Morning Headlines 11/19/20

Central Logic Acquires Ensocare to Ease Transitions from Hospital to Post-Acute Care

Healthcare access and orchestration solution vendor Central Logic acquires Ensocare, which automates the referral of hospital patients to post-acute care.

K Health raises $42 million to expand its AI-powered telemedicine platform

Israeli company K Health raises $42 million and announces that the Mayo Clinic will integrate its telemedicine technology with its clinical data analytics platform.

Nuance Announces Sale of HIM Transcription and EHR Go-Live Services Businesses to Accelerate Growth as Conversational AI Market Leader

Nuance will sell its health information management transcription business and EHR go-live services business to DeliverHealth Solutions, of which it will become a minority shareholder.

COTA Secures $34M in Growth Capital and Triples Data Access to Better Serve Life Science Partners and Provider Institutions

Oncology-focused analytics vendor Cota announces a $34 million Series D funding round led by Baptist Health South Florida and ONC Capital, alongside a $20 million investment from Varian Medical Systems.

Morning Headlines 11/18/20

Introducing Amazon Pharmacy: Prescription Medications Delivered

Amazon launches an online pharmacy, giving customers the ability to order prescriptions, compare prices, and consult with pharmacists.

SOC Telemed Reports Third Quarter 2020 Results

SOC Telemed, which began trading on the Nasdaq last month, reports an 11% dip in Q3 revenue, attributable to a decrease in hospital utilization during the pandemic.

Upfront Healthcare Raises $11.5 Million in Series B Funding Round Led by Baird Capital and Co-Led by LRVHealth

Communication and patient engagement platform vendor Upfront Healthcare raises $11.5 million in a Series B funding round, increasing its total to $21.5 million.

AccuReg Acquires Digital Patient Engagement Technology Company

RCM vendor AccuReg acquires Zenig, a patient engagement company focused on appointment reminders, touchless check-ins, virtual waiting rooms, and communication tools.

Morning Headlines 11/17/20

Centauri Health Solutions Adds Referral Management and Analytics Capabilities with Acquisition of Ivy Ventures, LLC

Centauri Health Solutions bolsters its physician referral services with the acquisition of Ivy Ventures, developer of referral services using proprietary scheduling, analytics, and outreach software.

AliveCor Closes $65 Million Financing to Accelerate Growth of Its Remote Cardiology Platform For Consumers, Employers, and Providers

AliveCor will use a $65 million Series E funding round to further develop its remote cardiology technology with the addition of telemedicine and detection and condition management services.

Heads Up Health Closes $1.35M Seed Round Led by Innosphere Ventures

Health data tracking, aggregation, and analytics software startup Heads Up Health raises $1.35 million in a seed round led by Innosphere Ventures.

Morning Headlines 11/16/20

Student Medical Records at UC San Diego Make Epic Change and a California First

UC San Diego Health reports the benefits of moving UC San Diego’s student health service to Epic, including instant access to medical records from 262 US health systems for its 39,000 students.

Inclusion of patient headshots in electronic health records decreases order errors

Researchers find that including a patient’s headshot in the EHR significantly reduced ED wrong-patient order entry errors without creating provider burden.

Oklahoma to Launch Health Information Exchange

The Oklahoma Health Care Authority will launch a statewide HIE in the fall of 2021, initially focusing on connecting Medicaid providers.

Morning Headlines 11/13/20

Health Catalyst Reports Third Quarter 2020 Results

Health Catalyst reports Q3 results: revenue up 20%, adjusted EPS –$0.21 versus –$0.27, beating Wall Street expectations for both.

Amazon Alexa Care Hub update will make it easier to help aging family members

Amazon introduces Care Hub, a free Alexa app feature that allows people to connect to a loved one’s Echo device from an app to view their Alexa activity, set alerts, or answer their call for assistance.

Solv Health raises $27 million as health care providers move online

Web-based urgent care appointment booking and telemedicine startup Solv Health raises $27 million in a funding round led by Acrew Capital.

Jarrard Phillips Cate & Hancock Joins The Chartis Group

The Chartis Group acquires strategic healthcare communications and change management firm Jarrard Phillips Cate & Hancock.

Morning Headlines 11/12/20

RxVantage Acquires onPoint Oncology

App-based life sciences resource company RxVantage acquires OnPoint Oncology, which offers oncologists reimbursement data and analytics related to cancer care.

SA Health scores $200m to complete ehealth records system rollout

In Australia, SA Health will spend $146 million to finish its stalled roll out of Allscripts Sunrise EHR and patient administration system over the next three years.

