Morning Headlines 7/2/24

K Health, The Leading AI Primary Care Platform, Raises $50 Million Equity Funding Round

Virtual primary care company K Health raises $50 million, bringing its total raised to well over $400 million.

HHS Office for Civil Rights Settles HIPAA Security Rule Failures for $950,000

Heritage Valley Health System (PA) will pay $950,000 to settle potential HIPAA Security Rule violations related to a 2017 ransomware attack caused by malware that spread from Nuance to multiple healthcare organizations.

Prescribe Fit Secures $4.8MM in Series A Funding to Revolutionize Musculoskeletal Healthcare with Innovative Remote Patient Monitoring and AI Solutions

Prescribe Fit, which offers remote monitoring, health coaching, and virtual care programs for orthopedic patients, raises $4.8 million in Series A funding.

Morning Headlines 7/1/24

Lurie Children’s Hospital cybersecurity breach affected more than 790K people, including patients

Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago reports in a data breach filing notice that the information of 791,000 people was exposed to ransomware hackers in its January 31 cyberattack.

Fabric Acquires MeMD, Expanding Virtual Care Services to 30,000 Employers and 5 Million Members

Care enablement technology company Fabric acquires virtual care service provider MeMD from the now shuttered Walmart Health.

Amwell Announces Reverse Stock Split

Telehealth vendor Amwell announces a reverse stock split in order to avoid delisting on the New York Stock Exchange.

Google, TikTok Ban Ads From ADHD Telehealth Company Amid Federal Probe

Google and TikTok bar Done Global from advertising on their platforms amidst a federal investigation that has expanded to include five additional people of interest.

Morning Headlines 6/28/24

Walgreens Boots Alliance Reports Fiscal 2024 Third Quarter Results

Walgreens reports mixed Q3 results and announces that it will reduce its stake in primary care provider VillageMD so that it no longer holds a majority share.

Arcadia acquires CareJourney to enable high-performing networks and value-based care success

Data platform and analytics vendor Arcadia acquires CareJourney, which offers claims-sourced provider cost and quality data.

Hummingbird Healthcare Raises $10M to Address Persistent Barriers to Patient Access

Patient access technology vendor Hummingbird Healthcare closes a $10 million Series A funding round led by UCHealth.

Novant Health lays off 81 IT workers in Winston-Salem

Novant Health (NC) will lay off 81 IT workers in late August and shift some of their tasks to Deloitte Digital as part of a previously announced outsourcing plan.

Morning Headlines 6/27/24

CHAI Releases Draft Responsible Health AI Framework for Public Comment

The Coalition for Health AI publishes a draft framework for the responsible use of AI in healthcare and solicits public comment.

Form Health, The Leading Provider of Science-Based Obesity Care in the United States, Raises $38 Million Series B Led By Sound Ventures

Online medical weight loss clinic Form Health raises $38 million in a Series B funding round, bringing its total raised to $65 million.

VA still dealing with fallout from Change Healthcare ransomware attack

The VA expects to have backlogs created by the Change Healthcare ransomware attack cleared by next February – a year after the hack originally took place.

CipherHealth Announces Capital Investment by Atalaya Capital Management, Setting Stage for Future Growth in Patient-Centered Communications

Patient engagement software vendor CipherHealth announces an undisclosed amount of new funding from Atalaya Capital Management.

Morning Headlines 6/26/24

EVisit Acquires UPMC’s Inpatient Teleconsult Technology and Secures Investments from UPMC Enterprises and MedStar Health to Expand Innovative Partnerships and Capabilities

EVisit acquires inpatient tele-consult technology that was developed by UPMC Enterprises and secures investments from UPMC and MedStar Health (MD).

Adonis Raises $31 Million, Led by Point72 Private Investments, to Improve Healthcare Financial Outcomes and Patient Experiences Through AI

AI-enabled RCM vendor Adonis raises $31 million in a Series B funding round, bringing its total raised to $54 million.

Geisinger provides notice of Nuance’s data security incident

Nuance notifies Geisinger patients that a former employee accessed patient information two days after being fired by the company in November 2023.

Morning Headlines 6/25/24

Heyday Health Raises $12.5M to Scale “Virtual-forward” Value-based Care Model for Medicare & Dual-eligible Patients

Heyday Health will use $12.5 million in new funding to expand its virtual care and house call services for Medicare patients into new markets in Ohio and Kentucky.

Digital Health Company Pear Suite Hits 100-Customer Milestone

Health and social care navigation software vendor Pear Suite secures $1 million in funding.

