Morning Headlines 12/20/21

‘The Charges Seem Crazy’: Hospitals Impose a ‘Facility Fee’ — For a Video Visit

KHN reports that Yale New Haven Health System charged a separate facility fee of $50 to $350 for virtual visits.

SoftBank-Backed Mental Health Unicorn Cerebral Reneged On Salaries And Health Insurance For Hundreds Of Therapists

The mental health startup, valued at $4.8 billion in a recent investment, is accused of making more than 200 salaried therapists hourly and tying their ability to buy benefits contingent on hitting quotas.

Cerner Shares Surge On Reports Of $30 Billion Oracle Takeover Bid

CERN shares rose sharply Friday as investors reacted to a report that Oracle is in final talks to acquire the company for $30 billion.

Morning Headlines 12/17/21

Oracle in Talks to Buy Cerner

The Wall Street Journal reports that software giant Oracle is in talks to acquire Cerner in a deal that could be worth $30 billion.

Ophelia Raises $50 Million Series B Led by Tiger Global to Expand Its Novel Approach to Opioid Addiction Treatment

Ophelia, which connects opioid users in 11 states to moonlighting providers who prescribe Suboxone via video visits for $195 per month, raises $50 million in a Series B funding round.

Qualifacts + Credible Acquires InSync Healthcare Solutions

Behavioral health EHR vendor Qualifacts + Credible acquires InSync Healthcare Solutions, a Florida–based company that offers EHR, practice management, and RCM technologies.

Morning Headlines 12/16/21

Innovaccer Raises $150 Million Series E Round at $3.2 Billion Valuation, Continues Rapid Growth Trajectory

Analytics and interoperability vendor Innovaccer raises $150 million in a funding round that brings its total raised to $375 million.

Cloudmed Acquires par8o, Advances 340B Discovery Capabilities for Healthcare Providers

RCM company Cloudmed acquires provider referral management technology vendor Par80.

Embold Health Raises $20M in Series B Led by Echo Health Ventures

Physician performance analytics company Embold Health raises $20 million in a Series B investment round, bringing its total funding to $50 million.

Ensemble Health Partners, in Partnership with Caduceus Capital Partners, Leads Series A Round for Janus Health

Revenue cycle automation startup Janus Health raises $8 million in a Series A funding round.

Morning Headlines 12/15/21

Shannon Hospital caught in crossfire of ransomware attack on tech giant, payroll software

Shannon Medical Center (TX) reverts to downtime payroll procedures after payroll and workforce management software vendor Kronos experiences a ransomware attack.

XIFIN Expands into Pharmacy Market with Acquisition of OmniSYS

Health IT and RCM vendor Xifin acquires retail pharmacy software company OmniSys for an undisclosed amount.

Cadence Raises $100 Million to Build the Infrastructure of the Future for Health Systems

Remote patient monitoring and virtual care company Cadence raises $100 million in a Series B funding round.

Morning Headlines 12/14/21

Middleton’s Pivotal Health snags $1.3M investment, seeks another $10M

App-based house call company Pivotal Heath raises $1.3 million in an investment round it hopes will eventually include another $10 million.

Phreesia Announces Acquisition of Insignia Health, LLC, Redoubling Its Commitment to Improve Patients’ Experience and Outcomes

Patient intake technology company Phreesia acquires Insignia Health, developer of the Patient Activation Measure program.

Healthcare Triangle (HCTI) Acquires DevCool, an Electronic Health Record Focused Healthcare IT and Managed Services Company

Healthcare Triangle acquires EHR and managed services company DevCool to add large health systems and IDNs to its customer portfolio.

Morning Headlines 12/13/21

CVS Health maps out path to steer into primary care delivery

CVS Health will add primary care centers that offer in-person care and telemedicine services to several hundred of its locations.

Weak defenses made cyberattack on Irish hospitals easy, experts find

Analysis finds that Ireland’s national health service was unprepared for a May ransomware attack that crippled its services after an employee clicked a malicious Excel email attachment.

Reveleer Secures $65 Million To Expand Capabilities To Deliver End-To-End Data Analytics Platform To Healthcare Payers

Health plan member and provider analytics vendor Reveleer raises $65 million in a venture funding round.

