Morning Headlines 2/17/21

CloudMD to Acquire VisionPros, a Rapidly Growing Digital Eyecare Platform with a Robust Suite of Digital Vision Care Tools

Canada-based CloudMD will acquire online eyeglass, contact lens, and online vision test vendor VisionPros for up to $80 million in cash, shares, and performance earn out.

Healthcare-focused SPAC Digital Transformation Opportunities files for a $250 million IPO

Digital Transformation Opportunities, a Bellevue, WA-based blank-check company focused on working with businesses in healthcare IT, plans to raise $250 million in an IPO.

Fastest Growing EMR Provider Medfar Raises Nearly $25 Million Investment Led by Walter Capital Partners

Canadian EHR vendor Medfar Clinical Solutions raises $25 million in an investment round led by Walter Capital Partners.

Morning Headlines 2/16/21

Zocdoc Announces $150 Million in Growth Financing from Francisco Partners

Online provider search and appointment-booking app Zocdoc raises $150 million in a private equity round led by Francisco Partners, bringing its total raised to $376 million.

Healthcare startup Innovaccer to enter unicorn club, in talks with Tiger Global for $100-$150 million funding

Sources say analytics and interoperability vendor Innovaccer will soon raise between $100 million and $150 million from investor Tiger Global.

RapidSOS Raises $85M Series C Led by Insight Partners to Scale Emergency Response Data Platform

RapidSOS, a software vendor specializing in aggregating and sharing emergency-related data with first responders, raises $85 million in a Series C funding round.

Morning Headlines 2/15/21

Dexcom Launches Inaugural Venture Capital Fund

Continuous glucose monitoring device vendor Dexcom launches a venture capital fund that will identify and invest in opportunities to supplement its core business.

Vocera Announces Fourth Quarter 2020 Financial Results

Vocera announces Q4 results: revenue up 14%, adjusted EPS $0.28 versus $0.15, beating Wall Street expectations for both.

Sutter Health’s layoffs to total 277, mostly in IT

Sutter Health (CA) files documents with state regulators outlining its plans to fire hundreds of IT workers.

OCR Settles Sixteenth Investigation in HIPAA Right of Access Initiative

HHS OCR settles its 16th HIPAA Right of Access case, with Sharp HealthCare paying $70,000 for taking seven months to send an electronic copy of a patient’s records to a third party.

Sharecare and Falcon Capital Acquisition Corp. Reach Agreement to Combine, Creating Publicly Traded Digital Health Company

Sharecare will merge with SPAC Falcon Capital in a deal that will value the newly combined company at $3.9 billion.

Morning Headlines 2/12/21

Providence, 13 other health care systems back data platform Truveta

Providence and several other big health systems form Truveta, a Seattle-based startup that will provide its hospital owners, drug companies, and researchers with anonymized patient data for approved research projects.

Watchdog: pause on VA’s $16B electronic health records project might be needed

A GAO report recommends that the VA postpone new Cerner implementations until it can address critical severity and high severity test findings.

Signify Health IPO prices well above expectations, valuing company at over $5.3 billion

Value-based care coordination and payments vendor Signify Health prices its IPO at a valuation of $5.3 billion.

Cerner Reports Fourth Quarter and Full-Year 2020 Results

Cerner reports Q4 earnings: revenue down 3%, adjusted EPS $0.78 versus $0.75, meeting earnings expectations and exceeding on revenue.

Morning Headlines 2/11/21

Alleva Raises Seed Funding to Further Capacity to “Help the Helpers”

Behavioral health EHR startup Alleva raises an undisclosed amount of seed funding, bringing its total raised to $3 million.

OCR Settles Fifteenth Investigation in HIPAA Right of Access Initiative

Renown Health in Nevada will pay $75,000 to settle allegations that it violated HIPAA by failing to fulfill a patient’s medical records request in a timely manner, including sending digitized records to a third party.

Therapy Brands, backed by Lightyear Capital, Oak HC/T, is up for sale

Therapy Brands, parent company of numerous mental and behavioral health software brands, puts itself up for sale.

Morning Headlines 2/10/21

Sitka Secures $14M in Series A Financing Led by Venrock to Help Transform Specialty Care

Virtual consult company Sitka raises $14 million in a Series A round led by Venrock.

Nuance Announces First Quarter 2021 Results

Nuance announces Q1 results: revenue down 4%, adjusted EPS $0.20 versus $0.22, beating Wall Street expectations for both.