HHS Finalizes Rule Establishing Disincentives for Health Care Providers That Have Committed Information Blocking

HHS finalizes the penalties providers can expect to face if they engage in information-blocking activities.

Morning Headlines 6/24/24

Judge rules in favor of AHA vacating HHS online tracking ‘bulletin’ as unlawful and beyond agency authority

A Texas federal court sides with the AHA, Texas Hospital Association, and two health systems in ruling that HHS does not have the authority to invoke HIPAA to ban the use of web tracking tools by providers.

Sharecare enters into definitive agreement to be acquired by Altaris

Sharecare, which went public via a SPAC merger in July 2021 at a $4 billion valuation, will be acquired and taken private by investment firm Altaris at a price of around $500 million.

Russian Hackers Of London Hospitals Publish Patient Data

The Russian hacker group that launched a ransomware attack on UK-based pathology provider Synnovis – which disrupted operations at several London hospitals – publishes 400 GB of stolen data after its $50 million ransom demand was not met.

Morning Headlines 6/21/24

Prior Authorization Platform Humata Health Closes $25M Investment

Prior authorization technology vendor Humata Health raises a $25 million investment.

Change Healthcare to start notifying customers who had data exposed in cyberattack

Change Healthcare begins notifying hospitals, payers, and other customers that they may have had patient information exposed in a February ransomware attack, and will begin notifying individuals in late July.

ARPA-H enters $19M contract with Palantir for artificial intelligence, data software

HHS agency ARPA-H — the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health — will use Palantir software to support its healthcare R&D efforts.

Scaling maternal care that works

Virtual pregnancy and newborn care provider Pomelo Health raises $46 million in Series B funding.

Morning Headlines 6/20/24

California plans to enlist AI to translate healthcare information

The state of California seeks bids for an AI system to translate health and social services documents and websites as a first draft for human review.

We must fix prior authorization to protect our patients

A majority of surveyed physicians say that prior authorizations contribute to burnout, while 24% report that PAs have led to serious adverse events for their patients.

UK Hospital Hackers Say They’ve Demanded $50 Million in Ransom

Pathology services vendor Synnovis faces a $50 million ransomware demand from the Qilin group.

SDSU researchers develop AI robot hoping to help those with mental health concerns

San Diego State University researchers develop an AI robot called Pepper that can detect emotions from live video analysis, allowing it to detect mental health issues and to provide insights to clinicians.

Morning Headlines 6/19/24

Google’s Verily to offer GLP-1 drugs through Lightpath, its retooled chronic care app

Alphabet’s Verily will reportedly pivot – for the second time in two years – by retiring its chronic disease management app Onduo and moving to a new one called Lightpath, which will focus on AI-sprinkled diabetes treatment and issuing prescriptions for GLP-1 drugs.

HHAeXchange Acquires Cashé Software, Strengthening Homecare Operations for Thousands of Agencies and Individuals

Home care management solutions vendor HHAeXchange acquires Cashé Software, which offers homecare operations and billing software.

Talkiatry Secures $130M Series C Funding to Mainstream Value-Based Behavioral Health Care

Telepsychiatry services provider Talkiatry raises $130 million in a Series C funding round, bringing its total raised to $245 million.

Morning Headlines 6/18/24

Healthcare firm Concentra reveals quarterly revenue growth in IPO filing

Occupational healthcare provider Concentra files paperwork with the SEC for a $100 million IPO.

Raising the Bar on Interoperability – A Decade of Data Show that “Sometimes” Isn’t Good Enough

New data from ONC finds that the number of hospitals routinely sharing health data grew from 28% in 2018 to 43% in 2023.

US to shut advance payments program for Medicare providers hit by Change hack

CMS will on July 12 stop accepting new applications for the advance payments program it set up to help providers impacted by the Change Healthcare ransomware attack.

Cardamom Health Announces Investment by HealthX Ventures to Expand Advisory and Managed Services for Data, Analytics, and Applications

Cardamom Health will use new funding from HealthX Ventures to hire additional staff and further develop its services for revenue cycle optimization and value-based care.

Morning Headlines 6/17/24

Google-backed Tempus AI closes first day of trading up 9% in Nasdaq stock market debut

Tempus AI, which specializes in precision medicine and intelligent diagnostics, raises $410 million during its IPO, giving it a valuation of $6 billion.

London hospitals cancel over 800 operations after ransomware attack

NHS England reports that London-area hospitals have had to cancel over 800 appointments and operations as a result of the June 3 ransomware attack on pathology services vendor Synnovis.

