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.

Morning Headlines 2/20/20

Maven Raises $45 Million in Series C, One of the Largest Funding Rounds for Female-led Women’s and Family Health Company

Maven raises a $45 million Series C round of financing led by Icon Ventures, bringing the virtual clinic company’s total raised to nearly $90 million.

Former Chief Technology Officer of U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to Join LifeOmic

Former HHS CTO Ed Simcox joins precision medicine software vendor LifeOmic as chief strategy officer.

Global Interoperability Leader Rebrands as Lyniate

After merging in 2019, healthcare data integration vendors Rhapsody and Corepoint rebrand as Lyniate, and promote Scott Galbari to CTO.

Morning Headlines 2/19/20

Health Catalyst Announces Agreement to Acquire Able Health, a Leading SaaS Provider of Quality and Regulatory Measurement Tracking and Reporting

Health Catalyst will acquire Able Health, which offers quality and regulatory measurement tracking and reporting tools.

VA Reveals Industry Partners for First 5G-Enabled Hospital

Technology and services from Verizon, Microsoft, and Medivis power the VA’s 5G-enabled hospital in Palo Alto, CA.

Amazon Care, the company’s virtual medical clinic, is now live for Seattle employees

Amazon goes live with its virtual Amazon Care clinic for its Seattle-based employees and their dependents.

Cerner Announces Leadership Changes Focused on Increasing Alignment with Client Success

Cerner promotes Don Trigg to president and John Peterzalek to chief client and services officer.

Morning Headlines 2/18/20

Google to restructure Cloud business, with some roles eliminated

Shortly after closing its $2.6 billion acquisition of analytics startup Looker, Google announces layoff plans within its Cloud business as part of an overall restructuring that it says will help it better compete in five markets, including healthcare.

TTUHSC El Paso, TTP El Paso partner with Paso Del Norte Health Information Exchange

Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso and its physicians group have joined the Paso Del Norte HIE.

TapestryCare completes Series A Financing Led by Sopris Capital

Skilled nursing facility telemedicine company TapestryCare will use a Series A investment to expand into home health.

Morning Headlines 2/17/20

Feds probing how personal Medicare info gets to marketers

HHS OIG finds that CMS’s lack of oversight of its Medicare Part D eligibility database has allowed companies to submit millions of inquiries to harvest the personal health information of Medicare beneficiaries, potentially for use in telemarketing scams.

Innovaccer, the Leading Healthcare Technology Company, Raises $70 Million From Tiger Global, Steadview Capital, Dragoneer, Westbridge, Mubadala and M12 (Microsoft’s Venture Fund)

Patient records aggregator Innovaccer raises $70 million in a Series C funding round, increasing its total to $120 million.

Flywire Acquires Simplee to Transform Healthcare Payments Experience

Payments company Flywire acquires healthcare payments platform vendor Simplee.

Morning Headlines 2/14/20

CVS Health beats on fourth-quarter earnings and revenue

CVS Health reports Q4 results: revenue up 23%, adjusted EPS 1.73 vs. $1.68, beating Wall Street expectations for both.

Carevive Systems raises new financing round with Philips and Debiopharm to accelerate advances in cancer care delivery

Oncology-focused technology company Carevive Systems raises a Series C round of financing led by Philips Health Technology Ventures and Debiopharm Innovation Fund.

Computer Programs and Systems (CPSI) Surpasses Q4 Earnings and Revenue Estimates

CPSI announces Q4 results: revenue down 2%, adjusted EPS $0.78 vs. $0.78, beating Wall Street expectations for both.

Morning Headlines 2/13/20

HealthLynked Signs Definitive Agreement to Acquire Cura Health Management, LLC, and ACO Health Partners, LLC Adding Significant Revenue and Profitability from Its Newly Formed Accountable Care Organization Division

Membership-based patient and provider network HealthLynked acquires Cura Health Management and its ACO subsidiary for $1.75 million.

Scoop: Headspace raises $93 million

Meditation app developer Headspace will use a $93 million funding round to develop mental health tools for chronic disease patients.

WELL Health Announces Agreement to Acquire MedBASE’s OSCAR EMR Business

In Canada, Well Health Technologies acquires MedBase Software’s Open Source Clinical Application Resource (Oscar) EMR assets.

Boulder raises $10.5M to expand access to opioid addiction treatment

Addiction-focused telemedicine startup Boulder raises $10 million.

Morning Headlines 2/12/20

One of the nation’s largest health systems drops Cerner

Florida-based AdventHealth, renamed from Adventist Health System just over a year ago, will replace Cerner with Epic.

VA delays rollout of new electronic health record

The VA pushes back its scheduled March 28 Cerner go-live at Mann-Grandstaff VA Medical Center (WA) until at least the end of April.

Intuitive Surgical Expands Into Hospital Informatics With Orpheus Medical Acquisition

Da Vinci robotic surgery system vendor Intuitive Surgical acquires Orpheus Medical, which offers a video documentation system for surgery.

