Morning Headlines 5/7/24

Livara Health Raises $15 Million to Expand Value-Based Musculoskeletal Care Delivery Model

Tech-enabled musculoskeletal care management company Livara Health raises $15 million in Series B funding, bringing its total raised to $27 million.

Opmed.ai Secures $15M in Series A Funding

Operating room management software startup Opmed.ai raises $15 million in a Series A funding round.

US hospital network Steward files for bankruptcy, aims for new loan

Multi-state hospital operator Steward Health Care files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and seeks up to $300 million in financing to keep the doors of its 31 remaining hospitals open.

Morning Headlines 5/6/24

Collusion in Health Care Pricing? Regulators Are Asked to Investigate

Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) asks the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division to investigate the pricing algorithms that are used by MultiPlan to reduce insurer payments to providers for out-of-network claims.

UH operating losses again top $200M; but system says big investment in My Chart is starting to pay off

University Hospitals in Ohio attributes its nearly half billion dollars in operating losses over the last two years to inflation, rising employee costs, and expenses associated with its Epic implementation last fall.

FDA Qualifies Apple Atrial Fibrillation History Feature as an MDDT

FDA qualifies the Apple Watch as the first digital health tool to monitor atrial fibrillation during clinical studies.

Morning Headlines 5/3/24

Transcarent Raises $126 Million Series D

Transcarent raises $126 million in a Series D funding round that values the company at $2.2 billion.

Avel eCare Acquires Hospitalist Telemedicine Provider ‘Horizon Virtual’

Telemedicine provider Avel ECare acquires Horizon Virtual, which offers virtual hospitalists.

Pfizer plans direct-to-consumer platform for Covid and migraine treatments

Pfizer will follow the lead of competitor Lilly in rolling out an online platform where patients can order the company’s drugs directly, connecting US customers with independent telehealth consultants who will send prescriptions to a drug dispensing partner.

Contexture and Quality Health Network Announce Affiliation

Contexture, which manages HIEs in Arizona and Colorado, acquires Colorado-based HIE Quality Health Network.

Morning Headlines 5/2/24

CVS Health Corporation Reports First Quarter 2024 Results and Revises Full-Year 2024 Guidance

CVS Health shares plunge on the news of disappointing Q1 results and revised full-year 2024 guidance.

Aledade and Medical Advantage Team Up To Expand Value-Based Care in Michigan

Value-based care and physician practice optimization company Aledade acquires Medical Advantage, a subsidiary of The Doctor’s Company that provides value-based healthcare consulting to practices in Michigan.

Tiger Global-backed Innovaccer in talks to raise $250M in new funding, sources say

Health data and analytics company Innovaccer is reportedly in talks to raise $250 million at a valuation of between $2.5 billion and $3 billion.

Morning Headlines 5/1/24

Walmart Health Is Closing

Walmart Health announces that it will close its clinics and virtual care service, noting that it can no longer sustain a business model that is beset by rising costs and declining reimbursements.

VA remains committed to controversial computer system, says Veterans Affairs official in Spokane visit

Deputy VA Secretary Tanya Bradsher says that the department is committed to rolling out Oracle Health during a recent visit to Mann-Grandstaff Medical Center (WA), which went live on the problematic software in 2020.

Trovo Health Announces $15 Million Seed Funding Round Led by Oak HC/FT

Trovo Health, which offers AI-powered assistants for specialty practices, raises $15 million in a seed funding round.

Morning Headlines 4/30/24

GeBBS Healthcare Solutions Acquires CCD Health (Contact Centers Dominicana)

RCM vendor Gebbs Healthcare Solutions acquires CCD Health, a contact center based in the Dominican Republic that specializes in appointment scheduling for outpatient radiology practices.

Turning point: COVID-era hospital reporting set to end

As of May 1, hospitals will no longer have to submit data on admissions and occupancy related to respiratory diseases.

Telemedicine and In-Person Visit Modality Mix and Electronic Health Record Use in Primary Care

A small study featured in JAMA finds that primary care physicians who saw patients both virtually and in person during a single shift perform around 6% more EHR-based work than colleagues who saw patients via a single modality.

