Morning Headlines 9/11/19

Apple announces three groundbreaking health studies

Apple will partner with several high-profile healthcare institutions to conduct studies related to hearing, women’s health, and heart health using its new Research app.

Google, Mayo Clinic strike sweeping partnership on patient data

Mayo Clinic signs a 10-year partnership with Google in which Google Cloud will provide Mayo with data hosting, cloud computing, analytics, and machine learning and AI.

Health IT firm to add 100 jobs in Lewis County

HCTec will invest over $500,000 to expand its Brentwood, TN-based consulting firm.

More trouble for Queensland hospital software after statewide issues

In Australia, Queensland Health’s $1.2 billion IEMR system goes down for several hours after a routine Cerner software patch causes “system degradation.”

Morning Headlines 9/10/19

Vim, a Healthcare Platform for Health Plan-provider Collaboration, Raises $24 Million in Series B Financing Led by Optum Ventures and Premera Blue Cross

Appointment scheduling optimization and care collaboration technology vendor Vim raises $24 million.

OCR Settles First Case in HIPAA Right of Access Initiative

Bayfront Health St. Petersburg (FL) pays $85,000 to HHS to settle a potential HIPAA violation related to its failure to provide medical records to a patient in a timely manner.

Pentagon’s New Electronic Health Records System Deployed To Second Wave of Bases

The DoD rolls out the Cerner-developed MHS Genesis system at three facilities in California and one in Idaho.

A new policy on advertising for speculative and experimental medical treatments

Google announces that it will prohibit ads for unproven or experimental medical techniques like stem cell therapy, cellular therapy, and gene therapy.

Morning Headlines 9/9/19

Ransomware hits hundreds of dentist offices in the US

Hackers breach DDS Safe, a cloud-based records retention and backup solution that is sold to dental practices, and use it to install ransomware on the computers of hundreds of dental practices.

Mountaineer docs going high tech to meet patient needs

In an effort to reduce ER visits and hospital readmissions, a team from the West Virginia University School of Public Health is preparing to launch a pilot program through WVU Medicine that will offer telemedicine services to certain Medicaid patients transitioning from long-term care to the home.

Automated deep learning design for medical image classification by health-care professionals with no coding experience: a feasibility study

Researchers find that clinicians with no experience in medical coding or deep learning can create clinical classification algorithms that perform well at diagnosis.

Morning Headlines 9/6/19

OptimizeRx to Acquire Digital Therapeutics SaaS Platform Provider, RMDY Health

Digital prescription savings and patient engagement company OptimizeRx will acquire digital therapeutics vendor RMDY Health for $16 million.

Health Recovery Solutions Closes a $10 Million Growth Investment Led by Edison Partners

Remote patient monitoring company Health Recovery Solutions raises $10 million in a Series B funding round led by Edison Partners.

pCare Acquires TruthPoint to Expand Portfolio, Bolster Rounding Capabilities

PCare, an interactive patient experience software vendor based in Lake Success, NY, acquires digital rounding and real-time patient feedback technology company TruthPoint.

athenahealth Welcomes Paul Brient as Chief Product Officer

Former PatientKeeper CEO Paul Brient joins Athenahealth as chief product officer.

CommonHealth Will Enable Android™ Phone Users to Access and Share their Electronic Health Record Data with Trusted Apps and Partners

The Commons Project, UCSF Health, Open MHealth, and other groups will develop CommonHealth, an Android alternative to IOS-only Apple Health Records.

Morning Headlines 9/5/19

VillageMD Announces $100 Million in Series B, Led by Kinnevik

Primary care company VillageMD raises $100 million in a Series B round led by Kinnevik AB.

Cerner laying off more than 250 workers as part of wider cost cutting effort

Cerner announces it will lay off 255 workers across roles and offices by November 5, adding that it plans to hire hundreds more by the end of the year.

Lab-Testing Startup uBiome Files for Bankruptcy

San Francisco-based lab-testing company UBiome files for bankruptcy and will use an $8 million bankruptcy loan to stay afloat until it can find a buyer.

Ginger, an MIT spin-out providing app-based mental health coaching to workers, raises $35 million

Behavioral healthcare app company Ginger raises $35 million in a Series C round that brings its total funding to $63 million.

Morning Headlines 9/4/19

ONC Awards The Sequoia Project a Cooperative Agreement for the Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement to Support Advancing Nationwide Interoperability of Electronic Health Information

ONC chooses The Sequoia Project as Recognized Coordinating Entity for TEFCA, where it will manage the Common Agreement component of the Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement.

Black Book’s Annual State of Global EHR Research Reveals Adoption Trends and Top-Rated Vendors Across World Regions

A Black Book review of global EHR usage finds that Allscripts outperforms other vendors in the UK, Australia, and Canada in getting implementations finished on time and budget.

