Morning Headlines 2/7/23

Feds say cyberattack caused suicide helpline’s outage

Federal officials attribute last December’s 988 mental health helpline outage to a cyberattack on Intrado, the company that has managed it since its launch in July.

Veterans Deserve Better than VistA

Oracle EVP Ken Glueck pushes back against recent Congressional efforts to potentially scrap or overhaul the VA’s Oracle Cerner-powered EHR modernization project, pointing out that the software is being successfully rolled out across the DoD, and has been installed at thousands of hospitals around the world.

Simple HealthKit Raises $8M to Transform Health Diagnostics and Follow-Up Care; Expands Portfolio to Include Solutions for Sexual Health, Tripledemic

Simple HealthKit, which offers a digital health platform encompassing diagnostics and follow-up care, raises $8 million in a Series A funding round led by Initialized Capital.

CVS Nearing $10.5 Billion Deal for Primary-Care Provider Oak Street Health

Sources say CVS Health’s plan to acquire Medicare-focused primary care provider Oak Street Health may come to fruition as soon as this week, with the deal valued at $10.5 billion.

Morning Headlines 2/6/23

Tallahassee Memorial Making Progress Managing IT Security Event

Tallahassee Memorial Hospital (FL) continues to operate using downtime procedures following “an IT security event” – reportedly a ransomware attack — that occurred late Thursday.

Duke Health enters deal to share de-identified patient data

Duke Health (NC) will sell de-identified patient data to drug companies via Nference, with which it may also create a for-profit spinoff business.

Athenahealth announces layoffs, possible office move

Athenahealth will lay off 178 employees, re-deploy 100 to more high-priority areas, and consider making changes to its office space in Watertown, MA.

Morning Headlines 2/3/23

DrFirst Acquires Diagnotes Secure Messaging and Care Coordination Platform

DrFirst acquires the caregiver collaboration tools of Diagnotes.

HHS Office for Civil Rights Settles HIPAA Investigation with Arizona Hospital System Following Cybersecurity Hacking

Banner Health will pay $1.25 million to settle HHS OCR HIPAA charges from a 2016 data breach that involved the records of nearly 3 million patients.

Democrats working on ‘comprehensive’ VA electronic health record reform bill — sources

Congressional sources say Democrats are drafting a bill that would seek to reform the VA’s EHR modernization program, rather than scrapping it as proposed by some of their Republican counterparts.

Machine learning model predicts physician turnover

Yale researchers are using machine learning to predict physician turnover, using de-identified EHR and physician data to review the amount of time they are using EHRs, their patient volumes, and their ages and length of employment.

Morning Headlines 2/2/23

GoodRx illegally shared health data with tech giants to target ads, government alleges

Prescription savings company GoodRx will pay $1.5 million to settle FTC allegations that it shared the sensitive, personal health information of its users with third-party sites like Google and Facebook without their knowledge.

Province signs deal to bring electronic health records to Nova Scotia

Oracle Cerner wins a 10-year, $275 million contract to design, build, and roll out an EHR across Nova Scotia.

Iowa telehealth startup OpenLoop plans massive downtown Des Moines expansion

White label telehealth company OpenLoop Health expands its headquarters in Des Moines, IA to accommodate growth from 25 to 175 employees in the last year, as well as plans to hire several hundred more in 2023.

Morning Headlines 2/1/23

House bill would scrap VA’s $20 billion-plus electronic health record program

Rep. Matt Rosendale (R-MT) introduces a bill, co-sponsored by eight other members of Congress, that would scuttle the $20 billion Oracle Cerner overhaul of the VA’s EHR software.

Clearsense Announces Success of $50M Capital Raise

Health data management company Clearsense raises $50 million in a Series D funding round.

Russian cyber gang Killnet brings down websites of 14 top US hospitals and universities – including Stanford and Duke

The Killnet group of Russian hackers attacks 14 hospital websites, forcing them offline for various amounts of time.

Aluna inhales $15M Series B for asthma monitoring

Aluna, which offers asthmatic patients a smart inhaler and companion app also accessible by physicians, raises $15 million in a Series B funding round.