Morning Headlines 4/29/24

Teladoc Health Inc. (TDOC) Q1 2024 Earnings: Misses on EPS, Surpasses Revenue Expectations

Teladoc Health reports Q1 results: revenue up 3%, EPS –$0.49 versus –$0.42, beating revenue expectations but falling short on earnings.

Federal rule banning noncompete agreements could give Wisconsinites more job mobility

An Epic spokesperson says that the company agrees with FTC’s regulation to end the use of non-compete agreements as long as the agreements weren’t created to protect intellectual property.

OMIS-A Starts New Chapter

The US Army celebrates the replacement of its MC4 battlefield EHR with Operational Medicine Information Systems – Army (OMIS-A).

FTC Finalizes Changes to the Health Breach Notification Rule

The Federal Trade Commission finalizes changes to the Health Breach Notification Rule that requires vendors of health apps and related technologies to notify individuals, the FTC, and the media if personally identifiable health data is exposed.

Morning Headlines 4/26/24

Epic Systems is starting sixth campus, and it’s from ‘Other Worlds’

Epic breaks ground on its sixth campus called Other Worlds, which draws inspiration from “The Lord of the Rings” and “The Chronicles of Narnia.”

Health insurance giant Kaiser will notify millions of a data breach after sharing patients’ data with advertisers

Kaiser will notify 13.4 million former and current patients of a data breach that occurred when since-removed tracking code on its website and apps shared patient data with third-party advertisers.

Truveta delivers largest and most complete mother and child EHR dataset to advance healthcare

Truveta publishes a mother-child EHR dataset for research, which includes clinician notes and images from 30 health systems that are linked to claims, SDOH, and mortality data.

Morning Headlines 4/25/24

Optum is shutting down its virtual care business

Optum will shut down its virtual care business for urgent and primary care after three years in business.

Midi Health, the Fastest-Growing Virtual Clinic for Perimenopause and Menopause, Raises an Additional $60M in Series B Round – $100M Total Funding to Date – to Transform Women’s Healthcare

Midi Health, which offers virtual care for peri- and menopausal women, raises $60 million in a Series B funding round.

98point6 hit by new layoffs in latest change at health tech startup

Virtual care technology company 98point6 conducts another round of layoffs, with some employees noting on LinkedIn that the company is now running with a skeleton crew.

It’s Always Summer Time: Announcing Our Series A Fundraise

Pediatric text messaging-based care startup Summer Health raises $12 million in Series A funding.

Morning Headlines 4/24/24

Change Healthcare attack did not result in harm to veteran care, VA says

The Change Healthcare ransomware attack has not resulted in harm to VA patients, though it did delay the filling of prescriptions, most of them refills, for 40,000 veterans.

Oracle is moving its world headquarters to Nashville to be closer to health-care industry

Oracle Chairman Larry Ellison says the company will move its headquarters from Austin to Nashville to be closer to a major center of healthcare.

Medical Informatics Engineering Secures Growth Investment from Healthcare Technology Investor Serent Capital

Serent Capital invests in occupational health IT company Medical Informatics Engineering.

FTC Announces Rule Banning Noncompetes

The FTC votes to ban noncompetes in a ruling that it predicts will lead to the creation of 8,500 new businesses each year.

Morning Headlines 4/23/24

Lumeris Completes $100M Equity Growth Capital Investment Round

Lumeris, a tech-enabled population health services and insurance company, raises $100 million in a funding round led by Deerfield Management.

Hackers Broke Into Change Healthcare’s Systems Days Before Cyberattack

Sources say that members of the BlackCat ransomware group broke into Change Healthcare’s system nine days before initiating the February 21 ransomware attack, using stolen employee credentials to log in to a remote network access application.

Clarity Pediatrics raises $10M for treating ADHD and other chronic childhood conditions

Clarity Pediatrics, a provider of online pediatric ADHD care, raises $10 million in a seed funding round.

Morning Headlines 4/22/24

About Healthcare Acquires Edgility, Advancing AI and Decisioning Across the Patient Journey

About Healthcare, which specializes in software for patient flow management across healthcare settings, acquires patient flow predictive analytics vendor Edgility.

DHA looks to contract a ‘digital front door’ to modernize its health system

The Defense Health Agency solicits bids for digital front door technology that will enhance the DoD’s MHS Genesis EHR.

