Morning Headlines 6/5/23

Eating disorder group pulls chatbot sharing diet advice

The National Eating Disorder Association shuts down its chatbot after users report that it gave them inappropriate advice for managing eating disorders, such as advising them to diet.

Fuse Oncology Closes Funding Round with Support from Leading Health Systems in the Southern US

Fuse Oncology, a Cone Health spin-off specializing in radiation oncology software, closes a $9 million Series A funding round led by Cone Health Ventures and Northeast Georgia Health Ventures.

Software snafu leads to 400 Grail patients getting bogus letters saying they might have cancer

Cancer screening company Grail blames third-party telemedicine vendor PWNHealth for sending 400 people letters inappropriately warning them that they may have cancer.

HHS’ big data-sharing decision

Politico reports that HHS is accepting proposals from organizations interested in taking over management of the TEFCA data-sharing initiative, which is currently overseen by the nonprofit Sequoia Project.

Morning Headlines 6/2/23

FDA-approved Alzheimer’s drugs will be covered by Medicare, with some limitations, CMS says

CMS announces that Medicare Part B will cover the use of FDA-approved monoclonal antibodies to slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease, but will require doctors to populate patient registries for real-world tracking of the performance of those treatments.

Biden plans to pick physician Mandy Cohen to lead CDC

President Biden will reportedly choose Aledade executive and former North Carolina health secretary Mandy Cohen, MD, MPH as director of the CDC.

Lightning Step Divests AVA Billing & Consulting, Reinforcing Focus on Core Behavioral Health Software Solutions

Behavioral healthcare software vendor Lightning Step sells its Ava Billing & Consulting subsidiary to RCM company Medusind.

Morning Headlines 6/1/23

Hyro Raises $20M in Funding to Advance Responsible AI-Powered Communications for Enterprise

Hyro, which offers conversational AI-powered healthcare workflow and conversation solutions, raises $20 million in a Series B funding round.

Wellstar to open innovation center in Midtown Atlanta

Wellstar Health System will open an innovation center in Atlanta this fall to house its recently launched Catalyst venture firm.

Axuall Secures $20 Million Series B Capital Raise after Accelerated Market Growth and Healthcare Enterprise Adoption

Healthcare workforce software firm Axuall raises $20 million in a Series B funding round.

Strive Health Raises $166 Million in Series C Funding from NEA, CVS Health Ventures and Others

Kidney care company Strive Health raises $166 million in a Series C funding round, bringing its total raised to $386 million since launching five years ago.

Morning Headlines 5/31/23

Carrum Health Raises $45M in Series B Funding

Carrum Health, whose platform helps employers manage employee healthcare costs, raises $45 million in a Series B funding round.

Anatomy IT Acquires Iris Solutions to Expand Presence in Ambulatory Healthcare

Health IT and cybersecurity solutions vendor Anatomy IT acquires dental and medical software company Iris Solutions.

Florida Bans Offshoring of Certain Patient Information

A new Florida law prohibits the state’s providers from storing EHR data outside the US, its territories, or Canada, including those patient records that are hosted in the cloud or by a third party.

Morning Headlines 5/29/23

Walgreens’ Profit Drive: Employee Cuts Amid Transformation to Consumer Healthcare

Walgreens will lay off 504 mostly corporate employees as the retail pharmacy shifts its focus to more patient care.

Health startup Noom is now adding Ozempic and other weight loss injectables to its offerings, says ‘outcomes are so much better’

Weight loss app Noom launches a telemedicine service to offer consumers access to prescription weight-loss medications like Ozempic and Wegovy.

$1 million donation will expand Montana Pediatrics’ after-hours telemedicine program

Montana Pediatrics will use a $1 million donation to expand its after-hours pediatric telemedicine program.

Morning Headlines 5/25/23

Florence Acquires Zipnosis to Solve Clinical Capacity Constraints and Create Omnichannel Transformation Across Telehealth and Hybrid Care

Patient enablement and workflow automation startup Florence acquires white-label virtual care company Zipnosis from Bright Health.

McMorris Rodgers Demands VA Secretary Commit to Preventing Cuts at Spokane, Walla Walla Medical Centers

Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) calls for VA Secretary Denis McDonough to commit to preventing staff cuts at Mann-Grandstaff and Jonathan M. Wainwright VA Medical Centers in light of budget shortfalls and impending staffing cuts caused by the roll out of Oracle Cerner.

