Morning Headlines 9/21/22

UnitedHealth Wins Court Approval of Its Change Healthcare Takeover

A Washington federal judge clears the way for UnitedHealth Group to acquire Change Healthcare, rejecting a Department of Justice lawsuit that attempted to block the deal.

Internal memo: PillPack founders will leave Amazon at the end of the month

PillPack founders TJ Parker and Elliott Cohen announce that they are leaving Amazon, which acquired the online pharmacy in 2018 for $753 million.

McKesson Signs Agreement to Acquire Rx Savings Solutions

McKesson will acquire Rx Savings Solutions, which offers an app that recommends cost-saving prescription changes to members, for  up to $875 million in cash.

Morning Headlines 9/20/22

Telemedicine Company That Pushed Ketamine on TikTok Announces Its ‘Closure’

Online prescription startup Peak stops offering its ketamine-based psychedelic therapy for drug-resistant depression and anxiety to new patients, and will cease operations at the end of November.

Zócalo Health Closes $5M Seed Funding

Zócalo Health will use $5 million in seed funding to launch its virtual primary care services for Latino patients in Washington, Texas, and California by the end of the year.

Starfish Partners Acquires Direct Recruiters Inc. (DRI)

Investment firm Starfish Partners acquires Direct Recruiters, which specializes in staffing solutions for a variety of industries including healthcare IT and digital health.

Morning Headlines 9/19/22

AMA: Physicians propelling health care’s digital transformation

An American Medical Association survey of digital health solution use finds that 80% of physician respondents used telehealth systems in 2022 versus 14% in 2016, with use of remote monitoring tools increasing from 12% to 30%.

Intelerad Acquires Life Image, Establishing the Clear Medical Image Exchange Market Leader and Path to a Global Open Image Exchange Network

Enterprise imaging company Intelerad Medical Systems acquires enterprise image exchange vendor Life Image.

Judge Rejects Pegasystems Motion to Overturn $2 Billion Jury Verdict

A state court orders low-code platform vendor Pegasystems to pay $2 billion to competitor Appian in a trade secrets case.

Morning Headlines 9/16/22

Prealize Health Announces Acquisition of CentraForce Health’s Social Determinants of Health (SDoH) IP

Analytics vendor Prealize Health acquires the social determinants of health intellectual property of former partner CentraForce Health.

Tabula Rasa HealthCare Announces Leadership Transition

The two co-founders of medication technology vendor Tabula Rasa Healthcare, who are also husband and wife pharmacists, resign their executive and board positions under pressure from the hedge fund that holds a 25% stake in the company.

Columbus health IT firm Enzee raises $1.5M from Rev1, others to expand hospital software

Quality assurance and compliance software vendor Enzee raises $1.5 million in a seed funding round.

The DEA is investigating Done over ADHD drug prescriptions

The DEA is reportedly investigating ADHD telehealth vendor Done, which like competitor Cerebral, has been accused of overprescribing Adderall and other addictive drugs by taking advantage of COVID-relaxed telehealth rules.

Twilio to lay off 11% of workforce

Cloud communications software company Twilio, which powers Epic’s telehealth service, will lay off 11% of its workforce as part of a restructuring plan.

Morning Headlines 9/15/22

Epic Launches Life Sciences Program, Unifying Clinical Research with Care Delivery

Epic debut its new Life Sciences Program, designed to help providers better match patients with clinical trials, increase trial efficiency, and offer data-driven insights into medication administration.

Pharos Capital Invests in Renal Care 360º, Capitalizes New Chronic Kidney Care Management Platform

Kidney care practice management and predictive analytics company Renal Care 360º secures an undisclosed amount of funding from Pharos Capital Group.

BabyLiveAdvice Announces $1.1M Seed Investment to Improve Maternal-Infant Health Outcomes

Maternal virtual care company BabyLiveAdvice raises $1.1 million in seed funding.

Morning Headlines 9/14/22

Oracle Announces Fiscal 2023 First Quarter Financial Results

Oracle reports Q1 results: revenue up 18%, with Cerner contributing $1.4 billion to quarterly earnings; EPS $0.58 versus $0.89, meeting Wall Street expectations for revenue but falling short on earnings.

