Morning Headlines 9/18/18

Apple has hired a top exec from a hospital chain to help run its employee health clinics

Apple hires M. Osman Akhtar away from Fairview Health Services in Minnesota to run its AC Wellness employee clinics.

Aramark Announces Agreement for Sale of Healthcare Technologies Business to TRIMEDX

To better focus on its food, facilities and uniforms segments, Aramark sells its Healthcare Technologies business to clinical engineering and asset management company TriMedx for $300 million.

Waystar to Acquire Connance, Expanding Powerful Revenue Cycle and Predictive Analytics Technology for Health Systems and Hospitals

Waystar acquires RCM software competitor Connance for an undisclosed sum.

Congress Doesn’t Know Who’s in Charge of VA’s $10 Billion Health Records Overhaul

Lawmakers are convinced that a lack of accountability among the various government agencies, offices, and committees created to oversee the VA’s transition to Cerner will lead to wasted taxpayer dollars and project delays.

Morning Headlines 9/17/18

GRAChIE Using eHealth Exchange to Mobilize Connection Points for Hurricane Florence Evacuees

Georgia’s GRAChIE HIE is working to connect Southeast providers via the EHealth Exchange to meet care needs that are being challenged by Hurricane Florence.

etHIN Establishes Connection to North Carolina HIE to Support Medical Records Exchange for Evacuees

HIEs in Tennessee and North Carolina take just 48 hours to connect their respective systems to allow Tennessee providers to pull up records for North Carolina evacuees who require medical care there.

Hurricane Florence and HIPAA Bulletin: Limited Waiver of HIPAA Sanctions and Penalties During a Declared Emergency

HHS reminds hospitals in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia that it is temporarily waiving several HIPAA Privacy Rule sanctions and penalties.

Morning Headlines 9/14/18

Introducing WellSky — A New Approach to Health and Community Care

MediWare Information Systems rebrands to WellSky in an effort to better unify 30 brands across multiple companies in the US and abroad.

Babylon Healthcare targets chronic disease in $100 million expansion

Babylon Health will spend $100 million to double its workforce, aiming to hire 500 additional staff within the next nine months.

Alameda Health System Names Mark Amey as Chief Information Officer

Mark Amey (UC San Diego Health) joins Alameda Health System as CIO ahead of its $200 million Epic implementation.

Morning Headlines 9/13/18

With OneOncology, Flatiron and Cancer Docs Aim to Boost Community Care

General Atlantic invests $200 million in new cancer care company OneOncology, which aims to bring the latest in oncology care to patients in community settings using technology from Flatiron Health.

Cigna Announces Cigna Ventures with $250 Million to Fund Transformative Innovation and Growth for Health Care

Cigna invests $250 million in a new corporate venture fund that will target companies working in the areas of care delivery and management, digital health and retail, and insights and analytics.

Apple Watch Series 4 can detect falls, take ECGs, and lead you through breathing exercises

Apple introduces the fourth iteration of the Apple Watch, featuring fall detection and heart monitoring features that include the ability to record ECGs.

Morning Headlines 9/12/18

FDA Designates AliveCor’s Bloodless Hyperkalemia Test a “Breakthrough Device.”

The FDA grants “breakthrough device” status to heart health technology company AliveCor for an algorithm it has developed that can detect high blood potassium levels through EKG analysis.

Former VA leader David Shulkin joins Sanford Health

Former VA Secretary David Shulkin, MD joins Sanford Health (SD) as chief innovation officer.

Nellis first base to use Tele-ICU

The Mike O’Callaghan Military Medical Center on Nevada’s Nellis Air Force Base becomes the first base to connect with the VA’s Tele-ICU center in Minneapolis.

Morning Headlines 9/11/18

Cerner President Zane Burke to Step Down

Cerner EVP of Worldwide Client Relationships John Peterzalek will assume the responsibilities of President Zane Burke when he steps down November 2.

Clarify Health Solutions Raises $57 Million in Series B Financing Round Led by KKR

Clarify Health Solutions raises $57 million to further develop and scale its analytics-based Care Journey software.

