Morning Headlines 11/12/24

VA proposes to eliminate copays for telehealth, expand access to telehealth for rural Veterans

The VA considers doing away with copays for all of its telehealth services and establishing a grant program to fund an expansion of its Accessing Telehealth through Local Area Stations programs, which serves veterans in rural areas.

Embargo Ransomware Gang Sets Deadline to Leak Hospital Data

The Embargo ransomware group threatens to publish data stolen from Memorial Hospital and Manor (GA) last week unless its ransom demands are met before November 12.

Astrana Health Announces Definitive Agreement to Acquire Certain Businesses and Assets of Prospect Health System

Provider enablement company Astrana Health will acquire Prospect Health’s hospital and medical groups, pharmacy, health plan, and managed services organization for $745 million.

Morning Headlines 11/11/24

Doximity (DOCS) Tops Q2 Earnings and Revenue Estimates

Clinician network and drug marketing operator Doximity reports Q2 results: revenue up 20%, adjusted EPS $0.30 versus $0.22, beating expectations for both and sending DOCS shares up 34% in valuing the company at $11 billion.

McKesson, Oracle competing for Veradigm

McKesson, Oracle, and private equity firm Thoma Bravo are reportedly competing to acquire health IT, data, and analytics company Veradigm in a deal expected to close by Thanksgiving.

Waystar Reports Third Quarter 2024 Results

Waystar reports Q3 results: revenue up 22%, adjusted EPS $0.14 versus –$0.09, beating expectations for both.

Leidos awarded Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network operations contract

HHS awards Leidos a $235 million contract to modernize the country’s Organ Procurement and Transplant Network (OPTN).

Morning Headlines 11/8/24

Independent Alliance formed to Drive Smart Hospital Advancement

The non-profit Alliance for Smart Healthcare Excellence launches with former HIMSS CEO Steve Lieber as president and CEO.

Health Catalyst Third Quarter 2024 Earnings

Health data and analytics vendor Health Catalyst reports a slight uptick in Q3 revenue to $76.4 million, exceeding mid-point quarterly guidance projections.

CVS posts mixed results, holds off on guidance in Joyner’s first earnings report as CEO

CVS Health reports Q3 results: revenue up 6%, EPS $0.07 versus $1.75, beating expectations for both.

TruBridge Announces Third Quarter 2024 Results

RCM, EHR, and patient engagement company TruBridge reports nearly flat Q3 revenue of $83.8 million, with its Financial Health business accounting for 65% of total revenue.

Morning Headlines 11/7/24

VitalHub Announces Acquisition of Strata Health

Health and human services software vendor VitalHub acquires digital care navigation company Strata Health for $23 million.

Health Commons Project Completes Acquisition of OneHealthPort to Advance Healthcare Innovation and Access across Washington State

Health Commons Project, which operates a public health accelerator program in Washington, acquires HIE and health data company OneHealthPort.

Health Catalyst Signs Definitive Agreement to Acquire Top-Rated Cybersecurity Provider, Intraprise Health

Health data and analytics company Health Catalyst acquires cybersecurity business Intraprise Health, its second acquisition in just over three months.

Morning Headlines 11/6/24

Once-growing diabetes startup backed by Blue Cross files for bankruptcy

Automated insulin dosing software vendor Hygieia files for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection.

R1 RCM Reports Third Quarter 2024 Results

R1 RCM sees its 14.7% uptick in Q3 revenue tempered by a $20 million loss it attributes to customer and vendor technology outages.

In latest interoperability expansion, Epic advances personalized care

Epic releases an expanded set of APIs that support USCDI v3, supporting tribal affiliation, disability status, caregiver relationships, preferred language, and Social Drivers of Health.

Morning Headlines 11/5/24

Telehealth Company Cerebral Agrees to Pay Over $3.6 Million in Connection with Business Practices that Encouraged the Unauthorized Distribution of Controlled Substances

Online mental healthcare company Cerebral will pay $3.6 million as part of a 30-month non-prosecution agreement for encouraging unauthorized distribution of controlled substances between 2019 and 2022.

Medicare finalized coverage for some mental health apps. Now what?