Cerner grows its UK presence through first-of-type partnership with leading private provider

Mayo Clinic prepares to open its first clinic in the UK in collaboration with Cerner customer Oxford University Clinic.

When Apps Get Your Medical Data, Your Privacy May Go With It

Citing a lack of transparent privacy protections, the AMA, AHA, and other healthcare groups request changes to proposed HHS rules that would require hospitals to share medical records with patients via their smartphone apps.

Morning Headlines 9/3/19

It’s time to talk about James Mattis’s involvement with the Theranos scandal

A new book from former Defense Secretary and Theranos board member James Mattis prompts some to question when his role in scandal-ridden Theranos will finally come to light.

Heart checks while you shop: NHS announces plan to have pharmacies check shoppers’ heart health in bid to cut deaths

Beginning next month, pharmacists in England will offer customers heart checks and health screenings, the results of which they’ll share with local physicians.

DHA to update electronic patient medical records system in Q1 2020

Dubai Health Authority will update Epic in Q1 2020 to allow MyChart users to video chat with their doctor, ask questions, hail ride-sharing services, self-register for appointments, and manage prescriptions, among other features.

Morning Headlines 9/2/19

Walmart tests dentistry and mental care as it moves deeper into primary health

Walmart will open a Walmart Health clinic adjacent to one of its stores in Georgia that will offer primary care, dental, labs, X-ray, audiology, and mental health counseling in a pilot project.

NextGen Healthcare in Green closing; 82 to lose jobs

Irvine, CA-based NextGen Healthcare will close its Canton office in Ohio by early next year.

AdventHealth unveils largest-of-its-kind command center

AdventHealth opens its GE-powered $20 million Mission Control command center that will keep a real-time eye on its 2,900 beds and 2 million annual patient visits in Central Florida.

Girish Kumar Navani Announces His Support Of The Campaign For Boston University

An unspecified donation from EClinicalWorks CEO Girish Kumar Navani to his alma mater will result in the creation of the EClinicalWorks Digital & Precision Medicine Design Suite at Boston University.

Morning Headlines 8/30/19

University Hospitals awarded $1 million from Ohio Opioid Technology Challenge

University Hospitals in Cleveland takes home a $1 million grant after winning the Ohio Opioid Technology Challenge with its UH Care Continues software.

LogicStream Health Names Luis Saldaña Chief Medical Informatics Officer

Former Texas Health Resources CMIO Luis Saldaña will join LogicStream Health in a similar role.

Altais Teams Up with Aledade, Inc. and the California Medical Association to Offer Unique Patient Care Model Supported by Innovative Technologies

Clinical services and technology company Altais will team with the California Medical Association and ACO primary care business Aledade to help physicians succeed in value-based contracts with payers using the latest workflow technologies and services.

Morning Headlines 8/29/19

With a nod to disco era, Epic Systems Corp. looks to Cosmos, voice-activated software

Epic founder and CEO Judy Faulkner shares several developments in the works during her UGM executive address including the Cosmos project, which will gather and aggregate de-identified patient data from Epic customers to help them improve evidence-based patient care.

Rock Health Founder and Investor Launches Subscription Box Startup After Fertility Struggle To Help Women Get Pregnant

Rock Health founder Halle Tecco launches Natalist, a monthly subscription box service filled with clinically-validated products for women trying to conceive.

Patient Engagement Leader Luma Health Raises $16 Million to Accelerate Delivery of Modern Patient Access Technology

San Francisco-based patient engagement startup Luma Health raises $16 million in a Series B round that brings the company’s total funding to nearly $26 million.

NIST Wants Insight on Combatting Telehealth Cybersecurity Risks

The National Institute of Standards and Technology seeks vendors to participate in its research into the cybersecurity challenges of remote patient monitoring technologies, including video visits.

Morning Headlines 8/28/19

WebPT Announces Significant Investment from Warburg Pincus

Private equity firm Warburg Pincus acquires a majority interest in therapy EHR vendor WebPT from Battery Ventures.

JLL Partners And Water Street Acquire THREAD

A PE firm and a strategic investment firm acquire Thread, which offers virtual clinical trials tools such as electronic consent, telehealth, sensor integration, surveys, and patient authentication and engagement.

2019 Black Book Advisory Survey: Bluetree Network Earns Top Strategy, Implementation & Support Consultants Rating Among Epic Systems Users

Black Book names Bluetree Network #1 among 33 Epic consulting firms.

Morning Headlines 8/27/19

Visibly (formerly Opternative) recalls online vision test

Facing pressure from the American Optometric Association and the FDA, Visibly recalls its online vision screening test over lack of FDA marketing approval, and concerns with safety and efficacy.

