Morning Headlines 6/29/22

The Promise of Digital Health: Then, Now, and the Future

The National Academy of Medicine publishes a paper titled “The Promise of Digital Health: Then, Now, and the Future” whose authors are digital health household names that include Amy Abernethy, Patti Brennan, Atul Butte, Judy Faulkner, John Halamka, Kevin Johnson, Don Rucker, and Eric Topol.

ITC Administrative Law Judge Finds Apple Infringed AliveCor’s Patented Technology

A trade court judge rules that Apple infringed on AliveCor’s atrial fibrillation detection technology, a decision that if affirmed by the International Trade Commission, could force Apple to stop selling Watch in the US or to remove the disputed technology.

New Data Analytics Can Predict Patient Outcomes and Improve Care – Here’s How

Hartford HealthCare (CT) spins out H2O, a cloud-based predictive analytics company focused on offering providers insight into patient length of stay, and patient flow through the emergency department and during surgery.

Morning Headlines 6/28/22

PicnicHealth raises a $60m Series C to expand patient-centered real-world data

PicnicHealth, which uses patient-reported data to build datasets for research, raises $60 million in a Series C investment round that brings its total funding to over $100 million.

Nomad Health Raises $105 Million to Expand to New Specialties and Address Healthcare Staffing Crisis

Nomad Health will use $105 million in new funding to expand its online healthcare jobs marketplace beyond travel nursing to include physical therapists, and laboratory and ultrasound technicians.

Siemens to buy U.S. software company Brightly in $1.58 bln deal

Siemens will acquire maintenance asset management software Brightly, whose solutions are used in hospitals, offices, schools, and factories, for $1.6 billion.

Cue Health to Lay Off 170 People

App-enabled at-home and point-of-care testing company Cue Health, which went public last year at a nearly $2.5 billion valuation, will reportedly lay off 170 employees.

Morning Headlines 6/27/22

Biden signs VA health record modernization transparency act into law

The White House signs the VA Electronic Health Record Transparency Act of 2021, which requires the VA to report the costs of its EHR modernization project to congressional committees each quarter.

Myriad Genetics Teams Up with Epic to Make Genetic Testing Accessible to More Patients with Electronic Health Record (EHR) Integration

Myriad Genetics will integrate its provider genetic test ordering and resulting program with Epic.

Hybrid-care Physical Therapy Platform Kins Announces $7.2M in Total Seed Funding to Accelerate Innovation in Care Delivery

Virtual and in-home physical therapy provider Kins raises $4 million in seed funding from W Health Ventures.

Morning Headlines 6/24/22

Asimily Announces Strategic Investment from MemorialCare Innovation Fund to Further its Innovation in IoT Device Security and Risk Management

MemorialCare’s innovation fund makes an unspecified investment in IoT security vendor Asimily.

Digital health startup Ro just slashed 18% of its staff months after hitting a $7 billion valuation. We got the CEO’s full note explaining the layoffs.

Ro, which offers telehealth visits for ED, hair loss, skin care, and fertility, reportedly lays off 18% of its headcount on Thursday, four months after reaching a paper valuation of $7 billion.

Medallion Raises $35 Million in Series C Funding Fueled by Significant Revenue Growth Over Past Six Months

Provider licensing and credentialing software company Medallion raises $35 million in a Series C investment round, bringing its total funding to $85 million.

Morning Headlines 6/23/22

Health Tech Start-up Spry Secures New Investment to Further Strengthen Its Omnichannel Patient Management Platform for Physical Therapists

Physical therapy-focused practice management software startup Spry raises $7 million in a funding round led by Eight Roads Ventures.

VA secretary responds to revelations Cerner system harmed Spokane veterans as Risch calls for July launch in Boise to be halted

VA Secretary Denis McDonough says his confidence in the agency’s new Cerner system is shaken after an OIG report identifies 148 cases of patient harm that resulted from a flaw in the EHR.

Linden Announces Agreement to Acquire Majority Stake in Aspirion from Aquiline Capital Partners

Linden Capital Partners will acquire RCM technology vendor Aspirion for an undisclosed sum.

DOD confident electronic health record platform deployment remains on schedule

After the VA’s decision to postpone further Cerner roll-outs until 2023, the DoD confirms its MHS Genesis timeline remains unchanged, with remaining sites expected to go live by the end of next year.

