Morning Headlines 3/16/20

New CPT code announced to report novel coronavirus test

The American Medical Association creates a CPT 2021 code for the SARS-CoV-2 novel coronavirus, which will allow tracking of cases.

WebMD Acquires the StayWell Company

WebMD Health acquires Merck subsidiary The StayWell Company, which offers employee well-being, patient education, and patient engagement platforms.

Hartford HealthCare will bring 700 jobs to downtown Hartford and build new venture studio in $24 million renovation of office complex

Hartford Healthcare (CT) will spend $14 million to develop a new access center that will coordinate care and schedule appointments for patients across its 400 locations, pilot a telehealth urgent care clinic, and house an incubator space for healthcare startups. 

Epic Systems cancels spring XGM conference that draws thousands

Epic cancels its Experts Group Meeting (XGM) 2020, which was expected to draw 9,000 attendees to Epic’s Verona, WI campus April 27 – May 8.

Cerner employees to work remotely

Cerner tells employees who can do so to work remotely until March 30, adding that its offices will remain open with social-distancing policies to employees whose work requires them to be on site.

Morning Headlines 3/13/20

b.well Connected Health Secures $16 Million in Series A Funding

Employee-focused PHR vendor B.Well Connected Health raises $16 million in a Series A funding round, increasing its total to $27 million.

Heartbeat Health Raises $8.2M Series A to Expand Delivery of Best-in-Class Virtual Cardiovascular Care

Virtual cardiovascular care management solution vendor Heartbeat Health raises $8.2 million in a Series A funding round.

Epic tells employees to continue ‘essential’ travel, against county health officials’ advice

In addition to considering cancelling its upcoming, on-campus XGM event at its headquarters, Epic makes several social-distancing changes to workplace policies to slow the spread of COVID-19.

Morning Headlines 3/12/20

Leading Digital Transformation Services Firm emids Receives Investment from BlueCross BlueShield Venture Partners

Health IT and consulting company Emids announces an undisclosed amount of funding from BlueCross BlueShield Venture Partners.

Amazon and Gates Foundation may team up to deliver coronavirus test kits to Seattle homes

Amazon Care considers the logistics of working with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to deliver COVID-19 home testing kits in Seattle.

Former National Coordinators Applaud Interoperability Rules

Six former ONC leaders applaud the publication of the final interoperability rules and highlight several areas they are especially pleased with, including the development and enforcement of information-blocking rules.

Diagnostic Errors, Maternal Health Top ECRI’s 2020 Patient Safety Concerns

ECRI includes patient matching in the EHR, overrides of automated dispensing cabinets, and communication breakdowns across care settings in its annual list of top patient safety concerns.

Morning Headlines 3/11/20

Changes and Clarifications from the Proposed Rule to the Final Rule

ONC publishes a six-page summary of changes that were made to the draft version of HHS’s interoperability rules in producing the just-released final version that took public comments into account.

HealthStream Acquires NurseGrid, #1 Rated and Top Downloaded App for Nurses

HealthStream acquires 20-employee nurse scheduling app vendor NurseGrid for $25 million in cash.

Genstar Capital Announces Recapitalization of ConnectiveRx

Genstar Capital recapitalizes ConnectiveRx, continuing as the majority investor and bringing in new funds as minority participants.

DXC Technology to Sell U.S. State and Local Health and Human Services Business to Veritas Capital for $5.0 Billion

DXC Technology will sell its technology-enabled health and human services business to Veritas Capital for $5 billion.

Morning Headlines 3/10/20

Pager Announces $33M Financing Round

Concierge care coordination app developer Pager raises $33 million in a Series B round, bringing its total raised to $63 million.

PatientKeeper Appoints Philip Meer CEO

Former Evariant EVP Philip Meer becomes CEO of PatientKeeper.

HHS Finalizes Historic Rules to Provide Patients More Control of Their Health Data

ONC publishes its 1,244-page Cures Act Final Rule.

Morning Headlines 3/9/20

It’s true: Virtual HIMSS20 is happening!

HIMSS will develop a special virtual edition of HIMSS20 and is asking members which sessions they would like to see.

VA leaders optimistic on July go-live date for new health record

VA officials are confident Mann-Grandstaff VA Medical Center’s Cerner go-live will happen in July, provided several milestones are finally met including building interfaces between Cerner and VA systems, training end users, and conducting operational assessments.