Gentem Health Closes $10 Million Series A Financing to Help Private Medical Practices Streamline and Accelerate Insurance Reimbursements

Several weeks after raising $3.7 million, medical billing startup Gentem Health raises $10 million in a Series A round led by Vulcan Capital.

Morning Headlines 2/9/21

Six Health Information Exchange Organizations Across the U.S. Form New Consortium

CRISP, CORHIO, CyncHealth, Health Current, IHIE, and Manifest MedEx band together to form the Consortium for State and Regional Interoperability.

Nuance Announces Acquisition of Saykara

Nuance acquires AI-powered mobile voice assistant and automated charting software vendor Saykara.

Ettain Group Acquires INT Technologies, a Technology Staffing & Consulting Company

Talent solutions company Ettain Group acquires INT Technologies, a veteran-owned staffing and consulting company that serves a variety of industries including healthcare.

Morning Headlines 2/8/21

Two Triangle biotech companies raise cash

Duke University spinout Clinetic, whose software monitors EHR activity to identify patients for clinical trials or to suggest next steps in their care, raises $6.4 million in equity.

More than 36,000 UPMC patients’ data potentially accessed in security breach

University of Pittsburgh Medical Center notifies patients of a security breach at vendor Charles J. Hilton & Associates that may have exposed their medical records.

Infinitus emerges from stealth with $21.4M for ‘voice RPA’ aimed at healthcare companies

“Voice robotic process automation” vendor Infinitus comes out of stealth mode with a $21 million Series A funding round.

Hackers post detailed patient medical records from two hospitals to the dark web

Hackers post patient information from Leon Medical Centers (FL) and Nocona General Hospital (TX) on the dark web.

Morning Headlines 2/5/21

Flywheel Secures $15M in Series B Funding

Medical research data management platform data vendor Flywheel raises $15 million in a Series B funding round.

Change Healthcare (CHNG) Beats Q3 Earnings Estimates

Change Healthcare announces Q3 results: revenue down 3%, adjusted EPS $0.34 versus $0.33, beating earnings estimates but falling short on revenue.

23andMe to go public at $3.5 billion with Sir Richard Branson’s SPAC

Consumer genetic testing company 23andMe will go public in merging with a Richard Branson-run SPAC in a deal that values the company at $3.5 billion.

Morning Headlines 2/4/21

Alma Announces $28 Million Series B to Bring its Mental Health Network Nationwide

Mental health practice management vendor Alma raises $28 million in a Series B round led by Insight Partners.

Philadelphia operating room software startup raises $4.3M, hires MapQuest co-founder

Surgical process optimization software vendor ORtelligence raises $4.3 million.

Netsmart Acquires GPM to Enhance Provider Digitization and Mobile Workflows

Netsmart acquires long-term post-acute care health IT vendor GPM.

Nordic Acquires Bails & Associates

Nordic acquires multi-vertical ERP consulting firm Bails & Associates for an undisclosed sum.

NexHealth Acquires Enlive to Bring Integrated Paperless Forms to Healthcare Practices & Developers

Patient engagement and EHR integration software vendor NexHealth acquires digital forms company Enlive.

Morning Headlines 2/3/21

Zyter Acquires Care Management Technology Leader Casenet, LLC

Zyter acquires population health software vendor Casenet from Centene, which had acquired the company in 2012.

HIMSS Confirms that HIMSS21 Remains On Track

HIMSS announces in an exhibitor communication that HIMSS21 remains on track for August 9-13 in Las Vegas as a “completely reimagined hybrid event” that includes an online component.

HealthTensor Raises $5 Million to Augment Medical Diagnosis with AI

AI-powered medical decision-making software startup HealthTensor raises $5 million in a seed round led by Calibrate Ventures, TenOneTen Ventures, and Susa Ventures.

Morning Headlines 2/2/21

CloudWave Acquired by Abry Partners

Private equity firm Abry Partners makes a majority investment in healthcare cloud and managed services vendor CloudWave.

Hillrom Announces Acquisition Of Contact-Free Continuous Monitoring Technology From EarlySense

Hillrom purchases contact-free, continuous-monitoring technology from EarlySense for $30 million.

Beaumont shuts down scheduling vulnerability that allowed people to ‘cut in line’ for vaccinations

Beaumont Health System (MI) temporarily shuts down its COVID-19 vaccine scheduling system after discovering a user had found and shared a loophole in the Epic system that allowed 2,700 ineligible patients to schedule appointments.