Morning Headlines 6/22/22

SteadyMD Acquires BlocHealth to Bolster Its Clinician Licensing and Credentialing Capabilities

Telehealth infrastructure provider SteadyMD acquires BlocHealth, which offers a clinician licensing, credentialing, and payer enrollment platform.

Queensland gov sinks another $300m into e-health record system rollout

In Australia, the Queensland government will allocate an additional $200 million USD for the continued implementation of its enterprise Cerner EHR project over the next five years.

InductiveHealth Informatics Announces Growth Investment Partnership With Diversis

InductiveHealth, an Atlanta-based company specializing in public health reporting and analytics, secures an undisclosed amount of funding from Diversis.

Morning Headlines 6/21/22

Orion Health’s 30th Birthday Marks New Era Of Profitability And Team

Health information exchange software company Orion Health marks its 30th anniversary with global revenue growth and several leadership appointments.

Patient records from UNC Lenoir Health Care hacked

UNC Lenoir Health Care (NC) notifies nearly 5,000 patients of a potential data breach after business affiliate and clinical support services company MCG Health notifies it of a ransomware attack.

State by state, some patients are losing telehealth access to doctors

Telemedicine availability dwindles as pandemic-related emergency health orders expire, limiting patient access to virtual visits with physicians across state lines.

Morning Headlines 6/20/22

Watchdog reveals flaw in Cerner computer system caused nearly 150 cases of harm at Spokane VA hospital

The VA’s OIG finds that at least 148 veterans in Inland Northwest were harmed by a Cerner software flaw that the company was aware of, but failed to disclose to the VA.

Talkspace Reportedly Rejected Merger Offer from Amwell

Virtual mental health provider Talkspace reportedly rejects the acquisition overtures of Amwell.

VA to delay electronic medical records deployment to additional sites until 2023

As Congressional concerns over previous implementations mount, the VA decides to delay further Cerner rollouts until 2023 to ensure “adequate reliability.”

Morning Headlines 6/17/22

Facebook Is Receiving Sensitive Medical Information from Hospital Websites

An investigative article finds that the websites of 33 of Newsweek’s top 100 US hospitals send Facebook the IP address of people who schedule an appointment online, potentially violating HIPAA in sharing personally identifiable health information with third parties without patient consent.

Epic Announces Plan to Join TEFCA, Champion Next Step in Evolution Toward Universal Interoperability

Epic will apply later this year to join the Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement health information exchange network as an inaugural Qualified Health Information Network.

Digital Health to Acquire VSee Labs and IDoc Telehealth Solutions with New Entity Valued at Approximately $110 Million

SPAC Digital Health Acquisition Corp. will acquire telehealth software vendor VSee Labs and neurocritical and intensive care-focused telemedicine vendor IDoc Telehealth Solutions for $110 million.

Flexpa sows $8.5M seed for health data sharing

Health data-sharing startup Flexpa, which has focused its services on payers, app developers, and patients, raises $8.5 million in seed funding.

Morning Headlines 6/16/22

Constellation4 Health closes round with new outside investment

Florida-based startup Constellation4 Health raises pre-seed funding and acquires Vulcan Health, an offshoot of Florida Eye Specialists & Cataract Institute that specializes in digital referral management technology.

AI technology platform Excelera to merge with SPAC Future Health ESG

Excelera, a healthcare AI technology vendor focused on helping physicians succeed in value-based care programs, will merge with SPAC Future Health ESG.

Proximie Raises $80 Million in Series C Funding to Accelerate Product Expansion of Full-Service Connected Surgical Platform

Virtual surgery software company Proximie raises $80 million in a Series C funding round, bringing its total funding to $130 million.

Morning Headlines 6/15/22

ResMed to Acquire Medifox Dan, a German Leader in Out-of-Hospital Software Solutions

ResMed will acquire Germany-based MediFox Dan, which offers out-of-hospital software solutions, for $1 billion.

Oracle reviewing Cerner products to identify where third-party tech can be removed

Oracle will review Cerner’s product portfolio to find opportunities to move from third-party technologies to those of Oracle, including moving to Oracle’s cloud infrastructure.

FTC launches probe into mental-health startup Cerebral

The Federal Trade Commission launches an investigation into the advertising and marketing of telemedicine startup Cerebral’s mental health services.