Epic changing employees’ travel plans as coronavirus concerns continue

Epic reassesses employees travel plans as customer hospitals become care sites for COVID-19 patients.

AMIA Statement on AMIA 2020 Informatics Summit Cancellation

AMIA cancels its 2020 Informatics Summit that was scheduled for March 23-26 in Houston due to coronavirus concerns.

Morning Headlines 3/6/20

HIMSS Announces Cancellation of the 2020 Global Health Conference & Exhibition

HIMSS cancels HIMSS20 at the recommendation of its medical advisory panel.

Apple is rejecting coronavirus apps that aren’t from health organizations, app makers say

Apple is rejecting coronavirus-related apps that aren’t from hospitals or governments.

Vecna Technologies Awarded Cerner Integration Contract

Cerner awards Vecna Technologies a contract to integrate its patient self-service platform with the VA’s Cerner EHR.

Morning Headlines 3/5/20

SymphonyAI Group Acquires Healthcare Imaging AI Technology Leader TeraRecon

SymphonyAI Group, which owns Concerto Health AI, acquires advanced visualization and AI-driven technology vendor TeraRecon.

GoodRx and Data Privacy

GoodRx announces it will make several changes to its user data-sharing practices with third parties, including hiring a new privacy and security lead, giving users the ability to delete their data, and more intensely scrutinizing the data it shares with companies like Facebook and Google.

This AI Software Company Just Raised $20 Million To Help Prevent Physician Burnout

Suki will use a new $20 million investment to further scale its AI-enabled digital voice assistant for physicians.

Amazon May Extend Virtual Clinic Concept To DC-Area HQ2

Employees at Amazon’s HQ2 facility in Virginia may soon have access to the company’s virtual Amazon Care service, pending the passing of telehealth legislation by state lawmakers.

Morning Headlines 3/4/20

RevSpring Announces the Acquisition of Loyale Healthcare

Patient engagement and payment solutions vendor RevSpring acquires Loyale Healthcare, which offers patient financial engagement technology.

HCI Group hires industry veteran to new executive position

The HCI Group names Ed Marx (Cleveland Clinic) chief digital officer.

Holy Name Health and Medicomp Systems to Premiere Internally Developed EHR System at HIMSS20

Holy Name Medical Center (NJ) develops Harmony EHR to replace the multiple EHRs used in its ED, ambulatory, and inpatient settings.

Morning Headlines 3/3/20

HIMSS Confirms President Trump for HIMSS20 Kickoff

HIMSS announces that President Trump will become the first sitting US president to deliver an address at its annual conference.

AxialHealthcare Announces $15 Million in Series C Funding to Support Expansion into SUD Treatment and Recovery Sector

Substance use disorder analytics vendor AxialHealthcare raises $15 million and announces new personalized medicine services.

National Institutes of Health Had Information Technology Control Weaknesses Surrounding Its Electronic Health Record System

An OIG audit of NIH’s CRIS EHR finds insufficient security policies and practices have left it exposed to a variety of security risks.

Allscripts announces fourth quarter 2019 results and outlook for 2020

Allscripts reports Q4 results: misses on revenue by 1.5%; EPS – $0.17 vs. $0.20.

Walgreens Mobile App Leaks Prescription Data

Walgreens discovers a bug in its mobile app that may have given users access to the personal information, including prescription details, of other users.

Morning Headlines 3/2/20

Cisco at HIMSS 2020

Cisco withdraws from HIMSS20 due to COVID-19 concerns.

Wellpepper acquired by Caravan Health in sign of growing market for digital patient treatment plans

ACO development company Caravan Health acquires Wellpepper, which offers technology to create digital patient treatment plans.

Health Catalyst Reports Fourth Quarter and Year End 2019 Results

Health Catalyst reports Q4 results: Revenue up 21%, EPS –$0.39 vs. –$16.33, beating Wall Street expectations for both and sending HCAT shares up 9.5% on Friday.

Thousands locked out of Pentagon and VA benefits websites

The Defense Department acknowledges that a problem with a common login system has prevented military members, retirees, veterans, and their families from logging in to the Tricare Online Patient Portal and to its MHS Genesis Cerner system for several days.

Coronavirus Reveals Limits of AI Health Tools

Vendors of AI-powered symptom checkers and chatbot struggle to update their algorithms with COVID-19 information.

