomware Variant

The Department of Justice announces it has taken down digital infrastructure used by the ALPH/Blackcat ransomware group and has offered a decryption key to over 500 victims.

Apple to halt Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 sales in the US this week

Apple will stop selling its Ultra 2 and Series 9 Watches at least temporarily due to an International Trade Commission ruling related to a blood oxygen sensor technology patent dispute with medical device manufacturer Masimo.

Adventist Health rehiring IT staff previously outsourced to Oracle

Adventist Health ends its ITWorks contract with Oracle Health, which will lay off 65 employees at Adventist’s Roseville, CA headquarters as the health system brings the services back in-house.

MPulse is Combining with HealthTrio and Decision Point Healthcare Solutions

Digital healthcare engagement company MPulse acquires HealthTrip and Decision Point Healthcare Solutions, both of which also offer patient and member engagement solutions.

Liberty Hospital ER diverting patients to other facilities due to IT issue

Liberty Hospital (MO) diverts ER patients and reverts to downtime procedures while it attempts to recover from an unspecified IT event that began Tuesday morning.

Morning Headlines 12/19/23

CoachCare acquires Verustat

Remote patient monitoring and virtual care company CoachCare acquires RPM vendor Verustat, its fourth acquisition within the last 12 months.

Bright Health’s California Medicare business devalued by $100M ahead of sale

Bright Health Group will sell its California Medicare Advantage business to Molina Healthcare for $500 million, rather than the originally proposed $600 million, in a previously announced deal that is expected to close in early January.

Kaid Health Announces New Financing to Fuel Market Expansion of its Whole Chart Analysis Platform

AI-powered chart review software vendor Kaid Health announces a new investment that brings its total funding to $9 million.

Morning Headlines 12/18/23

IT failures causing patient deaths, says NHS safety body

England’s Health Services Safety Investigations Body says that IT problems are among the most pressing in hospitals, noting that some of the reports it has reviewed involved patient deaths.

Trend Health Partners Acquires Advent Health Partners

Healthcare payment integrity solution vendor Trend Health Partners acquires Advent Health Partners, which offers technology for reviewing medical records for revenue cycle processes.

Ransomware gang behind threats to Fred Hutch cancer patients

Hunters International claims responsibility for the ransomware attack on and subsequent cyberextortion emails to patients of Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle.

Certainly Health Raises $2.3M in Funding to Enable Consumers to Book Any Doctor With Upfront Prices

Certainly Health, which runs an online marketplace for booking medical and cosmetic procedures with guaranteed out-of-pocket pricing, raises $2.3 million in funding.

Morning Headlines 12/15/23

HHS Finalizes Rule to Advance Health IT Interoperability and Algorithm Transparency

HHS and ONC approve the final HTI-1 rule, which addresses algorithm transparency, an enhanced information blocking requirement, a requirement that certified health IT developers report interoperability-focused metrics; and designates USCDI v3 as the baseline certification standard.

Veradigm Inc. Announces that Nasdaq Hearings Panel has Granted its Continued Listing, Pending Return to Compliance with Nasdaq Filing Requirements

The hearings panel of Nasdaq extends the continued listing of Veradigm shares until February 27, 2024.

WeightWatchers Launches New Behavior Change Program Designed to Support the Unique Needs of Individuals on GLP-1 Medications

Nine months after acquiring telehealth-based weight management company Sequence, WeightWatchers launches WeightWatchers Clinic to offer members access to prescription weight loss drugs.

Volpara Health enters agreement to be acquired by Lunit, Inc.

AI-powered cancer imaging analysis system vendor Lunit will acquire New Zealand-based Volpara, which offers breast cancer detection software, for $198 million in cash.

Morning Headlines 12/14/23

PursueCare Completes Fundraising Round and Acquires Digital Therapeutics Tools

Online addiction and mental health counseling company PursueCare announces a $20 million Series B funding round and the acquisition of prescription digital therapeutics developed by the now-shuttered Pear Therapeutics.

Class-action suit accuses another Medicare insurer of using AI to deny care

A class-action lawsuit claims Humana has used AI to deny seniors rehabilitation care recommended by their physicians, despite knowing that the algorithm is “highly inaccurate.”