Disrupted Access to Prescription Stimulant Medications Could Increase Risk of Injury and Overdose

CDC warns that people who have been getting Adderall from telehealth provider Done – whose executives were arrested last week on Adderall-related charges – should not resort to buying the drugs on the street as an alternative.

Morning Headlines 6/14/24

Ascension cyberattack caused after employee accidentally downloaded malicious file

Ascension confirms that its May 8 ransomware attack was launched by a malicious email opened by an unsuspecting employee.

VA awards second option period to Oracle Health in support of Federal Electronic Health Record modernization contract

The VA extends its contract with Oracle Health for a second term of 11 months with an eye to deploying the EHR at new sites in 2025 once reset goals have been met.

Founder/CEO and Clinical President of Digital Health Company Arrested for $100M Adderall Distribution and Health Care Fraud Scheme

Federal agents arrest the CEO and clinical president of ADHD telehealth provider Done on charges of distributing Adderall, healthcare fraud, and obstruction of justice.

Morning Headlines 6/13/24

Veterans Health Administration creates new office to streamline tech initiatives

The VA creates a new Digital Health Office to unify the Veterans Health Administration’s technology initiatives, including those related to health informatics, AI, population health, and connected care.

Brightside Health Expands into Substance Use Disorder, Virtual Intensive Outpatient Treatment

Virtual mental healthcare company Brightside Health acquires Lionrock Recovery, which offers virtual intensive outpatient addiction treatment services.

Canary Speech Secures $13 Million in Series A Funding to Change How the World’s Top Healthcare Organizations Screen for Mental Wellness and Cognitive Health

Canary Speech, a health IT company specializing in the development of AI-powered vocal biomarkers, raises $13 million in a funding round led by Cortes Capital.

United States Sues Telehealth Providers and Executives for Unfair and Deceptive Conduct

Cerebral will pay $7 million to settle federal complaints of a variety of deceptive business practices, though the DoJ and FTC will continue to pursue Cerebral founder Kyle Robertson and several business associates for their role in subsequent, similar practices at telehealth companies launched after Cerebral shut down.

Koda Health Secures New Funding to Expand Advance Care Planning Capabilities

Koda Health, an advance care planning software startup spun out of Texas Medical Center, closes an oversubscribed seed funding round.

Morning Headlines 6/12/24

Oracle Announces Fiscal 2024 Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Full Year Financial Results

Oracle reports Q4 results: revenue up 3%, adjusted EPS $1.63 versus $1.67, missing Wall Street expectations for both.

NeuroFlow Acquires Owl, Creating the Largest End-to-End Platform for Behavioral Health Measurement and Engagement Across the Care Continuum

NeuroFlow, whose system helps risk-bearing healthcare organizations surface and support behavioral health needs, acquires Owl, which offers a measurement-based care platform.

HealWell AI to Acquire VeroSource Solutions and its Cloud-based Health Data Interoperability Platform to Help Large Enterprises Adopt AI-Powered Population Health Capabilities

In Canada, preventative care-focused digital health company HealWell AI acquires healthcare data software vendor VeroSource for $24.5 million.

Morning Headlines 6/11/24

CityMD Agrees to Pay over $12 Million for Alleged False Claims to COVID-19 Uninsured Program

CityMD, a VillageMD-owned chain of urgent care practices in New York and New Jersey, will pay $12 million to settle allegations that the company submitted false payment claims to a federal COVID testing program for uninsured patients.

Med-Metrix Announces the Acquisition of HBCS, Further Strengthening the Company’s End-to-End RCM Capabilities

RCM software and services vendor Med-Metrix acquires Hospital Billing & Collection Service, a competitor based in Delaware.

Biden-⁠Harris Administration Bolsters Protections for Americans’ Access to Healthcare Through Strengthening Cybersecurity

The White House partners with Microsoft and Google to offer rural hospitals free and low-cost cybersecurity resources.

Morning Headlines 6/10/24

Oracle $16 Billion VA Health Software Scores Badly in Internal Report

An internal VA report finds that less than 20% of its Oracle Health users believe that the system helps them deliver high-quality care and just 13% believe that it helps keep their patients safe.

Anterior grabs $20M from NEA to expedite health insurance approvals with AI

Prior authorization automation startup Anterior raises $20 million in a Series A funding round.

Mount Sinai Health System named 2024 Hearst Health Prize winner

Mount Sinai Health System wins the 2024 Hearst Health Prize for its NutriScan AI application that identifies malnutrition in hospitalized patients by analyzing EHR data.