Hendrick Health System shuts down IT networks because of ‘security threat’

Hendrick Health System (TX) shuts down IT systems at its main campus and several clinics after becoming aware of a network security threat.

Morning Headlines 11/11/20

HST Pathways and Casetabs Merge and Secure Majority Investment Led by Bain Capital Tech Opportunities

Ambulatory surgery center software vendors HST Pathways and Casetabs will merge with the support of investments from Bain Capital Tech Opportunities and Nexxus Holdings.

Carbon Health Secures $100M in Series C Funding to Become Leading National Healthcare Provider

Tech-enabled primary care company Carbon Health raises $100 million in a Series C funding round, bringing its total raised to $172.5 million.

eClinicalWorks, LLC – Corporate Integrity Agreement

HHS OIG imposes additional Corporate Integrity Agreement terms on EClinicalWorks, which paid $155 million in 2017 to settle false claims act charges.

Cigna Ventures, Humana, and Optum Ventures Among Investor Set Re-Upping in Buoy Health Series C Financing

AI-powered symptom checker and provider search startup Buoy Health raises $37.5 million in a Series C investment round led by Humana and Cigna Ventures.

OptimizeRx Third Quarter 2020 Revenue Up 110% to Record $10.5 Million, Driving Non-GAAP Net Income of $1.1 million or $0.07 Per Share

OptimizeRx announces Q3 results: revenue up 110%, adjusted EPS $0.07 versus –$0.07, with shares jumping 10% to give the company a valuation of $350 million.

Morning Headlines 11/9/20

Update on Cyberattack

Six-hospital University of Vermont Health Network has regained access to a week’s worth of patient schedules following its October 25 malware-caused systems outage.

Region’s Leading Academic Medical Center Launches New Venture Capital Fund, Tampa General Hospital InnoVentures

Tampa General Hospital (FL) launches InnoVentures, a venture fund that will also offer an accelerator program and in-house lab that will give staff the chance to test out ways of improving operational efficiencies within the hospital.

Change Healthcare (CHNG) Tops Q2 Earnings and Revenue Estimates

Change Healthcare reports Q2 results: revenue down 5%, EPS $0.32 versus $0.27, beating Wall Street expectations for both.

Building Company Culture And Innovating The Future With Judy Faulkner

Epic will launch EpicShare.org in the next few weeks, which will enable healthcare people, whether Epic users or not, to share innovative ideas for solving common clinical problems.

Vizient to Acquire Intalere, Expanding its Supply Chain Capabilities

Intermountain Healthcare (UT) sells its Intalere supply chain management business to its clinical and operational analytics vendor, Vizient.

Morning Headlines 11/6/20

Vermont National Guard to assist UVM Health Network

Vermont’s governor sends a National Guard cyber response team to help University of Vermont Health Network inspect each of its end-user devices for malware after a cyberattack on October 25.

Koa Health secures over €14m initial funding and spins out of Telefónica’s moonshot factory

Koa Health launches its digital mental healthcare solutions and services in the US with a $16.5 million Series A funding round.

Connected Care Pilot Program Application Window to Open on Nov. 6

The FCC will begin accepting applications on November 6 for its Connected Care Pilot Program, which will provide up to $100 million to help providers cover costs related to connectivity for telehealth programs.

Morning Headlines 11/5/20

Exclusive: Fast-growing Bridge Connector to shutter operations

The local business paper reports that health data integration vendor Bridge Connector, which announced a $25.5 million Series B round of financing several months ago, will shut down operations.

Mississippi State Medical Association launches MHAX: Mississippi Health Access Exchange

The Mississippi State Medical Association partners with the Konza Nationwide Network, an HIE operator, to launch the Mississippi Health Access Exchange.

Frazier Healthcare Partners Announces Acquisition of Accuity Delivery Systems

Investment firm Frazier Healthcare Partners finalizes its acquisition of revenue integrity and clinical documentation improvement company Accuity Delivery Systems.

Hospitals on high alert after phishing emails target executives

A number of hospitals in Massachusetts shut down email systems or put stronger filters in place after federal officials warn of phishing emails targeting executives.

Aptar Pharma Acquires the Assets of Cohero Health, a Digital Respiratory Health Company

AptarGroup acquires Cohero Health, a digital health company specializing in the management of respiratory diseases.

Morning Headlines 11/4/20

Teladoc Health Completes Merger with Livongo

Teladoc Health completes its $18.5 billion acquisition of Livongo with a valuation of $28 billion.

Louisville health care company expanding operations, creating 80 new jobs

Healthcare supply chain analytics and technology vendor Handle will add 80 new jobs to expanded operations in Kentucky.