Attorney General James Recoups $550,000 from Erie County Medical Management Company for Failing to Protect Patients’ Data

Practicefirst Medical Management Solutions will pay $550,000 in penalties for failing to update its firewall software – a vulnerability that enabled hackers to steal the data of 1.2 million patients.

Morning Headlines 5/24/23

Norton Healthcare still reeling 2 weeks after cyber attack

Norton Healthcare in Kentucky works to recover from a cyberattack two weeks ago that is still causing “delays in network-related capabilities” including patient portal messaging; imaging, lab, and test results; and prescription fulfillment.

Medisolv Receives Strategic Investment from BVP Forge

Healthcare quality data management company Medisolv secures an unspecified amount of funding from BVP Forge.

Website Notice of Unauthorized Access to PillPack Accounts

Amazon Pharmacy’s PillPack reports that an unauthorized person logged into its website using individual user credentials that were identical to those shared from other breaches, with 3,600 of those accounts containing prescription information.

Morning Headlines 5/23/23

Intelligent Medical Objects Announces the Acquisition of Melax Technologies Inc.

Clinical terminology management and data quality vendor Intelligent Medical Objects acquires Melax Technologies, which specializes in data extraction using AI and natural language processing.

Layoffs hit Nuance after Microsoft acquisition

Nuance Communications CEO Mark Benjamin notifies employees of an unspecified number layoffs as the Microsoft subsidiary adjusts to changing market conditions and a renewed focus on healthcare.

VIPC’s Virginia Venture Partners Invests in Kinometrix to Provide Healthcare Workers With Real-Time Risk Assessments

Fall risk assessment software startup Kinometrix secures funding from Virginia Venture Partners.

Morning Headlines 5/22/23

Notice of Auction Results for the Sale of the Debtors’ Assets

The assets of bankrupt digital therapeutics vendor Pear Therapeutics fetch $6 million at auction.

Aspirion Announces Acquisition of FIRM Revenue Cycle Management Services, Inc.

RCM vendor Aspirion acquires Firm Revenue Cycle Management Services.

Spokane VA director warns budget trouble caused by computer system is forcing staff cuts

Mann-Grandstaff VA Medical Center (WA) Director Robert Fischer says the facility will need to reduce staff by 15% to make up for an anticipated $35 million budget deficit attributed to the roll out and use of Oracle Cerner software.

Internal Health P.E.I. emails reveal EMR glitch led to 1,770 ‘missed’ referrals

In Canada, a Prince Edward Island review finds that 1,700 patient referrals were missed when clinic staff forgot to fax them as required by the Telus EHR.

Morning Headlines 5/19/23

Adonis Raises $17.3 Million, Led by General Catalyst, to Transform Revenue Outcomes for Healthcare Providers Across the United States

RCM automation vendor Adonis raises $17 million in a Series A funding round.

Flagler Health+ Announces Plans to Join UF Health, Elevate and Expand Health Care Services

UF Health will acquire Flagler Health+ (FL), with one of Flagler’s goals being to upgrade its IT systems.

HealthSnap Raises $9 Million Series A for Continued Growth of Remote Patient Monitoring and Chronic Care Management Platform

Virtual care management platform vendor HealthSnap raises $9 million in a Series A funding round.

Startups Wanted: Catalyst by Wellstar Launches $100 Million Venture Fund to Shape Future of Healthcare

Health system Wellstar’s Catalyst venture capital firm launches a $100 million fund to support early-stage healthcare startups working in areas that include digital health; data, analytics, and security; and customer experience.

Morning Headlines 5/18/23

Neura Health Secures $8M in Financing to Support Go-To-Market Expansion to Employers and Health Plans

Virtual neurology clinic Neura Health will use $8 million in seed funding round to expand into enterprise markets.

Ovulation Tracking App Premom Will be Barred from Sharing Health Data for Advertising Under Proposed FTC Order

Easy Healthcare, developer of the Premom ovulation-tracking app, will pay a $100,000 fine for violating the FTC’s Health Breach Notification Rule.

Investing in Hippocratic AI

Andreessen Horowitz’s A16Z invests $50 million in seeding funding for Hippocratic AI, which offers a safety-focused large language model for healthcare.