3M Sues IBM in Contract Spat Over Health-Care Software

3M’s Health Information Systems division accuses IBM and its Truven Health Analytics business of using 3M software to sell data to customers without the proper licensing agreements.

Malware attack disables medical records at Children’s Hospital affiliates

Malware causes a system outage across facilities associated with the Pediatric Physicians’ Organization at Boston Children’s Hospital.

Morning Headlines 2/11/20

Iora Health Closes $126 Million Series F Funding Round

Medicare-focused primary care company Iora Health raises $126 million in a Series F funding round led by Indian investment firm Premji Invest, bringing its total raised to nearly $350 million.

OSEHRA Shutdown

Open Source Electronic Health Record Alliance President and CEO Seong Mun announces that the company will shut down on February 14.

ONC Should Not Delay The Release Of Its Rule

Healthcare stakeholders from Omada Health and the University of California, San Francisco argue in Health Affairs against an Epic-induced delay in ONC’s release of its final interoperability rules.

Morning Headlines 2/10/20

Thoma Bravo preps for potential $2b-plus sale of Imprivata

Private equity firm Thoma Bravo considers selling health IT digital identity vendor Imprivata, which could command a price of more than $2 billion on annual revenue in the $100 million range.

CitiusTech earmarks $100 million for acquisitions across geographies

Health IT and consulting company CitiusTech allocates $100 million for the future acquisition of niche cloud computing and AI businesses, plus health IT companies in Germany, Japan, and the UK.

Nuance Communications (NUAN) Tops Q1 EPS by 4c

Nuance announces Q1 results: revenue flat, adjusted EPS $0.27 vs. $0.27, beating Wall Street expectations for both.

Morning Headlines 2/7/20

Waud teams up with ex-MatrixCare chief to build health IT platform

Waud Capital Partners commits $150 million to pursue health IT opportunities with former MatrixCare CEO John Daamgard, who sold the company to ResMed for $750 million in 2018.

New center seeks to strengthen clinical informatics

Vanderbilt University Medical Center (TN) creates the Vanderbilt Clinical Informatics Center, which will collaborate with care teams, clinical quality, and risk management departments to spread innovation and research and optimize its use of Epic.

VA’s Palo Alto Facility to Be First Hospital in US — Maybe the World — to Go 5G: Wilkie

The VA hospital in Palo Alto, CA will become the world’s first 5G hospital in the US once it opens later this year, giving providers the ability to expand telehealth services.

Software company OTech being combined with Dallas firm in private equity deal

Ridgemont Equity Partners will back the merger of HIM vendor HealthMark Group and patient intake management company OTech Group.

Morning Headlines 2/6/20

VA’s Wilkie: EHR modernization unimpeded after Byrne’s removal

VA Secretary Robert Wilkie assures members of the press that the departure of Deputy Secretary James Byrne will not impact the department’s transition from VistA to Cerner.

Google Arm, Bain Lead $100 Million Infusion for Health-Data Startup

Patient registry analytics firm Verana raises $100 million and acquires data science company PYA Analytics.

Epic and about 60 hospital chains come out against rules that would make it easier to share medical info

Nearly 60 health systems sign off on a letter written by Epic CEO Judy Faulkner urging HHS Secretary Alex Azar to revise the proposed interoperability rules in light of their patient privacy concerns.

Our Path Forward

Consumer genetic testing company Ancestry announces it will lay off 6% of its staff, following a similar move made by competitor 23andMe several weeks ago.

Morning Headlines 2/5/20

Cerner Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2019 Results

Cerner reports Q4 results: revenue up 6%, adjusted EPS $0.75 vs. $0.63, beating analyst expectations for both.

Hinge Health Raises $90M For Digital Physical Therapy Platform

Hinge Health, an employer-focused digital physical therapy company, raises $90 million in a Series C funding round that increases its total to $126 million.

Premier Inc. to Acquire Acurity and Nexera Businesses from the Greater New York Hospital Association

Premier acquires two healthcare supply chain companies – Acurity and Nexera – from Greater New York Hospital Association for $292 million.

Morning Headlines 2/4/20

Epic Wins Disability Suit

A federal judge grants Epic’s motion to dismiss a case brought by the National Federation of the Blind, which argued that the company’s software is designed in a way that hampers blind people from effective healthcare employment.

James Byrne out as No. 2 at VA

VA Secretary Robert Wilkie fires Deputy Secretary James Byrne, who was working closely with Wilkie on the department’s EHR transition, due to a “loss of confidence.”

MedStar Health First to Join Innovative Cerner Network of Health Systems to Conduct Clinical Research

MedStar Health (MD) becomes the first member of Cerner’s new Learning Health Network, a collaboration between health systems and clinical research organizations that aims to better enable its members to conduct medical studies.