Kyruus Announces Acquisition of Leading Digital Patient Engagement Company, Epion Health

Provider search platform vendor Kyruus acquires Epion Health, which offers patient engagement solutions.

Our Mission to Redesign Health for Everyone

Startup builder Redesign Health closes a $65 million funding round, reportedly valuing the company at nearly $2 billion.

Morning Headlines 9/13/22

Technology Company Akido Labs Launches New Medical Network Focused on Preventive Care for Chronic Disease

Akido Labs acquires Chaparral Medical Group to create a medical network that will leverage Akido’s predictive analytics-focused Care Delivery Platform.

PurpleLab, Inc. Raises $40M in Funding from Primus Capital

Healthcare analytics company PurpleLab raises $40 million in a Series B funding round.

St. Elizabeth launching Innovation Center

St. Elizabeth Healthcare (KY) launches an innovation center with a $25 million venture fund that it will use to invest in new healthcare companies and technology.

Morning Headlines 9/12/22

State lines should no longer be barriers to health care

Former VA Secretary David Shulkin, MD advocates for the creation of a licensure compact program that would allow states to recognize each other’s medical licensees.

Nearly 400 workers in Washington state will be laid off due to Amazon Care shutdown

The shutdown of Amazon Care will drive 159 Amazon layoffs in Washington, while another 236 will be let go from its medical provider Care Medical, according to company notifications to the state.

Genetic testing service cuts 23 jobs, CEO steps down as patient volume grows

Telegenetics company Genome Medical lays off 23 employees and announces the departure of its founder and CEO Lisa Alderson.

Verily Announces $1 Billion Investment Round to Fund Continued Growth and Shares Changes to Leadership Team

Verily announces $1 billion in funding earmarked for expanded precision health efforts, the replacement of its CEO, and the resignation of its CFO.

Morning Headlines 9/9/22

Walmart, UnitedHealth to offer preventive healthcare program for seniors

Walmart and UnitedHealth Group sign a 10-year deal to jointly offer preventive care for seniors and virtual healthcare for all age groups.

Morgan Health Announces New Investment in LetsGetChecked, Expanding Access to At-Home Health Care

At-home testing and virtual care company LetsGetChecked secures a $20 million investment from Morgan Health.

Vera Whole Health and Castlight Health Announce Health Tech Leader Donald Trigg as CEO, Rebrand Company Apree Health

Vera Whole Health and Castlight Health rename their combined value-based care and navigation company Apree Health and hire former Cerner President Donald Trigg as CEO.

Morning Headlines 9/8/22

CertifyOS Closes $14.5 Million Series A Funding Round Led by General Catalyst

Provider credentialing and licensure company CertifyOS raises $14.5 million in a Series A funding round led by General Catalyst.

Regenstrief and IU developing one of first population-based surveillance systems for long COVID to determine prevalence, trends and outcomes

The CDC awards a $9 million, five-year grant to researchers at Regenstrief Institute and Indiana University to enhance surveillance of and detect trends related to symptoms of long COVID using EHR data.

Noble Introduces Mental Health Technology To Reduce Misdiagnosed And Underserved Patients In Primary Care

Mental health app developer Noble develops remote patient monitoring capabilities to help primary care physicians better care for patients experiencing mental health issues.

Morning Headlines 9/7/22

Amazon is secretly testing another virtual-care venture that aims to treat common conditions online

Amazon is reportedly internally testing a direct-to-consumer telemedicine and online prescription drug service that will compete with the likes of Hims and Ro.

‘Critical’ network failure at all 3 campuses of The Ottawa Hospital resolved

The Ottawa Hospital in Canada recovers from an unspecified hardware issue that took its Epic, Cerner, PACs, Rhapsody, and Spok systems offline over the weekend.

Upfront Raises $10.5 Million in Oversubscribed Series C

Less than a month after its acquisition of PatientBond, patient engagement and access software vendor Upfront Healthcare raises $10.5 million as part of a Series C funding round.

Morning Headlines 9/6/22

CVS Health to Acquire Signify Health

CVS Health will acquire Signify Health in a deal valued at $8 billion.