Twin Health gets $50M injection for metabolic care

Metabolic care and technology company Twin Health raises $50 million in a Series D funding round.

Former Watsonville Community Hospital owners siphoned $4 million for personal use, bankruptcy trustee alleges

Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings reveal that three former Watsonville Community Hospital (CA) executives “grossly mismanaged” the hospital’s finances by making millions in unauthorized payments to themselves and mismanaging its EHR and billing systems.

Morning Headlines 12/13/23

Oracle shares slide as revenue misses estimates

Oracle’s Q2 results beat earnings expectations but fall short on revenue, with CEO Safra Catz calling Oracle Health, the former Cerner business, “a drag on Oracle growth.”

ONC and The Sequoia Project Designate First TEFCA QHINs

ONC and The Sequoia Project officially recognize KONZA National Network, EHealth Exchange, Epic Nexus, Health Gorilla, and MedAllies as QHINs.

Kaiser Permanente Slashes IT Jobs Across Bay Area

Kaiser Permanente lays off 115 IT employees, 65 of them in Northern California.

Morning Headlines 12/12/23

ConcertAI to Acquire CancerLinQ to Build the Leading Healthcare Learning and Research Network in Oncology

Data and generative AI company ConcertAI will acquire American Society of Clinical Oncology subsidiary CancerLinQ, which offers real-world oncology data and quality-of-care technology services.

KKR Nears Deal for Cotiviti Valuing Firm at $11 Billion

Private equity firm KKR is in talks to acquire a 50% stake in healthcare payment and analytics software company Cotiviti from Veritas Capital in a deal that would value the business at between $10 billion and $11 billion.

Fruit Street alleges Sharecare cannibalized diabetes product in $25M lawsuit

Fruit Street files a $25 million lawsuit against former partner Sharecare, claiming the company violated the terms of their agreement by launching its own version of Fruit Street’s diabetes management program.

Morning Headlines 12/11/23

Veradigm Inc. Announces Leadership Transition

The board of Veradigm fires the company’s CEO and CFO for failing to comply with financial reporting and disclosure policies, following an investigation by its audit committee.

Hundreds of patients receive threatening emails after Fred Hutch cyberattack

Hackers email Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center patients demanding payment to prevent their information from being sold.

Ransomware group posts stolen Tri-City Center documents to dark web

Cyberextortionists post a “proof pack” of patient information that they obtained from Tri-City Medical Center (CA) following a ransomware attack that took its systems offline for more than two weeks.

Morning Headlines 12/8/23

Novant to move some IT operations to Indian vendor. System declines to say how many employees will be affected

Novant Health (NC) will outsource some of its IT department’s work to India-based Wipro.

St. Francis systems restored after ransomware attack

Ardent Health Services restores access to Epic after nearly two weeks of downtime following a November 23 cyberattack.

HHS’ Office for Civil Rights Settles First Ever Phishing Cyber-Attack Investigation

Lafourche Medical Group (LA) will pay HHS OCR $480,000 to settle potential HIPAA violations related to a 2021 phishing attack that exposed the PHI of 35,000 people.

Morning Headlines 12/7/23

R1 RCM to Acquire Acclara

Multistate health system Providence sells its Acclara RCM business to R1 RCM for $675 million, and enlists R1 to provide revenue cycle services.

HHS Announces Next Steps in Ongoing Work to Enhance Cybersecurity for Health Care and Public Health Sectors

HHS expands its efforts to help providers improve cybersecurity with a new concept paper that includes plans to offer financial cybersecurity assistance to hospitals.

Fountain Life Acquires Health Data Technology Company LifeOmic to Power its Advanced Diagnostics and Membership Services

Membership-based precision diagnostics and therapeutics company Fountain Life acquires precision digital healthcare company LifeOmic for an undisclosed sum.

Morning Headlines 12/6/23

CVS To Rebrand Growing Health Services As ‘CVS Healthspire’

CVS Health will use the name CVS Healthspire for its health services business that includes Oak Street Health, Signify Health, MinuteClinic, Caremark, and its recently created biosimilar company Cordavis.

Tower Health laid off 30 people on Tuesday

Tower Health (PA) lays off 30 employees and outsources some of its IT department to an outside vendor.