City Health Department failed to terminate former employee’s access to protected health information

The City of New Haven in Connecticut will pay $202,400 to the HHS Office of Civil Rights to settle potential HIPAA violations related to its health department’s failure to implement employee termination procedures, enabling a former staffer to download the PHI of nearly 500 patients.

Morning Headlines 11/3/20

Health-tech startup Remedy lays off 82 employees

App-based house call and telemedicine company Remedy lays off 82 employees, many of whom were hired during the summer peak of COVID-19 patients.

WELL Health Acquires DoctorCare – the Market Leader for ‘Billing as a Service’ for Canadian Doctors

Well Health Technologies forms a new business unit, the Well Billing and Backoffice Group, through its acquisition of Toronto-based DoctorCare for $13.6 million.

Federal Health IT Strategic Plan Supports Patient Access to Their Own Health Information

HHS publishes the final 2020-2025 Federal Health IT Strategic Plan, which outlines federal health IT goals and objectives with an emphasis on giving patients easy access to their digital health information.

Morning Headlines 11/2/20

SOC Telemed Closes Business Combination and Will Begin Trading on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange

SOC Telemed completes its merger with the Healthcare Merger Corp. SPAC and will begin trading on the Nasdaq on Monday.

No End in Sight to UVM Health Network Slowdown Caused by Cyberattack

Systems at University of Vermont Health Network remain down following a cyberattack Wednesday.

Vocera Announces Third Quarter 2020 Financial Results

Vocera announces Q3 results: revenue up 6%, adjusted EPS $0.31 versus $0.23, beating Wall Street expectations for both.

Morning Headlines 10/30/20

HHS Extends Compliance Dates for Information Blocking and Health IT Certification Requirements in 21st Century Cures Act Final Rule

HHS and ONC extend compliance dates for the Cures Act information blocking provisions to April 5, 2021, while 2015 Edition health IT certification criteria updates and standard API functionality deadlines are moved out to December 31, 2022.

Allscripts Announces Third Quarter 2020 Results

Allscripts reports Q3 results: revenue down 9.6%, adjusted EPS $0.20 versus $0.17, beating earnings expectations but falling short on revenue.

KēlaHealth Raises $12.9M in Combined Seed and Series A Financing Round to Deliver AI-Powered, Clinician-Centered Solutions That Improve Surgical Care

Surgery analytics vendor KelaHealth raises $12.9 million in combined seed and Series A financing.

Cyberattack causes ‘significant’ UVM Health Network technology outage

The University of Vermont Health Network begins recovering from a cyberattack that has impacted its seven hospitals, most notably University of Vermont Medical Center.

Morning Headlines 10/29/20

Outcome Health may have found a merger partner

Outcome Health, which offers pharma-backed advertising software for waiting and exam rooms, is reportedly in talks to merge with competitor PatientPoint in a deal that could value the combined company at $600 million.

Mayo Clinic, Google launch AI initiative for radiation therapy

Mayo Clinic and Google Health partner to develop algorithms that will improve the treatment of patients undergoing radiation therapy for head and neck cancers.

Cerner Reports Third Quarter 2020 Results in Line with Company Expectations

Cerner meets Q3 revenue and beats earnings expectations; and announces the impending departure of EVP and CFO Marc Naughton.

Morning Headlines 10/28/20

Human API raises $20 million to standardize health records with AI

Health data standardization and sharing startup Human API raises $20 million in a Series C round that brings its total raised to $36.6 million.

Harris acquires UK-based maternity ward software provider K2 Medical Systems

Harris acquires UK-based maternity ward software vendor K2 Medical Systems.

Fitbit CEO reveals the company’s plan to conquer fitness wearables and telemedicine

Fitbit co-founder and CEO James Park hints at the wearables company’s telemedicine plans, saying that adding a virtual visit benefit could be key to bolstering its subscription service.

3 St. Lawrence County hospitals hit by ransomware

St. Lawrence Health System (NY) diverts some ambulances to Gouverneur Hospital as it recovers from a ransomware attack on three of its hospitals early Tuesday morning.

Morning Headlines 10/27/20

Lux Health Tech Acquisition Corp. Announces Launch of $300 Million Initial Public Offering

Newly formed blank-check company Lux Health Tech Acquisition launches a $300 million IPO in hopes of eventually merging with or acquiring a health IT company.

Unlike many employers, Athenahealth hiring

Athenahealth plans to hire 100 employees at its office in Belfast, Maine to fulfill positions in analytics, customer support, medical coding, and operations.

Health Assurance Acquisition Corp. Announces Filing of S-1

Backed by former Livongo executives, blank-check company Health Assurance Acquisition prepares for an IPO.