Morning Headlines 2/28/20

HIMSS Update on the Coronavirus

HIMSS will proceed as scheduled March 9-13, though it will be a handshake-free meeting.

K Health raises $48 million to apply AI to telemedicine

K Health, which offers consumers an AI-powered review of their symptoms and then paid telehealth visits, raises $48 million in a Series C funding round.

New EHR go-live date is July 2020, VA secretary says

The VA gives a new planned Cerner go-live date of July 2020, although Secretary Robert Wilkie has not committed to a specific date.

Morning Headlines 2/27/20

Joint Audit of the Department of Defense and Department of Veterans Affairs Efforts to Achieve Electronic Health Record Interoperability

Inspectors general at the DoD and VA will conduct a joint audit of efforts by the two departments to roll out an interoperable EHR.

Ribbon Health Raises $10.25 Million; Launches Cost And Quality Solution

Ribbon Health raises $10.25 million and announces GA of health data aggregation software that can be used to bolster provider directories, referral management, and care navigation for providers, payers, and digital health vendors.

Spok Reports Fourth-Quarter and Full-Year 2019 Operating Results; Wireless Trends Continue to Improve; Sequential Improvements in Software Operations Bookings and Expense Management Trends

Clinical communications vendor Spok reports a slight dip in software bookings and revenue on the heels of the launch of its Spok Go technology.

Morning Headlines 2/26/20

AMA playbook to aid record-sharing with patients

The American Medical Association releases its Patient Records Electronic Access Playbook, which aims to dispel HIPAA myths and help practices understand their patient records request obligations.

Prepared Health is now Dina

Prepared Health rebrands as Dina, the name it previously used for its digital assistant that analyzes patient assessments from home and makes evidence-based recommendations.

Nuance Announces the General Availability of Ambient Clinical Intelligence

Nuance announces GA of Dragon Ambient Experience (DAX), its “exam room of the future” where “clinical documentation writes itself.”

Morning Headlines 2/25/20

Verizon and Emory Healthcare light up nation’s first 5G healthcare lab

Emory Healthcare will use 5G capabilities supplied by Verizon to help its Healthcare Innovation Hub partners develop connected ambulances, remote physical therapy, and next-generation medical imaging.

National health information technology priorities for research: A policy and development agenda

ONC publishes its policy and development agenda for better enabling healthcare research through the use of healthcare IT.

Sharecare acquires Visualize Health to drive better patient outcomes

Digital health engagement company Sharecare acquires Visualize Health, which offers quality reporting, practice analytics, and value-based care program management.

Morning Headlines 2/24/20

Strategy on Reducing Burden Relating to the Use of Health IT and EHRs

HHS and ONC publish “Strategy on Reducing Regulatory and Administrative Burdens Relating to the Use of Health IT and EHRs,” meeting the requirement of the 21st Century Cures Act that HHS address government-imposed burdens on EHR use.

Queen’s notifies 2,900 patients their medical information was inadvertently shared

Queen’s Health Systems (HI) notifies 2,900 patients that their information was exposed by an employee who emailed an attachment to the wrong address.

MO HealthNet receives $9.3 million to help hospitals and providers electronically connect patient information

The MO HealthNet HIE will use $9.3 million in federal funding to develop a Provider Health Information Exchange Onboarding Program, which will subsidize connection and subscription fees for member providers.

MTBC Announces Telehealth Division, Appoints Leadership Team to Drive Growth

Health IT vendor MTBC launches a telehealth division and announces its three-member leadership team.

Morning Headlines 2/21/20

Cloudbreak Health Attracts $10M Growth Investment

Telemedicine and medical interpretation vendor Cloudbreak Health raises $10 million, increasing its total to $25 million.

Cyberattack on NRC Health sparks privacy concerns about private patient records stored by US hospitals

A ransomware attack forces patient survey company NRC Health to shut down its systems, including client-facing reporting portals.

Indian Health Service CIO Gets Ready to Update One of Government’s Oldest Systems

Indian Health Service CIO Mitchell Thornbrugh says its VistA-based RPMS system will most likely be replaced by a commercial EHR next year.

Second big health system drops Cerner EHR

The Kansas City business paper confirms earlier HIStalk reports that the 40-hospital Atrium Health system will replace Cerner with Epic.