Army veteran files lawsuit alleging VA computer system delayed cancer diagnosis

A Mann-Grandstaff VA Medical Center (WA) patient sues the federal government and the companies responsible for the development of the center’s Oracle Health-based EHR over alleged flaws in the system that led to a delay in his now-terminal cancer diagnosis.

Morning Headlines 12/5/23

Gemspring Capital Announces Sale of Valant

Gemspring Capital sells mental health-focused EHR and practice management software company Valant Medical to private equity firm Resurgens Technology Partners.

Digital Health Strategies Closes Series A Funding Round to Expand Its Share of Health Patient Loyalty Platform

Digital Health Strategies, a patient loyalty and healthcare marketing firm based in Washington, DC, secures an undisclosed amount of Series A funding.

Notice of information security incident involving Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center

Seattle-based Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center announces that it was the victim of a cyberattack just before Thanksgiving.

Morning Headlines 12/4/23

Culmination Bio Raises $10M From Amgen Ventures and Merck Global Health Innovation Fund to Bring Longitudinal Health Data to Biopharma

Intermountain Health spinoff Culmination Bio, which offers drug companies a clinical study recruitment platform that contains 40 years’ worth of de-identified EHR and biospecimen data, raises $10 million from two drug company investment funds.

Potrero Medical Announces Restructuring and Continued Operations

Potrero Medical, which offers medical devices and analytics for monitoring acute kidney injury, files Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Hippocratic AI Launches Early Access Partnership Program With Leading Healthcare Organizations Including OhioHealth, Roper St. Francis Healthcare, Evernow, HarmonyCares, and Guidehealth

Hippocratic AI launches a development partnership program that includes OhioHealth, Roper St. Francis Healthcare, Evernow, HarmonyCares, and Guidehealth.

Morning Headlines 12/1/23

Cigna, Humana in Talks for Blockbuster Merger

Health insurers Cigna and Humana are negotiating a merger that they hope to finalize within the next four weeks, according to insider reports.

Experian Health Acquires Wave HDC, Immediately Enabling Real-Time, Single Inquiry Insurance Discovery/Verification at the Point of Patient Registration

Experian acquires Wave HDC, which captures patient insurance and demographics at registration.

HFMA Aligns with FinThrive to Introduce the Industry’s First Revenue Cycle Management Technology Adoption Model for Health Systems

HFMA and FinThrive launch a peer-reviewed, five-stage Revenue Cycle Management Technology Adoption Model, with initial analysis indicating that 42% of health systems are at Stage 1.

Morning Headlines 11/30/23

Tampa General and Synapse Florida Seek Innovation Solutions to Reduce Cancer Mortality in Rural Communities

Tampa General Hospital, its Innoventures venture capital arm, and Synapse Florida launch a $50,000 innovation challenge to discover solutions that may improve cancer care in rural areas.

Mayo Clinic unveils plans for a new $5 billion campus in downtown Rochester

Mayo Clinic will redesign its campus in Rochester, MN to create health neighborhoods where patient care is more streamlined through remote patient monitoring, AI, and automation.

Honoring Excellence: CHIME Recognizes Outstanding Achievements of Digital Health Leaders and Professional Services Firms with the 2023 CHIME Awards

CHIME names Tufts Medicine EVP, Chief Digital Officer, and System CIO Shafiq Rab its 2024 CIO of the Year.

Morning Headlines 11/29/23

Here is why IT major TCS has to pay $210 mn to rival firm DXC

Tata Consultancy Services, which was just assessed with $140 million in punitive damages for stealing Epic’s intellectual property by having its employees pretend to be hospital consultants, is hit with a similar $210 million judgment involving insurance software.

Aidoc Unveils $30M Investment in Revolutionary Foundation Model for Imaging AI at RSNA 2023

Medical imaging AI vendor Aidoc will use $30 million in recently announced funding to develop an imaging AI foundation model.

Harmony Healthcare IT Partners with Novacap to Accelerate Innovation and Growth in Healthcare Data Management

Health data management company Harmony Healthcare IT secures an undisclosed amount of funding from Canadian investment firm Novacap.

PayGround Announces $19.7M Oversubscribed Series A Funding Round

Patient payment app startup PayGround raises $19.7 million in a Series A funding round, enabling it to expand beyond its ambulatory roots into more inpatient settings.