FDA awards $225M IT contract to track drug performance

The FDA awards Acumen, Dovel Technologies, and IQVIA Government Solutions $75 million apiece to develop data, tools, and infrastructure for its Biologics Effectiveness and Safety Initiative, which will ultimately include a network that can analyze large health data sets from sources like EHRs and claims.

Morning Headlines 9/10/18

Notable Health Closes $13.5 Million Series A Financing to Expand Artificial Intelligence Powered Physician-Patient Interaction Platform

Notable Health raises $13.5 million to further develop its physician-patient interaction software delivered via Apple Watch.

Medical Records Co. Reaches $4.9M Deal To Resolve OT Suit

Optimum Healthcare IT settles a class-action lawsuit related to unpaid overtime filed last year by two employees for $4.9 million.

Top cancer researcher didn’t list corporate ties when he published studies

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (NY) CMO José Baselga, MD comes under fire after media outlets report he failed to disclose his financial ties to research journals in which he was published.

Morning Headlines 9/7/18

23andMe is gauging interest in a $749 ‘premium’ service that would offer deeper health data

Home DNA testing kit company 23andMe revisits the idea of rolling out a premium service for more in-depth genetic sequencing.

Cerner and UnitedHealth pass on athenahealth; shares down 1%

Athenahealth prepares to take second-round bids as inside sources report that Cerner and UnitedHealthcare have passed on buying the EHR vendor.

Da Vinci Project to Advance Value-based Care through the Use of HL7® Data-sharing Resources

Providers, payers, and vendors like Epic, Cerner, and Allscripts pledge their allegiance alongside HL7 to The Da Vinci Project, an initiative that will work to improve data sharing in value-based care using FHIR standards.

Meditation app Headspace bets on voice and AI with Alpine.AI acquisition

Headspace acquires digital voice assistant development company Alpine.AI to add more vocal interaction to its flagship meditation app.

Morning Headlines 9/6/18

Blood-Testing Firm Theranos to Dissolve

Theranos tells shareholders it will dissolve and will work to pay off its creditors with remaining cash on hand.

Cricket Health Announces $24 Million Series A Funding Round to Provide Personalized, Cost-Effective Kidney Care

Tech-enabled kidney care company Cricket Health raises $24 million.

Plan VI – OSEHRA Launching Internationalized Version of VistA

The Open Source Electronic Health Record Alliance will develop a global version of VistA compatible with different languages.

Morning Headlines 9/5/18

The Amazon-Berkshire-JPM health venture led by Atul Gawande has a COO: Jack Stoddard

Atul Gawande, MD taps former Comcast digital health GM Jack Stoddard to be COO of the still unnamed joint healthcare venture of Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway, and JPMorgan.

TRHC Acquires Mediture and eClusive

Medication risk management vendor Tabula Rasa Healthcare acquires EHR vendor Mediture and its third-party administrative services subsidiary EClusive for $22 million.

Persistent Systems Acquires Alum of 1st PULSE@MassChallenge Cohort Herald Health

Global technology services company Persistent Systems acquires Herald Health for $5.2 million.

Morning Headlines 9/3/18

Los Angeles billionaire’s hospital system declares bankruptcy

Verity Health (CA) files for Chapter 11 in an effort to survive the health IT missteps of Patrick Soon-Shiong, MD who acquired the health system in July 2017 with promises of achieving the Triple Aim using Allscripts technology, which he seemed to favor as a company investor.

HCA Healthcare to buy North Carolina’s Mission Health for $1.5 billion

HCA Healthcare buys Mission Health for $1.5 billion and pledges to invest $25 million in an innovation fund for the North Carolina-based system.

You’ll Never Guess Which Company is Reinventing Health Benefits

Comcast invests in companies like Accolade and Grand Rounds to help keep employee deductibles surprisingly low.

Morning Headlines 8/31/18

Otsuka Announces First Collaboration Agreement to Bring the ABILIFY MYCITE® System to the US Market

The first FDA-approved digital pill will soon be offered to Medicaid patients in certain markets suffering from schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

Philips acquires Air Force technology for mobile patient monitoring

Philips Healthcare acquires patient monitoring technology from the US Air Force, with an eye towards further developing it for civilian telemedicine uses.