Morning Headlines 12/10/21

ConnectiveRx Acquires Rx Savings Assistant® from Medicom Digital

Medication access company ConnectiveRx acquires digital prescription savings software vendor Rx Savings Assistant.

Claroty raises $400M to protect ‘cyber-physical’ systems such as IoT and industrial

Industrial IoT security platform vendor Claroty will use $400 million in new Series E funding to acquire healthcare IoT vendor Medigate.

Grand Rounds, now Included Health, is gearing up for an IPO in early 2022

Included Health, formerly Grand Rounds and Doctor on Demand, is reportedly planning an IPO for the first half of 2022.

ChronWell Secures $6m Funding Round

Digital care management company ChronWell raises $6 million, bringing its total funding to just over $13 million.

Morning Headlines 12/9/21

Robin Raises $50 Million to Empower Physicians and Remove Barriers to Health

AI-powered medical scribe vendor Robin raises $50 million in a Series B funding round, bringing its total raised to $65 million.

Cerebral Raises $300 Million in Series C Funding to Democratize Mental Health

Online mental healthcare company Cerebral raises $300 million in a Series C funding round, bringing its total raised to $462 million.

Pair Team Secures $7.3 Million in Funding to Build Primary Care Infrastructure for Medicaid and Underserved Populations

Pair Team, which offers community health centers tech-enabled care teams and digital assistants, raises $7.3 million.

Quartet Health Acquires InnovaTel Telepsychiatry, Making Shared Vision of Speed to Quality Mental Health Care for All a Reality

Mental healthcare company Quartet Health acquires InnovaTel Telepsychiatry following a $60 million investment led by Independence Health Group.

Morning Headlines 12/8/21

‘Veterans here are tired of being guinea pigs’: After more than a year, new health record system still causing problems at Spokane VA hospital

Providers and patients recount numerous issues with the VA’s implementation of Cerner at Mann-Grandstaff Medical Center in Spokane, WA.

BDO USA, LLP Expands Management Advisory Services in Healthcare with the Addition of Culbert Healthcare Solutions, Inc.

Accounting and advisory firm BDO USA acquires 90-employee Culbert Healthcare Solutions.

Suki Announces $55 Million Series C Funding Round

Healthcare voice AI vendor Suki raises $55 million in a Series C funding round that values the business at $400 million.

Veritas Explores Sale of Health IT Firm Cotiviti

Private equity firm Veritas, which sold Athenahealth last month for $17 billion, is reportedly considering selling payer-focused health IT vendor Cotiviti instead of taking it public.

Morning Headlines 12/7/21

Well Health Provides Update on the Organic Growth of its Virtual Services Business, and announces Tuck-in Acquisition of CognisantMD’s Ocean Platform, Canada’s Leader in Patient Engagement Technology and eReferral Software

Well Health Technologies acquires CognisantMD, a Canadian developer of patient engagement and referral software, for nearly $14 million.

HealthStream Acquires Rievent Technologies

Healthcare learning management and performance software vendor HealthStream has acquired Rievent Technologies and its CME/CE management applications for $4 million in cash.

Lyn Health Emerges from Stealth to Pioneer New Care Model for Polychronic Patients

Lyn Health launches with funding from Summer VC to offer patients with chronic conditions access to virtual care and support services.

Morning Headlines 12/6/21

Fortive to Acquire Provation, a Leading Healthcare Workflow Software Provider

Fortive will acquire specialty EHR vendor Provation from its private equity owner for $1.425 billion.

Netsmart Accelerates AI Healthcare Technology Innovations with Acquisition of Remarkable Health

Netsmart acquires Remarkable Health, which offers AI solutions – including an EHR and virtual clinical documentation – for behavioral health, substance use, and human services.

Adjuvare Launches Real-Time Remote Patient Monitoring Combining AI Mobile Technology and Virtual Acute-Care Services

NantWorks forms Adjuvare, which is built on AirStrip’s patient monitoring solution for remote patient monitoring.

