Morning Headlines 10/26/20

VA marking milestone with initial EHR rollout, but long-term road ahead still unclear

Mann-Grandstaff VA Medical Center (WA) goes live on Cerner as the VA’s first implementation site.

Symplr To Acquire TractManager

Healthcare governance, risk management, and compliance software vendor Symplr acquires TractManager, which offers solutions for contracting, sourcing, and provider management.

ChristianaCare Builds One of the First Alexa Skills in the U.S. Exclusively for Home Health Patients

ChristianaCare’s Health & Technology Innovation Center develops Home Care Coach, an Alexa skill patients can use to access custom care plans developed by their physicians.

SOC Telemed and HCMC Announce Customer Commitment to Invest in PIPE

Bon Secours Mercy Health will make a private investment in the business combination that will take acute care telemedicine provider SOC Telemed public in early November.

BridgeHealth Merges with Transcarent; Completes $40 Million Series A Funding

BridgeHealth, which guides employees of self-insured companies to cost-effective surgery providers, merges with healthcare consumer information platform vendor Transcarent as part of its $40 million Series A funding round.

Morning Headlines 10/23/20

TIBCO Announces Agreement to Acquire Information Builders, Inc.

Analytics vendor Tibco Software will acquire competitor Information Builders, parent company of data analytics business Omni-HealthData, for an undisclosed price.

Loyal Announces $12.5 Million Round Led by Concord Health Partners

Chatbot and provider search technology vendor Loyal raises $12.5 million in a Series A funding round.

Senior leadership announcement

Teladoc Health announces the team that will run the company following the completion of its acquisition of Livongo, all but one of them coming from Teladoc.

Cohere Health Closes Additional $10 Million in Funding to Accelerate Delivery of Patient Journey Platform for Better Healthcare Quality and Outcomes

Cohere Health raises $10 million in a Series A funding extension, increasing its total to $20 million.

Morning Headlines 10/22/20

Oula Launches with $3.2 Million in Seed Financing to Build a Modern Maternity Center

Maternity care company Oula will use $3.2 million in seed funding to open a prenatal clinic and birthing center, and develop and offer collaborative care models as well as app-based virtual coaching and monitoring.

RLDatix Acquires Verge Health, Creating Largest Safety-Led Compliance and Credentialing Software Platform Specifically Designed for Healthcare

Patient safety solutions vendor RLDatix acquires provider credentialing software company Verge Health for an undisclosed amount.

Austin-based Verifiable raises $3 million for its API toolkit to verify healthcare credentials

Verifiable raises $3 million to further develop its API that automates real-time credentialing verifications and compliance monitoring for more than 50,000 healthcare providers.

Morning Headlines 10/21/20

LabCorp Transforms the Clinical Trial Experience And Streamlines the Drug Development Process

LabCorp will use the capabilities of its recently acquired mobile nursing provider GlobalCare and remote clinical trials software vendor SnapIoT to connect patients with its Covance drug development contract research organization business.

Netsmart Acquires Tellus: Adds Seamless Electronic Visit Verification Capabilities and Enhancements to the Netsmart Population Health Management Offering

Netsmart acquires Tellus, an electronic visit verification and claims processing company that is focused on home health, long-term care, and human and state services.

eVisit Closes $14 Million in Series A Funding Led by TVC Capital

Virtual care company EVisit wraps up a $14 million Series A round of financing led by TVC Capital, bringing its total raised to just over $25 million.

Morning Headlines 10/20/20

WhiteSpace Health Announces Plans to Accelerate Growth and Expand its Product Offerings

WhiteSpace Health will use an undisclosed amount of new funding to further scale its RCM and practice analytics offerings and expand its sales and marketing team.

Tampa General Hospital Uses BMC Automated Data Solution to Collaborate with Hospitals and Fight COVID-19

Tampa General Hospital uses software from BMC to provide a dashboard view of real-time, COVID-19-related data from 51 hospitals through the Florida West Coast Regional Data Exchange.

Twentyeight Health Raises $5.1M to Expand Access to Reproductive Healthcare for Underserved Communities

Birth control prescription delivery startup Twentyeight Health raises a $5.1 million seed funding round led by Third Prime.

Morning Headlines 10/19/20

Allscripts Software, LLC v. CarePortMD, LLC

Allscripts files a trademark lawsuit against telemedicine and urgent care startup CarePortMD, claiming the market could confuse its name with CarePort Health, which Allscripts is selling to WellSky.

HST Pathways, healthcare software provider, approaches sale

Sources report that ambulatory surgery center software vendor HST Pathways is nearing a sale of the company.

Surgical Information Systems Secures Growth Investment from Accel-KKR

Private equity firm Accel-KKR makes a majority investment in Surgical Information Systems, which offers anesthesia information management systems and perioperative software to hospitals and ASCs.

