Morning Headlines 6/8/20

Electronic Health Records: Ongoing Stakeholder Involvement Needed in the Department of Veterans Affairs’ Modernization Effort

A GAO review finds that the VA has implemented effective configuration decision-making in its Cerner implementation by holding national workshops and creating 18 EHR councils, but needs to improve representation at local workshops.

NorthShore provides real time genomic decision support to 10,000 patients using the ActX Service

NorthShore University HealthSystem completes a precision medicine program in which genetic data is loaded into ActX’s genomic service, then used within Epic to alert medication-ordering clinicians of potential genetics-related side effects, efficacy, or dosing considerations.

Hospitals could struggle — and more will go bankrupt — until they get patients back in the door

Many hospital operators say the pandemic-induced surge of telemedicine visits over the last several months won’t be enough to keep them from bankruptcy or from consolidating with neighboring health systems.

Morning Headlines 6/5/20

Amwell confidentially files for IPO amid surging demand for remote health care

Telemedicine company Amwell files for an IPO that may take place in September.

Surgisphere: governments and WHO changed Covid-19 policy based on suspect data from tiny US company

An investigation finds that governments have changed their COVID-19 policies using apparently flawed research findings from virtually unknown US analytics vendor Surgisphere.

New U.S. Data Rules Aim at Clearing Up Jumbled Virus Picture

HHS issues new guidance to standardize the reporting of COVID-19 testing data, requiring facilities to submit data on race, gender, and zip code, among other details, by August 1.

Intermountain Healthcare Names Ryan Smith as New VP and Chief Information Officer

Ryan Smith, MBA (Health Catalyst) will become Intermountain Healthcare’s VP/CIO upon the retirement of Marc Probst, MBA, later this month.

HHS Provides an Additional $250 Million to Help U.S. Health Care Systems Respond to COVID-19

HHS provides health systems an additional $250 million to help them expand virtual care and telemedicine services, train staff, procure PPE, and coordinate COVID-19 responses.

Morning Headlines 6/4/20

R1 Announces Agreement to Acquire Cerner RevWorks

RCM company R1 will acquire Cerner’s RevWorks RCM outsourcing business in a transaction valued at $30 million.

VA Likely Can’t Debut EHR Until the Fall

Politico reports that congressional sources say the VA likely won’t relaunch roll outs of its new Cerner system until the fall, giving it more time to focus on caring for COVID-19 patients.

Change Healthcare Inc. Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year Fiscal 2020 Financial Results

Change Healthcare reports Q4 results: revenue up by 1%, adjusted EPS $0.42 vs. $0.37 beating both revenue and earnings expectations.

Morning Headlines 6/3/20

Central Logic Announces Strategic Investment from Rubicon Technology Partners

Private equity firm Rubicon Technology Partners takes a majority position in patient access center platform vendor Central Logic.

Netsmart Expands Coding and Billing Service Offerings with Acquisition of QIRT

Netsmart acquires post-acute and behavioral consulting firm Quality In Real Time, adding the company’s OASIS, MDS, and coding and advisory consulting services to its McBee business.

Wellbox Acquires Oculus Health’s CCM Services Business

Chronic care management and remote patient monitoring company Wellbox acquires the CCM division of Oculus Health, which will now focus on the development of AI-powered, patient relationship management software.

Morning Headlines 6/2/20

Change Healthcare pays $200M+ for pharmacy IT firm

Change Healthcare acquires PDX, a Texas-based developer of enterprise pharmacy management software, analytics, and clinical technologies, for $208 million.

NextGen Healthcare, Inc. Reports Fiscal 2020 Fourth Quarter and Year-End Results

NextGen reports Q4 2020 results: revenue up by 1.3%, EPS $0.20 vs. $0.23, missing earnings expectations but beating on revenue.

Cerner Names New Chief Technology Officer

Jerome Labat (Micro Focus International) joins Cerner as CTO.

Tia gets over $24 million to build a network of holistic health clinics and virtual services for women

New York City-based Tia will use a $24.75 million Series A funding round to expand its virtual and brick-and-mortar clinical services to new markets.

Morning Headlines 6/1/20

Onduo Appoints Verily’s Dr. Vindell Washington as Interim CEO to Lead Next Phase of Growth

Virtual diabetes clinic vendor Onduo names Vindell Washington, MD, MHCM as interim CEO.