U.K. Digital-Health Startup Vinehealth Raises Seed Financing

UK-based Vinehealth, whose app collects oncology patient-reported outcomes, raises $5.5 million in funding for a planned expansion to the US.

Morning Headlines 12/3/21

Nordic Consulting acquires S&P Consultants, expands Cerner division to meet industry demand

Nordic acquires S&P Consultants, which focuses on providing Cerner-related services.

Carlyle agrees to acquire healthcare tech company CNSI from Alvarez & Marsal Capital

Private equity firm Carlyle Group will acquire government health IT vendor CNSI from its private equity owner.

Omnicell to Acquire ReCept

Omnicell will acquire specialty pharmacy management services vendor ReCept Holdings for $100 million in cash.

Morning Headlines 12/2/21

Iodine Software Surpasses $1 Billion Valuation With Strategic Growth Investment from Advent International

PE firm Advent International invests in AI-powered clinical documentation vendor Iodine Software.

Gal Gadot and Jaron Varsano Join Forces With K Health to Get Better Health Care Into the Hands of Millions

App-based virtual care company K Health secures an unspecified amount of funding from actress Gal Gadot and her husband, producer Jaron Varsano.

VA advances Electronic Health Record Modernization program

The VA creates a revised schedule for the continued roll out of its Cerner system, as well as new deputy CIO and EHR integration management roles to oversee EHR modernization efforts.

Morning Headlines 12/1/21

Babyscripts Raises $7.5M in Additional Series B Funding

Babyscripts increases its previously announced Series B funding round with an additional $7.5 million investment, bringing the total round thus far to $19 million.

Penn spinout CareAlign raises $2.3M from investors with ties to Harvard, Princeton

Clinical task management software vendor CareAlign raises $2.3 million in seed funding.

Five enforcement actions hold healthcare providers accountable for HIPAA Right of Access

HHS OCR settles with five providers that failed to give patients timely access to their records at a reasonable cost under the HIPAA Privacy Rule, with settlement costs ranging from $10,000 to $160,000.

Morning Headlines 11/30/21

Elsevier acquires Osmosis.org, an innovative digital health education platform and enhances its global medical education portfolio

Elsevier will add newly acquired healthcare educational content development company Osmosis to its Global Medical Education portfolio.

New initiative to make UC Davis Health a leader in digital medicine

UC Davis Health and Amazon Web Services launch a Cloud Innovation Center to develop digital health solutions that are accessible and equitable.

Greenway Health names Pratap Sarker as Chief Executive Officer

Greenway Health promotes Pratap Sarker to CEO, effective January 1.

Morning Headlines 11/29/21

The NFL Is Giving Players Sensor-Laden Mouthpieces Instead of Just Lip Service to Study Concussions; Four College Programs Join In

Several NFL and college football teams are collecting impact data from sensor-embedded player mouthpieces to test helmet effectiveness and to influence future rule-making to reduce concussions.

MIT Catalyst Program welcomes new VHA Innovation Ecosystem Fellows

The MIT Catalyst program announces a new group of VHA Innovation Ecosystem Fellows, who will work to improve veteran care through need-driven biomedical research and innovation.

New Exa Platform Functionality Automates Decision Support, Insurance-Related Tasks for Enhanced Productivity and Profitability

Konica Minolta adds Appropriate Use Criteria for advanced diagnostic imaging to its Exa Platform, in which orders placed through its physician portal will be validated electronically against CMS criteria using logic from LogicNets.

Morning Headlines 11/25/21

HHS Announces $35 Million for Telehealth in the Title X Family Planning Program

HHS allocates $35 million to help Title X family planning providers enhance and expand their telehealth infrastructure and capacity.

Peterborough Regional Health Centre lays off 84 as new digital records system rolls out

Peterborough Regional Health Centre, one of seven hospitals in Ontario preparing to go live on Epic in early December, lays off 84 employees in a move management says is necessitated by changes brought on by the new software.

Disclosures reveal Current Health was sold for $400m

Records reveal that Current Health, which offers remote patient monitoring, telehealth, and patient engagement technologies, was acquired in September by Best Buy for $400 million.