Morning Headlines 10/16/20

WiserCare closes $3.6M financing round, led by UnityPoint Health Ventures

Shared decision-making platform vendor WiserCare raises $3.6 million, increasing its total to $9 million.

Philips seeks buyer for Philips Lifeline

Philips is reportedly seeking a buyer for its Lifeline personal emergency response business, which it acquired in 2006 for $750 million.

Trump Administration Drives Telehealth Services in Medicaid and Medicare

CMS expands the list of telehealth services that Medicare will pay for during the pandemic.

98point6 nabs $118 million for its AI-powered telemedicine platform

Text-based telemedicine company 98point6 raises $118 million in a funding round led by L Catterton and Activant Capital.

Morning Headlines 10/15/20

Clearwave Elevates the Patient Experience with the Acquisition of Odoro

Patient intake and eligibility verification vendor Clearwave acquires Odoro, a patient scheduling and engagement company, for an undisclosed amount.

Federal Electronic Health Record Connects With More Community Partners

The DoD, VA, and US Coast Guard add 15,000 facilities to their joint HIE after connecting to the CommonWell network, bringing the total number of connected facilities to 61,000.

Navina completes Seed investment round of $7 Million to solve the healthcare crisis using Artificial Intelligence, starting with primary care

Navina, an Israeli startup focused on using AI to help physicians better organize and assess patient data, raises a $7 million seed funding round led by Grove Ventures.

JLL Partners Announces Acquisition of MedeAnalytics

Confirming earlier reports, private equity firm JLL Partners acquires MedeAnalytics for an undisclosed amount.

Morning Headlines 10/14/20

WellSky® to Acquire CarePort Health from Allscripts® to Enhance Care Coordination Across Acute, Post-Acute Continuum

Allscripts will sell its CarePort Health care coordination business to WellSky for $1.35 billion.

HealthStream Acquires ShiftWizard, Expanding Its Nurse & Staff Scheduling Solutions for Healthcare Providers

Training and talent management platform vendor HealthStream acquires ShiftWizard, which offers systems for nurse and staff scheduling, productivity, and forecasting, for $32 million in cash.

Medical Undistancing Through Telemedicine: A Model Enabling Rapid Telemedicine Deployment in an Academic Health Center During the COVID-19 Pandemic

UC San Diego Health provides a “how to” model for rapidly deploying telemedicine, which includes roles and responsibilities, user technology support, a provider checklist for video visits, patient support, and billing and credentialing.

Morning Headlines 10/13/20

Providence combines 9 existing investments to form new healthcare services company Tegria

Providence forms Tegria, a healthcare services business comprised of nine companies the health system has invested in or acquired.

Nym Health raises $16.5 million for its auditable machine learning tools for automating hospital billing

Israel-based Nym Health raises $16.5 million to expand its automated hospital billing technology to providers in the US.

Health care SaaS startup plans McKinney expansion with new grant funding

McKinney, TX-based MyTelemedicine will use a regional economic grant to relocate and expand its headquarters within the city, as well as triple its staff over the next three years.

Mayo Clinic and Safe Health Systems launch new health and connected diagnostics platform to lower costs and streamline access to care

Through its Mayo Clinic Platform initiative, Mayo Clinic and Safe Health Group establish Safe Health Systems to improve access to efficient, affordable virtual treatment for common conditions using proprietary technology.

Morning Headlines 10/12/20

Internal Talkspace memo illustrates challenge of delivering virtual mental health services in 50 states

Online texting-only mental therapy provider Talkspace, frustrated by state-by-state therapist licensing that has limited therapist availability during pandemic-driven high demand, tells its independent contractor providers that the company will pay any fines that result from their serving patients who are located in states where they aren’t licensed.

Lux Capital’s SPAC Lux Health Tech Acquisition files for a $300 million IPO

Formed by Lux Capital, blank-check company Lux Health Tech Acquisition prepares for an IPO that it estimates will raise $300 million.

NSW Health goes to market for statewide single digital health record

In Australia, NSW Health begins accepting bids for a statewide health IT system that it will use to replace multiple systems from multiple vendors by 2026.

Morning Headlines 10/9/20

Health Records on iPhone available today in the UK and Canada

Apple makes Health Records available to IPhone users in the UK and Canada in its first expansion outside the US.

Datavant Raises $40 Million in Series B Financing to Expand Open Health Data Ecosystem

Healthcare data de-identification vendor Datavant – whose clients include 70 academic medical centers and 100 health technology and data companies — raises $40 million in a Series B funding round, increasing its total to $83 million.

Lark Health Raises $55 Million Series C to Bring A.I.-Driven Chronic Conditions Care to More People

Health coaching app vendor Lark Health raises $55 million in a Series C funding round and $15 million in a venture debt credit facility, increasing its total to $100 million.

Morning Headlines 10/8/20

Audacious Inquiry Expands Leadership Team and Board of Directors

Transitions of care software vendor Audacious Inquiry secures growth equity financing from lead investor TTCP and bolsters its C-suite with three new executives.