Arterys Raises $28 Million to Accelerate the Delivery of Medical AI to Practices Around the World

Web-based medical imaging company Arterys raises $28 million in a Series C funding round and appoints co-founder John Axerio-Cilies as acting CEO.

Haemonetics Announces Sale Of U.S. Blood Donor Management Software Solution Assets To The GPI Group

Hematology technology vendor Haemonetics sells some of its blood center donor management systems to Italy-based GPI Group and its US software subsidiary Hemasoft.

Morning Headlines 5/29/20

Bright.md Brings in Strategic Investors as It Closes Oversubscribed $16.7 Million Series C Round

Care automation vendor Bright.md raises $16.7 million in a Series C funding round, bringing its total raised to $29 million.

Orbita Raises $9M to Accelerate Conversational AI Solutions in Healthcare and Life Sciences

Healthcare AI company Orbita raises $9 million in a Series A funding round.

Oncology Analytics Raises $28 Million Series C Financing Led by Baird Capital

Oncology Analytics raises $28 million in a Series C funding round.

Morning Headlines 5/28/20

Babylon Health Leads a $30M Series B in US health kiosk operator, Higi 

UK-based virtual care company Babylon Health takes a stake in Higi’s $30 million funding round.

NextGen Healthcare Announces the Launch of NextGen® Advisors

NextGen Healthcare launches an advisory service that will be led by CMO Betty Rabinowitz, MD.

Propeller Health Receives FDA Clearance to Connect Patients Using the Symbicort Inhaler to its Digital Health Platform

Propeller Health receives FDA clearance to connect patients using Symbicort inhalers to its digital health technology, which delivers analytics on medication usage via sensors and an accompanying app.

Morning Headlines 5/27/20

China’s Virus Apps May Outlast the Outbreak, Stirring Privacy Fears

China’s continued use of its COVID-19 contact tracing phone app raises concerns that the government will make it an ongoing standard since features unrelated to COVID-19 are being added even as the pandemic’s impact wanes.

This Seattle startup just raised $1.1M from Vulcan, others to help hospitals care for COVID-19 patients

Clinical operations improvement startup MDMetrix raises $1.1 million as it accommodates increasing demand for its COVID-19 Mission Control technology.

ONC and The Sequoia Project Announce RCE Efforts Will Continue Into Second Year

ONC provides $1.1 million in funding to engage The Sequoia Project to continue as the Recognized Coordinating Entity for TEFCA for a second year.

Morning Headlines 5/26/20

With an ex-Uber exec as its new CEO, digital mental health service Mindstrong raises $100 million

Mindstrong. a Silicon Valley-based startup that has developed a teletherapy app for patients with severe mental illnesses, raises $100 million in a Series C funding round.

Castlight Health Launches New Solution For Safely Navigating Workforce Health and Re-entry Strategies Addressing COVID-19

Employee health management software company Castlight Health will introduce a COVID-19 screening, assessment, symptom management, and contact tracing app for employers next month.

Oregon’s Tracking Of Hospital Safety Equipment Rife With Holes

Healthcare workers in Oregon claim hospitals are neglecting to accurately document their PPE needs via the state’s HOSCAP reporting system, leaving some facilities without adequate supplies.

Morning Headlines 5/25/20

Digital health stocks are surging because ‘suddenly now we’re in the future’

Digital health companies experience record utilization, revenue, investment, and stock market surges as healthcare organizations have quickly pivoted to telemedicine and remote monitoring.

TriNetX & Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute Partner on FDA Sentinel System to Monitor COVID-19 Drug Usage

FDA’s Sentinel Operations Center at Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute is working with TriNetX’s global health research network to monitor priority drugs that are being used for treating hospitalized COVID-19 patients.

Private equity group nears $100m-plus deal for Central Logic

PE Hub reports that health system logistics and patient transfer software vendor Central Logic may be sold in a $100 million-plus deal.

Morning Headlines 5/22/20

Flagler Health+ and Healthfully Offer Back-to-Work Solution for Employers

Flagler Health (FL) and consumer digital health company Healthfully develop a COVID-19 screening and monitoring app for employers that includes virtual visit capabilities.

Aetion launches research collaboration with FDA to advance understanding of COVID-19

The FDA launches a research project into the origin, treatment, and diagnostic patterns of COVID-19 using Aetion’s Evidence Platform, which aggregates data from EHRs, claims, registries, and clinical trials.