Bardavon Health Innovations Acquires PeerWell to Become First Complete Digital Health Solution Focused on Worker Musculoskeletal Health

Bardavon Health Innovations, whose network offers musculoskeletal health services for workers’ compensation cases, acquires PeerWell, which offers a MSK care coordination platform.

Morning Headlines 6/14/22

Oracle’s Cloud Business Shows Momentum, Sending Shares Higher

Oracle’s Q4 cloud revenue has increased 19% to $2.9 billion, sending its shares up and, coupled with its Cerner acquisition, accelerating its business momentum.

Eisenhower Army Medical Center now live with MHS-Genesis, DHA rollout marks half-way point

The DoD’s facility-wide roll out of MHS Genesis, a Cerner project, reaches the half-way point with go-live at Eisenhower Army Medical Center at Fort Gordon in Georgia.

HHS Issues Guidance on HIPAA and Audio-Only Telehealth

HHS issues guidance on how covered healthcare entities can conduct audio-only telehealth appointments in a HIPAA-compliant manner.

Morning Headlines 6/13/22

Boulder Care raises $36M to grow telehealth platform to treat opioid addiction

Substance use disorder telemedicine startup Boulder Care raises $36 million in a Series B round that brings its total funding to $50 million.

Cognosante Awarded Contract to Modernize Pennsylvania Patient and Provider Network

The Pennsylvania Department of Human Services awards Cognosante a $16 million contract to migrate the state’s Patient and Provider Network and Public Health Gateway to a new HIE platform.

IBM CEO explains why he offloaded Watson Health: Not enough domain expertise

IBM Chairman and CEO Arvind Krishna says the company sold Watson Health to Francisco Partners for $1 billion in January because IBM just didn’t have the domain expertise to keep the product viable in healthcare.

Morning Headlines 6/10/22

Oracle’s Ellison Pitches US Health Database With Power of Cerner

Oracle board chairman and CTO Larry Ellison shares the company’s plans for newly-acquired Cerner including developing a national system of anonymized digital health records and updating Millenium with voice interface, more telehealth features, and disease-based AI models.

Northside Hospital fined more than $1 million for failing to publish medical prices

CMS issues the first civil money penalties against hospitals that failed to comply with federal price transparency laws, with Georgia’s Northside Hospital system fined more than $1 million.

H1 secures an extension on its Series C to further its mission of creating a healthier future through the use of connected and accessible healthcare data

Clinical, scientific, and research data company H1 adds funding to its Series C investment, bringing the round’s total to $123 million.

Morning Headlines 6/9/22

Bon Secours bags Nordic Consulting Partners in $400M-plus deal

Sources report that Accrete Health Partners’ acquisition of Nordic Consulting, first announced last week, is valued at just over $400 million.

Arnot Health says technical issues resolved

Arnot Health (NY) resolves computer hardware issues that first surfaced in early May, leading to weeks of outages.

Data breach at health care organization may affect 2 million

Imaging and ambulatory surgical services provider Shields Health Care Group reports a March data breach that may impact 2 million patients.

Morning Headlines 6/8/22

Oracle Completes Acquisition of Cerner

Oracle has closed its deal to acquire Cerner for $28 billion.

Introducing Advata, a Software Company Improving Patient Outcomes Through Advanced Analytics

Providence-backed Advata launches as an RCM analytics and clinical decision support software company leveraging integrated solutions from KenSci, Colburn Hill Group, Alphalytics, Lumedic, Quiviq, and MultiScale.

Virtual addiction startup Bicycle Health rides Series B to $83M

Virtual opioid use disorder treatment provider Bicycle Health raises $50 million in a Series B funding round, bringing its total raised to $83 million.

News 6/8/22

Top News

Oracle shares see a slight uptick on the news that the company has closed its deal to acquire Cerner for $28 billion.

Webinars

None scheduled soon. Previous webinars are on our YouTube channel. Contact Lorre to present your own.

Acquisitions, Funding, Business, and Stock

Bain Capital has acquired a majority stake in LeanTaaS, a technology vendor specializing in hospital operations and capacity management optimization. The company, founded by CEO Mohan Giridharadas in 2010, has raised nearly $238 million. Its cloud-based software is used by over 500 hospitals and 130 health systems.

People

Lyniate promotes Scott Galbari to president, COO, and CISO; and hires Mikael Andén (Intelerad Medical Systems) as EVP of sales.

Surescripts names Frank Harvey (ATLS Investments) CEO. Harvey succeeds Tom Skelton, who announced his intent to retire late last year.