98point6 Announces New Strategic Direction To License Primary Care Platform

98point6 will use $20 million in new funding to help scale the licensing of its virtual primary care service to health systems.

U.S. FTC asks Amazon, One Medical for more information on $3.49-bln deal

The Federal Trade Commission launches an anti-trust investigation into Amazon’s plan to acquire One Medical as part of the deal’s regulatory approval process.

Morning Headlines 9/2/22

ESO Acquires Occam Technologies, Leading Provider of Enterprise Master Patient Index (EMPI) Solution

Emergency medical services technology vendor ESO acquires Occam Technologies, which offers an EMPI platform.

Sectra extends medical diagnostics business to include genomics IT

Sectra creates a genomics IT business unit and will work with University of Pennsylvania Health System to develop a precision medicine solution.

Tiger Global-Backed Healthtech Unicorn Innovaccer Lays Off 120 Employees

Innovaccer reportedly lays off 120 employees, about 8% of its workforce, nine months after it ran a $150 million Series E funding round that valued the company at $3 billion.

SOC Telemed Expands Behavioral Health Offering with Acquisition of Forefront Telecare

Specialty acute care telemedicine vendor SOC Telemed acquires Forefront Telecare, which offers virtual behavioral health services.

Morning Headlines 9/1/22

InterWell Health, Cricket Health, and Fresenius Health Partners Complete Three-Way Merger, Creating Premier, Value-based Kidney Care Provider

Tech-enabled kidney care companies Cricket Health, InterWell Health, and Fresenius Health Partners finalize their $2.4 billion merger and begin operating under the InterWell brand.

MindCare Solutions Group, Inc. Announces Acquisition of Psych360

Telepsychiatry company MindCare Solutions Group acquires hybrid mental healthcare provider Psych360 for an undisclosed sum.

TECHealth Debuts With Full Range Of Services For Emergency Medicine Providers

The Emergency Center launches TECHealth to offer emergency medicine providers staffing, EHR software, and freestanding emergency room partnerships.

Morning Headlines 8/31/22

Software Firm Everbridge Is Exploring Potential Sale

Critical event management technology company Everbridge reportedly considers putting itself up for sale, causing its share price to jump in after-hours trading.

Healee lands $2M to grow customizable telehealth solution in the U.S.

White-label digital health technology startup Healee raises $2 million in a seed funding round led by Nina Capital.

Genesis Growth Tech (GGAA) to Combine with Biolog-id in $312M Deal

Medical product RFID tracking vendor Biolog-ID announces plans to go public in a $312 million SPAC merger.

$1 billion digital-health startup Wheel cut 17% of its staff in August. Read the CEO’s full memo announcing the layoffs.

White-label telemedicine and staffing company Wheel reportedly lays off 17% of its staff.

Morning Headlines 8/30/22

Fulcrum Equity Partners Announces $13M Series A Growth Equity Round for Olio Health

Olio Health, which specializes in care coordination software for post-acute care, raises $13 million in a Series A funding round.

Psych Hub Expands the Nation’s Go-To Mental Health Education & Navigation Platform

Psych Hub, a digital mental healthcare education and navigation resource for providers and patients, raises $16 million and announces plans to offer provider-patient matching.

Theranica Secures $45 Million Series C Funding Round

Migraine-focused digital therapeutic company Theranica raises $45 million in a Series C funding round, bringing its total raised to $86 million.

Morning Headlines 8/29/22

NHS cyberattack causing ‘total chaos’ in hospitals could take a year to recover

An August 5 ransomware attack on software vendor Advanced that took down England’s 111 service along with mental health and community systems may not be resolved for several weeks, hospital employees are told.

PRL Launches Nationwide Expansion Adding Strategic Advisory Services

Specialty practice- and ambulatory surgery center-focused RCM company PRL rebrands to Koha Health and adds strategic advisory services.

Hackers have laid siege to U.S. health care and a tiny HHS office is buckling under the pressure

Politico points out that the HHS Office for Civil Rights can’t keep up with enforcing HIPAA and helping healthcare organizations better protect themselves against cyberattacks due to a lack of funding, staff, and other resources.