A new CMS rule will enable providers to bill Medicare for certain FDA-approved mental health apps and related services.

Memorial Hospital and Manor investigating cyber attack

Memorial Hospital & Manor (GA) deals with a ransomware attack discovered early Saturday morning.

Morning Headlines 11/1/24

Small-Hospital EHR (1–200 Beds) 2024

KLAS finds that 42% of under-200 bed hospitals use legacy systems, while most new considerations involve Epic Community Connect, Meditech Expanse, and Oracle Health.

What’s Going On With All The Empty Cerner Buildings?

Oracle has closed two of the former Cerner’s three campuses and is using the former Innovations Campus to house the limited number of employees who don’t work remotely.

Jennie Stuart Board hosts meeting concerning possible merger

The Kentucky health system confirms that its desire to be acquired involves a conversion from Altera Digital Health to Epic.

Morning Headlines 10/31/24

Global Payments sharpens core focus with $1.1 billion medical software unit sale

Global Payments will sell AdvancedMD to Francisco Partners for $1.1 billion, which Global Payments acquired in 2018 for $700 million.

Cedars-Sinai Launches Health Sciences University

The health system’s new health university will offer a PhD in health artificial intelligence.

Elon Musk wants you to submit medical data to his AI chatbot

The billionaire asks his followers on X to submit their medical images to his AI platform Grok to be used for its training, raising significant privacy concerns.

Morning Headlines 10/30/24

Oracle announces new AI-powered electronic health record

Oracle Health will release a new EHR in 2025 that is not built on the architecture of Cerner Millennium.

Digital Hypertension Management Solutions

A new report by the Peterson Health Technology Institute finds that hypertension tools for blood pressure monitoring, medication management, and behavior change don’t reduce healthcare spending, especially those that try to encourage patient behavior change.

Oracle Health’s Clinical AI Agent Helps Doctors Spend More Time with Patients

Oracle Health announces a new version of its Clinical Digital Assistant and its name change to Clinical AI Agent.

Philips to further roll-out RATE: AI for early infection detection at U.S. Department of Defense through four-year, $25 million contract

The Department of Defense will invest $25 million to roll out a wearable version of a pre-symptomatic infection detection algorithm for active duty personnel.

Morning Headlines 10/29/24

Oracle applies to join Epic and others in new federal medical record network

Oracle will apply to become a QHIN under TEFCA, well after Epic and others have gone live.

New unified IT structure will serve Emory University and Emory Healthcare

Emory will combine its healthcare and university IT organizations under Alistair Erskine, who joined Emory Healthcare in March 2023 as chief information and digital officer.

BREAKING NEWS: Hyve Group acquires US-based HLTH Inc portfolio

London-based, private equity-owned global event organizer Hyve acquires HLTH USA (Las Vegas), ViVE (Nashville), and HLTH Europe (Amsterdam), which will make HLTH USA its largest event by revenue.

Morning Headlines 10/28/24

WellSky Acquires Leading Durable/Home Medical Equipment Software Provider Bonafide, Enhancing Home Care Solutions

WellSky acquires Bonafide, which offers software for durable medical equipment and home medical equipment.

Researchers say an AI-powered transcription tool used in hospitals invents things no one ever said

Experts find that OpenAI’s Whisper technology, which is used by ambient documentation vendors, hallucinates to the extent that its transcriptions should be reviewed carefully.

Healthify Closes $45 Million Financing Round Led by Khosla Ventures and LeapFrog Investments

The nutrition and health coaching app vendor will use the funds to enter the US market.

Morning Headlines 10/25/24

Hack at UnitedHealth’s tech unit impacted 100 mln people, US health dept says

The February ransomware attack on UnitedHealth-owned Change Healthcare has compromised the personal information of 100 million people, making the attack the largest healthcare data breach in US history.

CorroHealth Announces Strategic Partnership with Patient Square Capital

Patient Square Capital invests in RCM company CorroHealth and becomes a joint owner of the business with investment firm Carlyle.

Dyania Health raises $10M for clinical trial recruitment LLM

Automated chart review and clinical trial pre-screening software startup Dyania Health raises $10 million.