Mark Costanza (Spok) joins MobileSmith as chief client and operations officer.

Announcements and Implementations

Stanford Health Care (CA) implements interactive bedside patient entertainment and hospital services technology from Sonifi Health.

Great Falls Clinic (MT) has implemented Phreesia’s patient intake technology.

LeadingReach announces GA of care coordination analytics.

Medical Center Health System (TX) rolls out a patient portal app incorporating EHR technology from Cerner and video visit capabilities from Amwell.

Government and Politics

After more than a year of training, Martin Army Community Hospital at Fort Benning in Georgia will go live on MHS Genesis this weekend.

A new report from the Australian Digital Health Agency finds that routine patient visit information is still missing from many health records within the national My Health Record system, launched in 2012 with a price tag of over $1.4 billion. Patient use has also been wanting, with just 2.69 million out of the nation’s 23 million patients accessing their information since the system’s launch. Physicians have found the software’s design to be problematic, with many preferring to instead access patient data via their hospital’s EHR.

Plans to implement a Cerner-based EHR across facilities on Prince Edward Island have come to a halt due to usability issues. The province had hoped to have all sites live by 2020. Forty-three clinics and 118 physicians have been connected to the system, with 100 more clinicians still to go. The same software has been in use at Island Health hospitals for over a decade. Two independent reviews of that $178 million implementation have been conducted based on physician complaints of poor usability and patient safety risks.

The State of Wisconsin eliminates EHR integration fees to encourage more providers to connect to its electronic prescription drug monitoring program.

Other

The latest release of the Philips Capsule Surveillance solution has received 510(k) market clearance from the FDA.

UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have found that access to telemedicine visits and continuous glucose monitoring during the pandemic helped diabetic pediatric patients control their glucose levels and stay out of the hospital at rates similar to pre-pandemic levels.

Apple adds medication list creation, reminders, and critical interaction alert features in its latest iOS update.

A small study conducted at a stroke clinic within the UC San Diego Health system has found that patient satisfaction with telemedicine visits improved when patients were texted a log-in link when the physician was ready for the appointment, rather than queuing in a virtual waiting room. Over half of patients were seen early during the two and a half month study, while zero were seen late, resulting in time savings of nearly an hour. As a result, the health system is rolling out the text messaging option to high-volume primary care and surgical care clinics this summer. The text-to-video technology was developed by Doximity.

Sponsor Updates

• AGS Health will exhibit at CHIACON22 Convention & Exhibit June 12-15 in Riverside, CA.
• Baker Tilly publishes a new case study, “Product value communication results in new payer coverage for diagnostic testing coverage.”
• Cerner publishes a new client achievement story, “Clinicians at pediatric health system save charting time following ambulatory optimization.”
• CHIME releases a new CHIMEcast Podcast, “Challenge, Change, and Resilience with Michael Jefferies.”
• Clearwater names Mike Scheerhorn (Everly Health) to its compliance and privacy consulting team.
• Current Health has been named the 2022 Frost & Sullivan Company of the Year in the global virtual home care platform industry.
• CarePort adds predictive analytics for post-acute care planning after discharge to its CareManagement and Insight solutions.
• Patient privacy monitoring company Protenus updates its website.
• OptimizeRx completes integration of TelaRep’s one-click prescriber connectivity solution with its Therapy Initiation and Persistence Platform.
• Diameter Health partners with Smile CDR, giving customers the ability to implement Diameter Health’s Fusion technology for upcycling data along with Smile CDR’s clinical data repository capabilities.

Blog Posts

• Value-based Care Can Be More Than a Buzzword: Thoughts on Health Plan Priorities (Diameter Health)
• What Will the Future of Healthcare Look Like? (Experity)
• Recent HIPAA Breaches: How to Avoid an Email Breach & Secure Your Practice (AdvancedMD)
• Where Interoperability is Succeeding in Healthcare (Arcadia)
• Leveraging Care Coordination for Success Under the CMS Kidney Care Choices Model (Bamboo Health)
• Physician opinion: Quality metrics fail to measure improved outcomes (Bravado Health)
• Health Literacy and the Patient Portal: Start Assessing Your Community and Facility (CereCore)
• Why Nurses Are Joining the Great Resignation and What Can Be Done (ConnectiveRx)
• Navigate Common EHR Challenges with Stewardship from an Experienced Partner (CTG)

Contacts

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