Morning Headlines 5/17/23

VA Signs New, Tougher Contract with Company Handling Faulty Electronic Health Records Rollout

The VA signs a one-year contract, renegotiable and renewable for up to five years, with Oracle Cerner to extend its work on the department’s EHR Modernization program

Ambient Intelligence Streamlines Clinical Burden, Patient Safety and Compliance, Black Book Survey Announces Top AI Workflow Solutions

A Black Book survey of health system IT leaders finds that Care.ai is the top emerging ambient intelligence solution.

Laguna Health gets $15M to be a Waze for care transitions

Care management technology startup Laguna Health raises $15 million in a Series A funding round led by SemperVirens and HC9 Ventures.

Morning Headlines 5/16/23

Personalized Care Company Validic Acquires Trapollo

Digital health company Validic acquires Cox Communications subsidiary Trapollo, which offers technology and services that help healthcare organizations care for patients at home.

Practice Perfect Acquires an Ownership Stake in Clinical Billing Solutions to Provide Revenue Cycle Management Services

Practice Perfect acquires Clinical Billing Solutions, and will integrate the RCM vendor’s software and services with its EHR and practice management system for outpatient rehabilitation clinics.

Cascade Health Announces Venture Funding Round to Build Intelligent Platform for Healthcare Transparency

Healthcare pricing transparency startup Cascade Health raises $1.7 million to further scale its AI-powered chatbot designed to answer patient questions about procedure pricing and insurance coverage.

Morning Headlines 5/15/23

Prognos Health Raises $23 Million

Real-world healthcare data marketplace operator Prognos Health raises $23 million in growth equity.

HC3: Sector Alert – Veeam Backup & Replication Latest Threat Actor Target

The Health Sector Cybersecurity Coordination Center warns organizations that hackers are exploiting vulnerabilities within Veeam Backup & Replication software.

Just-launched initiative aims to capitalize on Kansas City’s promise as a global leader in health tech, renews call for KC investment

Digital Health KC launches to encourage health technology professionals, especially those who worked for Cerner or other Kansas City-based companies, to return to the area.

Morning Headlines 5/12/23

Amino Health Secures $80 Million in Financing to Accelerate Growth and Product Innovation

Amino Health, whose platform guides members to cost-effective providers, raises $80 million in financing.

Lavita AI Raises $5M Seed Financing to Launch the First Patient-Driven Health Information Marketplace to Accelerate Life Sciences Innovation

Lavita, whose health data marketplace platform allows people to control and monetize their digital health information for purposes such as clinical trials recruitment, raises $5 million in seed funding.

Richmond University Medical Center suffers ransomware attack; unclear if patient info compromised

Richmond University Medical Center (NY) works to recover from a ransomware attack that has caused network outages for the last week.

Meta punts pixel tool responsibility, says privacy fault is on providers

Meta files a motion to dismiss a class action lawsuit that accuses the company of privacy violations for sharing the medical data of users with advertisers via its Facebook Pixel website tracking tool.

Morning Headlines 5/11/23

Shares in Babylon fall sharply on news of moves to take private

London-based virtual care vendor Babylon Health will revert to a privately-run company as part of a debt restructuring plan and new funding arrangement with Albacore Capital.

VA Pharmacists Don’t Trust new EHR System, Survey Finds

VA pharmacists surveyed by the House Veterans’ Affairs Technology Modernization Subcommittee say they don’t trust the new Oracle Cerner system in use at their facilities, causing them to work in a constant state of hypervigilance.

Norton Healthcare Network Update

Norton Healthcare (KY) works to restore systems impacted earlier this week by a cyberattack on its computer network.

Morning Headlines 5/10/23

Aegis Ventures and Northwell Holdings Launch Optain, an Advanced AI Company That Uses Photos of the Eye to Detect and Prevent Early Stage Disease

Ascertain, a joint venture between Aegis Ventures and Northwell Holdings, invests $12 million to launch Optain, an AI-enabled company focused on early disease detection and prevention via retinal imaging.

Lucem Health Announces Series A Funding Round

Clinical AI development startup Lucem Health raises $7.7 million in a Series A funding round led by Mayo Clinic, Mercy, and Grainger Management.

My Health Record modernisation to cost $429m

Australia will spend $290 million in a two-year project to modernize its My Health Record system, which will include a new national repository and increased connection to GPs and pharmacies.