Morning Headlines 2/1/21

Anthem Launches Health-Focused Incubator

Anthem launches Anthem Digital Incubator, which will help early-stage companies that are working on personalized healthcare apps.

Lyra Health Completes $187M Series E Financing to Advance Comprehensive Mental Health Care

Employer-focused mental healthcare app company Lyra Health wraps up its Series E round, raising slightly more than its anticipated $175 million.

Telehealth company Ro explores deal to go public

Ro considers going public via merger with a special purpose acquisition company in a deal that would value the online health, wellness, and prescription delivery company at $4 billion.

Morning Headlines 1/29/21

Athenahealth Agrees to Pay $18.25 Million to Resolve Allegations that It Paid Illegal Kickbacks

Athenahealth will pay $18.25 million to settle federal False Claims Act allegations that it paid kickbacks to increase sales of its products from January 2014 through September 2020.

GetWellNetwork Acquires Docent Health

GetWellNetwork acquires consumer engagement software vendor Docent Health.

SCP & CO Healthcare Acquisition Company Announces Closing of Upsized $230,000,000 Initial Public Offering, Including Full Exercise of the Over-Allotment Option

SCP & CO Healthcare Acquisition Company, a health IT-focused SPAC, closes its initial offering for $230 million and will begin looking for one or more companies to absorb.

Emids Acquires Canadian Design-Led Software Engineering Firm Macadamian

Emids acquires software development consulting firm Macadamian.

Sharecare acquires doc.ai to expand engineering expertise, accelerate digital transformation of healthcare through innovative AI platform

As sources predicted, consumer health information platform Sharecare acquires AI vendor Doc.ai for an undisclosed sum.

Morning Headlines 1/28/21

RxRevu Closes Series B Funding Round to Support Growth and Expansion of Point-of-Care Price Transparency Solutions

Prescription decision support vendor RxRevu raises $7 million in a Series B round that brings its total raised to $28 million.

Exclusive: Alan Mnuchin-backed SPAC in talks to take Sharecare public

Sources say Falcon Acquisition Corp. is in talks to merge with digital health and wellness company Sharecare and startup Doc.ai in a deal that would take the newly combined business public at a $4 billion valuation.

Equality Health and General Atlantic Announce Strategic Partnership to Help Drive Continued Expansion of Equality’s Value-Based Primary Care Network and Technology Solutions

Equality Health, which manages a network of value-based, tech-enabled primary care practices, secures funding from General Atlantic and acquires consulting firm Daraja Services.

Nextech Announces Acquisition of MyMedLeads

Specialty-focused health IT company Nextech acquires patient engagement and marketing software developer MyMedLeads.

Baylor Scott & White Health targets another 1,700 jobs to reduce costs in non-core areas

Baylor Scott & White Health, the largest not-for-profit health system in Texas, announces another round of layoffs that will see two-thirds of affected workers transferred to third-parties that handle IT, RCM, and other support services.

Morning Headlines 1/27/21

Clearlake-Backed Symplr To Acquire Phynd

Provider management, credentialing, and payer enrollment technology vendor Symplr acquires Phynd Technologies, which offers provider data management software.

HHS seeks formal approval for emergency COVID-19 portal

HHS seeks approval to make its July switchover in hospital COVID-19 reporting systems permanent, which would make the TeleTracking-developed system the standard in replacing CDC’s National Healthcare Safety Network.

Verily just bolstered its leadership team with a former hospital exec and a chief marketer as it comes off a turbulent year.

Former Aurora Health Care (WI) CIO Preston Simons joins Verily in a similar role.

Morning Headlines 1/26/21

Medsphere Systems Corporation Acquires Marketware Inc.

Health IT, supply chain, and consulting company Medsphere acquires Marketware, a developer of relationship management software and analytics for healthcare organizations.

How we’re helping get vaccines to more people

Google will donate $150 million to help promote COVID-19 vaccine education and equitable distribution, and will incorporate vaccination clinic locations and details in its Search and Maps tools.

Post Acute Analytics Announces Series B Funding Led by Concord Health Partners and Dorilton Capital

Lewisville, Texas-based Post Acute Analytics will use a Series B funding round to expand its management team and further develop its AI-powered analytics for care coordination in the post-acute space.