Morning Headlines 1/31/23

Philips to cut 13% of jobs in safety and profitability drive

Philips will cut another 6,000 jobs globally over the next two years as it struggles to recover from losses caused by a recall of its respiratory devices in the United States.

Matt Rosendale to lead House VA tech modernization subcommittee

Congressman Matt Rosendale (R-MT) will chair the House Veterans Affairs Subcommittee on Technology Modernization, overseeing congressional scrutiny of technology within the VA.

Software vendor shares information about data breach

Governance software vendor Diligent notifies customer UCHealth (CO) of a data breach that involved the unauthorized downloading of some UCHealth files.

FDA names former Oracle executive as new digital health leader

Former Oracle SVP Troy Tazbaz joins the FDA as the director of its Digital Health Center of Excellence.

Morning Headlines 1/30/23

Start-Up Raises $200 Million to Speed Up Drug Trials

Clinical trials data and patient-matching platform startup Paradigm launches with $200 million in Series A funding.

Smile Digital Health Closes $30 Million in Series B Funding to Progress Innovation as World-Leading Health Data Fabric

Health data infrastructure company Smile Digital Health raises $30 million in a Series B funding round, bringing its total raised to $50 million.

Engage Technologies Group and APX Platform Announce Merger to Form Full-Service, Medical Practice Management, Business Insights, and Patient Engagement Solution

Patient engagement software vendor Engage Technologies Group acquires practice employee optimization company APX Platform.

Morning Headlines 1/27/23

Pearl Health raises $75M Series B led by a16z to accelerate growth and innovation in value-based care

Pearl Health, which offers population health analytics software for providers who participate in value-based care for Medicare patients, raises $75 million in a Series B funding round.

Elaborate Announces $10M in Funding to Modernize Lab Results

Elaborate, which uses EHR information to deliver contextualized lab result messages to patients, raises $10 million in seed funding.

Attorney General Merrick B. Garland Delivers Remarks on the Disruption of Hive Ransomware Variant

The Department of Justice says that it has infiltrated and dismantled the Hive international ransomware group, whose victims include at least one hospital that paid the demanded ransom to restore its systems.

IBM planning to cut almost 4,000 jobs from spin-off of company, divestment from analytics business

IBM will lay off 3,900 employees as it adjusts to the 2021 spinoff of its IT infrastructure company and the 2022 sale of Watson Health to Francisco Partners.

Morning Headlines 1/26/23

Computer problems slow Spokane VA after Defense Department update to electronic health record system

An update to the VA’s Oracle Cerner system caused a temporary “system degradation” that resulted in lag time for users in between clicks and screen advancement.

Digitisation of health service is being impeded by ‘bad actors’, former department head says

In Ireland, Health Service Executive Director Martin Curley resigns after four years, citing a lack of vision amongst his peers to implement a national EHR, despite funding being available for the past three years.

St. Margaret’s Health in Peru closing temporarily due to financial reasons

St. Margaret’s Health (IL) closes temporarily, citing financial hardship that some have attributed to a 2021 cyberattck that led to a slowdown in billing and payment processes.

Morning Headlines 1/25/23

St. Joe’s to go ‘fully paperless’ after misdirected faxes, privacy breaches

In Canada, St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton implements a ‘digital first, no fax policy’ after an audit by Ontario’s privacy commissioner finds misdirected faxes were the cause of 563 privacy breaches in 2020.

Tiger Global-backed Innovaccer lays off 15% staff amid structural rejig

Innovaccer lays off 245 employees, 15% of its workforce, just four months after a layoff round that impacted 120 staffers.

Revive Health acquires virtual care services firm SwiftMD

ReviveHealth, a virtual care company that caters to individuals and employer groups, acquires competitor SwiftMD for an undisclosed sum.

Morning Headlines 1/24/23

Rx Redefined Raises $8M in Funding to Improve the Experience for Patients Prescribed Recurring Use of Essential Medical Supplies

Rx Redefined, which offers group practices the tech-based ability to directly manage the ordering and mailing of medical supplies to patients, raises $8 million in a Series A funding round.

Elizabeth Holmes made an ‘attempt to flee the country’ after her conviction, prosecutors say

Disgraced Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes reportedly attempted to flee the country after her January 2022 fraud conviction.