HHS Proposes ‘IT Control Tower’ to Manage Strategic National Stockpile

HHS issues an RFI on re-developing the IT strategy behind its Strategic National Stockpile of items associated with coronavirus-like pandemics.

Morning Headlines 5/21/20

Amwell Raises $194 Million, Committing to Expand the Best and Largest Digital Health Platform

Amwell will use a $194 million Series C funding round to further scale its telemedicine technology and services, which have seen record utilization during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Exclusive: NaviHealth sells to health care giant

UnitedHealth subsidiary OptumHealth acquires NaviHealth, a vendor of post-acute care management software, for an undisclosed sum.

Three states will use Apple-Google contact tracing technology for virus tracking apps

Alabama, North Dakota, and South Carolina become the first states to publicly commit to using contract-tracing technology developed by Google and Apple in their respective COVID-19 exposure notification apps.

Morning Headlines 5/20/20

Deliver better experiences, insights, and care with Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare

Microsoft announces Cloud for Healthcare, its first industry-specific cloud offering.

Francisco’s QGenda, a scheduling-software company for docs, heads to market

Francisco Partners seeks a buyer for medical practice scheduling platform vendor QGenda.

Omada Health scores $57 million as coronavirus pandemic sparks investor interest in health tech

Employer-focused, chronic disease management company Omada Health acquires digital physical therapy solution vendor Physera for a rumored $30 million.

Carequality Reaches New Milestone of One Billion Clinical Documents Exchanged

Carequality announces that 1 billion clinical documents have been exchanged via its interoperability framework since it launched in 2016.

HHS To Award $5 Million for Health Services Research Related to COVID-19

HHS will award $5 million to support research into the ways healthcare organizations are responding to COVID-19, including the impact of expanded telemedicine services and digital tools. 

Morning Headlines 5/19/20

Holmusk Announces Closing of US$21.5 Million Series A Funding Round, Led by Optum Ventures & Health Catalyst Capital

Behavioral health and chronic disease-focused technology and analytics company Holmusk raises $21.5 million.

MTBC Reports Record First Quarter 2020 Revenue

The health IT company attributes record Q1 revenue of $22 million, a 45% increase over the year before, to its CareCloud acquisition in January.

Cerner joins the Fortune 500

Cerner breaks into the Fortune 500, a ranking of companies with collective revenue representing two-thirds of the country’s economy, at 498.

Amazon extends telemedicine pilot to warehouse employees in Seattle area

Amazon expands its Amazon Care telemedicine service initially offered to its Seattle office workers to nearby warehouse employees.

BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee to make telehealth coverage permanent after expansion amid COVID-19 crisis

Insurer BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee announces that it will continue to cover expanded telemedicine services after the pandemic ends.

Morning Headlines 5/18/20

Cerner, Hallmark, H&R Block: when Kansas City’s big employers plan to return to office

Cerner will begin moving employees back on campus Monday, starting with 10% of its workforce and aiming for no more than 50%.

UnitedHealth Group and Microsoft collaborate to launch ProtectWell™ protocol and app to support return-to-workplace planning and COVID-19 symptom screening

Microsoft and UnitedHealth Group offer their self-developed ProtectWell coronavirus symptom screening app, which they will use for their own employees, to all US companies at no charge.

Software problems thwart patient consultations with NHS specialists

The NHS and its remote consult vendor, Attend Anywhere, attempt to get the health service’s telemedicine software up and running reliably after several outages last week.

House and Senate Democrats Introduce Public Health Emergency Privacy Act

Lawmakers introduce the Public Health Emergency Privacy Act, which would require individuals to opt in and that data collected for pandemic efforts be deleted afterward, and would prohibit using the data for purposes outside of public health.

Morning Headlines 5/15/20

Donation to Akron Children’s establishes new chair that may be first in nation

Akron Children’s Hospital (OH) will use a $1 million donation to endow the country’s first chair in telehealth, to be held by CMIO and oncologist Sarah Rush, MD.

Utah has rejected the Apple-Google approach to tracing coronavirus, and is using an app made by a social media start-up instead

The state of Utah opts for contact-tracing app technology from Twenty, a social media startup that pivoted from developing a meet-up app to the Healthy Together app in just three weeks.

23andMe study to recruit sickest Covid-19 patients in bid to unravel role of genetics in disease

In an effort to find out if genetics plays a role in COVID-19 symptoms, 23andMe enlists hospitals to help it recruit severely ill patients for an expanded study.