HHS Proposes 42 CFR Part 2 Reforms to Increase Coordinated Care, Reduce Provider Burden, and Improve Substance Use Disorder Treatment

HHS publishes a proposed rule that will give providers greater access to the medical records of patients seeking treatment for addiction while ensuring privacy guardrails stay in place.

ACT Health opens tender for digital health record with full EMR and PAS capabilities

The Australian Capital Territory Health Directorate wants to replace its patient administration system with a new EHR that has helped other health systems achieve HIMSS Stage 7 EMRAM.

Morning Headlines 8/26/19

Health Catalyst Reports Second Quarter 2019 Results

Health Catalyst reports Q2 results: revenue up 60%, adjusted EBITDA –$5.7 million vs. –$8 million.

$16B veterans’ health project hits major snag

The VA’s $16 billion Cerner rollout at three medical centers will likely be delayed from March 2020 to until October 2020.

Privacy Incident at Massachusetts General Hospital’s Neurology Department

Massachusetts General Hospital notifies 10,000 people that their information, which was stored in the databases of two neurology research applications, was accessed by an unauthorized third party.

Morning Headlines 8/23/19

Crew Obtains New Docs on Mar-a-Lago Member’s VA Influence

Emails from VA officials obtained by a watchdog group provide greater insight into the influence President Trump’s “Mar-a-Lago crowd” had on the VA’s contract with Cerner.

Ontario Systems Announces Investment from New Mountain Capital

New Mountain Capital acquires revenue recovery software vendor Ontario Systems, which counts over 600 hospitals among its enterprise healthcare and government customers.

Apple Health Records Available for Allscripts Clients

Allscripts releases access to Apple Health Records to users of Sunrise, TouchWorks, and Professional EHRs.

Former military records technician accused of bilking millions of dollars from US soldiers and vets

The Justice Department arrests five people for stealing millions of dollars from soldiers and veterans by taking photos of their AHLTA EHR screens at an Army base in South Korea, then using that information to log in to DoD’s self-service system to steal bank account details.

Morning Headlines 8/22/19

HHS Awards $107 Million to Support Health Center Quality Improvement

HHS awards $107 million in Quality Improvement Awards to 1,273 health centers across the country that have, among other improvements, advanced the use of health IT.

Mobile EKG maker AliveCor has cut ties with Apple amid rising tensions over wearable EKGs

AliveCor takes its Apple Watch-compatible KardiaBand off the market to focus more on expanding the capabilities of its KardiaMobile EKG products.

Fitbit wins contract with Singapore to supply trackers to potentially hundreds of thousands of citizens

Fitbit edges out Apple in a contract win that will see the wearables company provide devices to Singaporeans who enroll in the country’s Live Healthy SG program.

VA scheduling tool enhancement ‘almost complete,’ just in time to be replaced

A report from the Department of Veterans Affairs Inspector General finds that enhancements to the VA’s scheduling software are four years overdue, over budget, and soon to be replaced by capabilities within the department’s new Cerner EHR.

Morning Headlines 8/21/19

Veterans Health Administration, AdventHealth, OCHIN, & InterCommunity CCO Pioneer New eHealth Exchange Health Information Network Infrastructure

EHealth Exchange announces go-live of a national, single-connection, InterSystems-powered gateway service whose charter members include the VA, AdventHealth, InterCommunity CCO, and OCHIN.

Health2047 Spins Out Zing Health to Improve Health Outcomes for Underserved Populations

AMA-backed Health2047 launches Zing Health to offer community-focused and analytics-driven Medicare Advantage plans that take into account social determinants of health.

Hospital website hijacked by ‘pirates’

The URL of Sonoma Valley Hospital (CA) is “maliciously acquired,” forcing the hospital to change its prized three-letter domain name of “svh.com” to “sonomavalleyhospital.org.”

New Tampa General Hospital center uses human and artificial intelligence to improve patient care

Tampa General Hospital (FL) joins the “Mission Control” club with the launch of CareComm, an 8,000 square-foot center the hospital will use to coordinate patient care using AI and predictive analytics.

Healthcare Embracing New Era of Compliance and Analytics

Healthcare analytics company Protenus raises $17 million in a Series C funding round led by LTP.

Morning Headlines 8/20/19

US healthcare BPO may be valued at $225 million: PE firms in race to acquire emids Technologies

Several investment firms, including Everstone Capital and ChrysCapital Advisors, are in talks to buy Nashville-based health IT vendor Emids Technologies for between $200 million and $225 million.

athenahealth Appoints Simon Mouyal as Chief Marketing Officer

Simon Mouyal (Medidata Solutions) joins Athenahealth as chief marketing officer.

Two Chairs raises $21M to continue to build out its mental health clinics

Mental healthcare company Two Chairs will use a $21 million Series B funding round to expand its clinic footprint in California, and improve and expand upon its patient/provider matching technology.