DCH Health System fires employee after medical records security breach

DCH Health System in Alabama notifies 2,530 patients of a series of data breaches over the last two years initiated by an unauthorized employee.

Morning Headlines 1/23/23

Fitch Downgrades Marshfield Clinic Health System (WI) Ratings to ‘BBB+’; Outlook Negative

Fitch Ratings downgrades the bonds of Marshfield Clinic Health System, blaming its Oracle Cerner implementation for aging receivables, throughput errors, lower collections, and an unexpected level of productivity disruption that has impacted top-line revenue.

Electronic health record giant NextGen dealing with cyberattack

NextGen secures its network and returns to normal operations after a ransomware attack on Tuesday.

HealthLynked Announces Sale of ACO Health Partners

HealthLynked, a membership-based, tech-enabled healthcare network, will sell its ACO Health Partners subsidiary to PBACO Holding for up to $3 million.

Morning Headlines 1/20/23

Bayer acquires AI imaging company Blackford Analysis to bolster radiology portfolio

Bayer acquires Scotland-based Blackford Analysis, which offers radiology and imaging AI tools.

State proposes $105 million to update Medical College of Georgia’s electronic records

Georgia legislators consider approving $105 million to help Augusta University Health affiliate Medical College of Georgia implement Epic

Top 10 Health Technology Hazards for 2023 Executive Brief

Communication challenges around the notification of recalls by medical device manufacturers tops ECRI’s annual list of health technology hazards.

Morning Headlines 1/19/23

Arrive Health Creates First-of-Its-Kind Medication Access Solution with Acquisition of Pharmacy Technology from UPMC Enterprises

Arrive Health, which specializes in medication cost and benefits coverage data, acquires patient engagement and automation technologies from UPMC Enterprises and the UPMC Pharmacy Network.

Teladoc Health cuts 300 jobs to shave costs

Teladoc Health cuts 300 non-clinical jobs as it refocuses business development efforts on primary care, chronic conditions, and online counseling services.

Microsoft is laying off 10,000 employees

Microsoft, which acquired Nuance in 2022 for $18 billion, will lay off 10,000 employees through March in anticipation of slower revenue growth.

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Morning Headlines 1/18/23

VCU Health launches Home Hospital, the first hospital-at-home program in central Virginia

VCU Health develops a hospital-at-home program that will offer acute care patients the ability to receive care at home via video, remote patient monitoring, and house call visits from care teams.

Ferrum Health Raises $6 Million to Bring Artificial Intelligence into Healthcare

AI-powered healthcare analytics startup Ferrum Health raises $6 million.

Apps want to be your new doctor’s office. Is that a good idea?

The Washington Post looks at the use of smartphone apps that collect patient clinical measures and send them to doctors, concluding that if the AI/ML they use requires doctors to interpret the results, the apps can’t really solve access and cost issues.

Morning Headlines 1/17/23

Viemed on the rise following $2M investment in ModoHealth

In-home medical device and post-acute respiratory care company Viemed invests $2 million in ModoHealth, which offers value-based care and patient management software.

Why We Became a Public Benefit Corporation

Independent primary care practice management and optimization company Aledade transitions to a public benefit corporation.

Alabama medical billing company pays to resolve false claims allegations

Medical billing company Amvik Solutions will pay $153,000 to settle federal allegations that it improperly billed Medicaid for applied behavior analysis services on behalf of customer Helping Hands Academy.

Morning Headlines 1/16/23

GAO rules Booz Allen has no conflict in $860M VA award

The Government Accountability Office rejects bid protests involving the VA’s selection of Booz Allen to continue managing its Oracle Cerner implementation for another five years.

Definitive Healthcare lays off 6% of staff despite revenue growth

Healthcare market intelligence company Definitive Healthcare, which went public in 2021, will lay off 55 employees as it struggles to balance hiring and expenses with revenue.

Owensboro Health and Optum Launch Comprehensive Partnership to Enhance Patient Care and Experience in Western Kentucky and Southern Indiana

Owensboro Health (KY) outsources revenue cycle management and IT to Optum, which will take on 575 health system employees.