UMC operations largely restored after hospital faced month-long ransomware attack

University Medical Center (TX) has restored the majority of its patient-facing computer systems after a September 26 ransomware attack took them offline and forced the hospital to divert patients.

Morning Headlines 10/24/24

PEO-DHMS to Award Leidos Follow-On MHS GENESIS System Support Contract

The Program Executive Office for Defense Healthcare Management Systems will likely award Leidos another potentially multi-billion dollar contract to continue providing system integration support for the DoD’s MHS Genesis EHR.

Infinitus Systems raises $51.5 million Series C funding on the strength of AI guardrails

Infinitus Systems announces $51.5 million in Series C funding and the launch of its FastTrack healthcare phone call automation software.

Commure To Partner with HCA Healthcare on Ambient AI Platform

HCA Healthcare selects Commure, which acquired ambient documentation technology vendor Augmedix in July, to develop and deploy ambient AI.

Morning Headlines 10/23/24

Counsel Health Launches with $11M in Seed Funding to Deliver Physician-Led, AI-Powered Medical Advice

Counsel Health, which offers asynchronous messaging with physicians, raises $11 million in a seed funding round.

Tennr lands $37m while tearing through the paper mountain in healthcare with leading document reading model

Tennr, which has developed automation software for the reading and processing of medical documents, announces $37 million in new funding.

MPath Secures $3 Million in Funding to Expand Cancer Screening and Preventive Health Initiatives

Automated cancer screening technology startup MPath secures a $1 million investment from Oncology Ventures, bringing its total raised within the last four months to $3 million.

Senators demand answers on telehealth platforms from Pfizer and Eli Lilly

Senators want drugmakers Pfizer and Eli Lilly to explain why their direct-to-consumer programs don’t violate anti-kickback statutes by offering telehealth prescribing for the drugs they manufacture.

Morning Headlines 10/22/24

Medbridge Acquires Rehab Boost, Launches Medbridge Motion Capture as Part of Medbridge AI

Medbridge acquires AI-enhanced rehab app development company Rehab Boost.

HealthEx Raises $14M led by General Catalyst to Empower Patients and Health Systems to do more with Health Data

Patient health data access and consent startup HealthEx launches with $14 million in funding.

CopilotIQ and Biofourmis Merge to Create the First End-to-End Platform for AI-Driven In-Home Care

Remote patient monitoring company CopilotIQ acquires competitor Biofourmis to offer tech-enabled, home-based care to seniors with chronic conditions.

Morning Headlines 10/21/24

Refusal of Recovery: How Medicare Advantage Insurers Have Denied Patients Access to Post-Acute Care

A US Senate subcommittee report finds that UnitedHealthcare, Humana, and CVS disproportionately denied prior authorization requests for post-acute care in their Medicare Advantage patients, often by using AI-driven tools.

Prolucent Secures Strategic Investment from Northwell Holdings to Accelerate Workforce Management Innovation in Healthcare

Healthcare workforce management software vendor Prolucent announces an undisclosed amount of funding from customer Northwell Health’s investment subsidiary.

Virginia Contractor Settles False Claims Act Liability for Failing to Secure Medicare Beneficiary Data

Federal contractor ASRC Federal Data Solutions will pay $306,722 to settle False Claims Act allegations that it stored unencrypted screenshots of Medicare beneficiary data from CMS systems on a subcontractor’s server.

Morning Headlines 10/18/24

Particle Health Inc. v. Epic Systems Corporation

Epic asks a federal court to dismiss the antitrust lawsuit that Particle Health brought against it, citing several arguments.

CodexIT Acquires Professional Services Company

Healthcare technology and consulting firm CodexIT acquires health data migration and archiving business Kyval from Marsden Advisors.

Bluesight Expands Capabilities Through Acquisition of Sectyr

Hospital medication tracking technology vendor Bluesight acquires Sectyr, which offers 340B audit and compliance tools.

BianLian ransomware claims attack on Boston Children’s Health Physicians

The BianLian group threatens to publish data online that was stolen during an early September ransomware attack on Boston Children’s Hospital.

Surgical Optimization Company Pip Care Raises $5M in New Funding, Led by A1 Health Ventures

Pip Care, developer of surgical optimization software for clinicians and patients, raises $5 million.