Centra launching new electronic health record system, anticipating increased wait times

Centra Health (VA) will go live on Cerner at each of its hospitals and 50 ambulatory and long-term care facilities September 1.

Morning Headlines 8/30/18

Mississippi hospitals and owner seek bankruptcy, to be sold

Hospital and physician practice operator Curae Health (TN) files for Chapter 11, citing higher-than-expected EHR costs and an inability to pay its vendors (likely including Medhost) in a timely manner as contributing factors.

Groupon Cofounder’s Health Startup Hits $2 Billion Valuation With Latest Funding Round

Oncology-focused data analytics company Tempus raises $110 million, bringing its total raised to over $320 million.

Epic Systems CEO Judy Faulkner shares vision of single global network for patient data

Epic CEO Judy Faulkner sheds more light on the company’s One Virtual System Worldwide initiative, which would give health systems across the globe the ability to share data across a single network.

Morning Headlines 8/29/18

Harris Healthcare Group Acquires Iatric® Systems, Inc.

Harris Computer Systems acquires Iatric Systems, which it will run as an independent business unit.

Did Patrick Soon-Shiong’s high-tech gamble help bring 6 hospitals to the brink?

Debt-ridden Verity Health System, acquired by Patrick Soon-Shiong last year, will file bankruptcy in the next few weeks thanks in part to poor health IT decision-making.

Bridge Connector Raises $5.5M To Connect CRMs And Health Care Data

Palm Beach Gardens, FL-based Bridge Connector, which integrates customer relationship management systems with EHR and other hospital systems, raises $5.5 million in a Series A funding round.

St. Luke’s opens ‘virtual hospital’ in Boise

St. Luke’s Boise Medical Center (ID) opens a 60-station, 350-employee virtual hospital that will offer clinic consultation, hospital consultation, and home monitoring.

Morning Headlines 8/28/18

Verscend Technologies, Inc., Completes Acquisition of Cotiviti Holdings, Inc.

Verscend Technologies wraps up its $4.9 billion acquisition of healthcare payments vendor Cotiviti, with Verscend President and CEO Emad Rizk, MD maintaining his role over both businesses.

After planting its flag with remote staff, tech company CDW wants to bring its office culture to Nashville

Hardware, software, and IT services company CDW opens a new office in Nashville to better cater to its healthcare customers.

Humana To Establish Center For Digital Health And Analytics In Boston

Humana opens Studio H in Boston to focus on developing digital health products and analytics for internal use, plus senior-focused healthcare solutions.

Morning Headlines 8/27/18

Genevieve Morris resigns from VA-focused CHIO role

Genevieve Morris, a key leader of the VA’s Cerner implementation, turns in her resignation less than two months into the job.

23andMe will no longer let app developers read your DNA data

Home genetic test vendor 23andMe will turn off API access to its anonymized data sets, telling developers that they can access company-generated reports but not the underlying data.

Epic Systems Corp. to draw huge crowd for its annual Users Group Meeting, starting Monday

Epic expects to host 8,000 users and 9,000 of its own employees at UGM this week.

This firm already microchips employees. Could your ailing relative be next?

Three Square Market is developing medical microchips with GPS tracking and voice activation aimed at dementia and Alzheimer’s patients.

Hospital’s coordination center brings patients more efficient care

Staff at Yale New Haven Hospital’s Capacity Coordination Center credit Epic dashboards with helping ambulances avoid overcrowding area hospitals during a K2 overdose crisis that saw 114 calls come in over a two-day period.

Morning Headlines 8/24/18

Your Office Doctor Is Getting a Big Push From Private Investors

New Enterprise Associates will invest $165 million in Paladina Health, an employer-focused primary care company acquired from DaVita in June for $100 million.

Cerner and Duke Clinical Research Institute Collaborate on Cardiac Risk App

Cerner and Duke Clinical Research Institute develop an atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease risk calculator app that estimates 10-year and lifetime risk using basic patient information that can be used during a PCP or cardiologist visit.

Mediware® Acquires Rock-Pond Solutions

Mediware buys Rock-Pond Solutions, an Arkansas-based provider of business intelligence and analytics for home infusion, home medical equipment, and specialty pharmacy businesses.