VA Seeks Vendors to Support T&E Work on Modernized Electronic Health Record Platform

The VA issues an RFI for testing support for the department’s Oracle Health-based EHR Modernization program.

Morning Headlines 4/19/24

DrFirst Acquires Myndshft Technologies to Revolutionize Medication Management by Addressing Both Pharmacy and Medical Benefits

Medication management vendor DrFirst acquires Myndshft Technologies, which specializes in real-time eligibility and benefits verification and expediting prior authorizations.

23andMe CEO mulls go-private deal

After three years as a public company, 23andMe CEO Anne Wojcicki expresses interest in taking the company private.

AngelEye Health Acquires NICU2Home

AngelEye Health, developer of neonatal and pediatric patient and family engagement technology, acquires NICU care coordination and patient engagement company NICU2Home.

Morning Headlines 4/18/24

Medicus IT Strengthens Commitment to Community Health Centers through Acquisition of BlueNovo

Healthcare IT and professional services firm Medicus IT acquires BlueNovo, a health IT consulting company focused on community health centers.

Change Healthcare’s New Ransomware Nightmare Goes From Bad to Worse

RansomHub makes good on its threat to put stolen Change Healthcare data, including files from MetLife, CVS Caremark, Davis Vision, Health Net, and Teachers Health Trust, up for sale on the dark web.

Two Chairs raises $72M Series C in equity and debt to scale its therapist network

Hybrid mental healthcare provider Two Chairs raises $72 million in a Series C funding round, bringing its total funding to $103 million.

Morning Headlines 4/17/24

UnitedHealth beats on revenue despite impact from cyberattack

Shares of UnitedHealth rise on the news that the company beat Q1 revenue expectations in spite of costs incurred by the Change Healthcare cyberattack.

Sunstone Partners Announces Growth Investment in Accuhealth

Sunstone Partners invests in remote patient monitoring and chronic care management company Accuhealth.

Kontakt.io Raises $47.5 Million Series C Funding from Goldman Sachs to Fuel AI Development and Expansion into US Hospitals

Kontakt.io, which offers patient flow analytics and optimization solutions, raises $47.5 million in a Series C funding round.

RFX Solutions Closes on $9 Million in Series A Funding to Revolutionize Healthcare Compliance through SaaS Technology

Healthcare regulatory compliance software vendor RFX Solutions announces $9 million in Series A funding.

Morning Headlines 4/16/24

Change Healthcare stolen patient data leaked by ransomware gang

RansomHub leaks several files stolen during the Change Healthcare ransomware attack on its dark web site in an effort to convince Change parent company UnitedHealth Group to pay a second ransom.

Proposed FTC Order will Prohibit Telehealth Firm Cerebral from Using or Disclosing Sensitive Data for Advertising Purposes, and Require it to Pay $7 Million

Online mental healthcare provider Cerebral will pay $7 million to settle allegations that it shared the personal data of users with third-party sites for advertising purposes without their consent, and that it failed to honor company cancellation policies.

Particle Health Affirms Ongoing Connectivity With Epic Systems and Refutes Recent Reports

Particle Health announces that the vast majority of its customers have continued to receive data from Epic without interruption.

Eating disorder telehealth startup Equip raises $35M, according to filing

Virtual eating disorder treatment company Equip Health raises $35 million, according to a recent securities filing.

Chrys Capital looks to sell GeBBS at $1b valuation

India-based private equity firm ChrysCapital considers selling HIM and RCM vendor Gebbs Healthcare Solutions, which it acquired in 2018 for $140 million.

Morning Headlines 4/15/24

Texas Surgeon is Accused of Secretly Denying Liver Transplants

Memorial Hermann – Texas Medical Center abruptly shuts down its abdominal transplant program after suspicious irregularities pertaining to patient eligibility criteria within a federal database come to light.

Health records giant Epic cracks down on startup for unauthorized sharing of patient data

Epic informs customers that it has cut off its connection to Particle Health because it believes the company is using patient data in ways unrelated to patient treatment.

Virtual physical therapist Hinge Health lays off 10% of its workforce

Virtual physical therapy provider Hinge Health lays off 170 employees as it prepares for an IPO.