UCSF, Fortanix, Intel, and Microsoft Azure Utilize Privacy-Preserving Analytics to Accelerate AI in Healthcare

UC San Francisco’s Center for Digital Health Innovation partners with Intel, Microsoft Azure, and confidential computing vendor Fortanix to develop technology dedicated to the development and validation of clinical algorithms.

Cerebral Raises $35 Million to Expand Online Mental Health Care to All 50 States

Membership-based mental health telemedicine and prescription delivery startup Cerebral raises $35 million in a Series A funding round, which it will use to expand its services to all 50 states by the end of the year.

Avail Medsystems Raises $100 Million in Series B Funding Led by D1 Capital to Meet Demand for Procedural Telemedicine™ Technology for the Operating Room

Avail Medsystems, which specializes in telemedicine software for the operating room, raises $100 million in a Series B round led by D1 Capital Partners.

Morning Headlines 10/7/20

Harris moves into Australia with the acquisition of Meridian Health Informatics

Harris acquires Australia-based Meridian Health Informatics, which offers maternity and clinical solutions.

Columbus health IT startup PriorAuthNow raises $10M

Prior authorization software startup PriorAuthNow raises $10 million, bringing its total raised to $32 million since launching in 2014.

Clover Health, a Next-Generation Medicare Advantage Insurer, Announces Plans to Become Publicly-traded via Merger with Social Capital Hedosophia

Medicare insurance plan operator Clover Health will go public through a merger with Social Capital Hedosophia Holdings, giving it a valuation of $3.7 billion.

Abridge, now and in the future: Announcing new product changes and our latest round of funding.

Consumer-facing healthcare encounter software startup Abridge formally launches with a $15 million Series A funding round led by Union Square Ventures and UPMC.

Statement from Universal Health Services

Universal Health Services confirms it has completed the recovery process for servers at its corporate data center, and that all of its US-based inpatient facilities have been reconnected.

Morning Headlines 10/6/20

It’s a brand new day for Krames

StayWell, which includes Krames patient education solutions and the StayWell employee health platform, renames itself to Krames.

Hims, a direct-to-consumer health company, is going public via SPAC

Health and wellness telemedicine company Hims will go public by merging with a special purpose acquisition company overseen by Oaktree Capital Management, bringing the company’s valuation to $1.6 billion.

Q3 2020: A new annual record for digital health (already)

Rock Health’s latest analysis shows that 2020 is already the largest funding year ever for digital health, with $4 billion invested in startups through Q3.

New Jersey Urology is the First-Ever Urology Group to Launch Epic’s Electronic Health Record

New Jersey Urology becomes the first large, independent urology group to implement Epic.

Morning Headlines 10/5/20

CorroHealth emerges as a leader in healthcare reimbursement solutions, following merger of four industry players

Four health IT companies are acquired by private equity firm The Carlyle Group and will operate under the single brand of CorroHealth – TrustHCS (coding services), Visionary RCM (coding services), T-System (emergency documentation technology), and RevCycle+ (coding solutions).

VA on the fence about homegrown patient portal

The VA tells a House subcommittee that it is considering retiring the My HealtheVet portal in favor of Cerner’s MyVAHealth, but that move would cost $60 to $300 million since it isn’t included in its Cerner contract.

HHS Renews $10.2 Million Contract For Controversial COVID-19 Data Tracking Company

HHS issues a second $10 million contract to TeleTracking Technologies for its HHS Protect COVID-19 hospital data collection system, even as Congressional committees are investigating the circumstances under which the company was awarded the no-bid first contract.

Clinical Trials Hit by Ransomware Attack on Health Tech Firm

Clinical trials software vendor EResearch Technology is hit by a ransomware attack, forcing contract research organizations – some of which are managing COVID-19 vaccine trials – to revert to paper.

Morning Headlines 10/2/20

Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs: Views on Usefulness and Challenges of Programs

A GAO report finds that lack of integration of state prescription drug monitoring program tools with EHRs is the key challenge in PDMP use for patient care, with lookups requiring 3-5 minutes without integration versus 2-15 seconds with.

Nordic Acquires Tasman Global

Nordic acquires Netherlands-based EHR consulting firm Tasman Global, which expands the company’s reach into Europe and Asia.

Third time’s the charm? VA sets new date for initial electronic health record rollout

The VA plans to go live with a first round of Cerner EHR capabilities on October 24 at the Mann-Grandstaff VA Medical Center in Spokane, WA, with a second round scheduled for next spring.

Phreesia Acquires Co-Developed Patient Care Applications by Merck and Geisinger

Patient intake platform vendor Phreesia acquires two workflow applications that were developed by Geisinger and drug company Merck.

FastMed Becomes the First Independent Urgent Care Operator to Launch Epic

FastMed Urgent Care goes live on Epic at its 29 Arizona locations, the first independent urgent care operator to do so.