Morning Headlines 5/17/24

Lawmakers propose more scrutiny of VA’s new EHR, reauthorize VET-TEC program

The House and Senate Veterans’ Affairs committees introduce legislation related to the VA’s implementation of Oracle Health that calls for, among other things, the contract between the two organizations to be cancelled if the VA can’t provide metrics that show overall improvement.

Beth Israel Lahey scores $400M MassDevelopment bonds for real estate

MassDevelopment issues $400 million in tax-exempt bonds to fund Beth Israel Lahey Health’s real estate and upgrades to Epic.

Former executive for medical records firm gets probation for trying to obstruct opioid kickback probe

Three years after pleading guilty, former Practice Fusion Director of National Accounts Steven Mack is sentenced to one year of probation and 40 hours of community service, and ordered to pay a $20,000 fine for attempting to obstruct the federal investigation into the relationship between Practice Fusion and Purdue Pharma.

Morning Headlines 5/16/24

New Orleans Startup Secures $13.6M for Patient Care Coordination

Care coordination software vendor Watershed Health announces $13.6 million in new funding.

Missouri Launches Pioneering Statewide Digital Health Initiative to Transform Crisis Response and Behavioral Health Care

The Missouri Department of Mental Health and Missouri Behavioral Health Council will use technology from Chorus Innovations to develop MOConnect, a digital tool that will help coordinate care between crisis lines, crisis centers, mobile teams, and referral networks.

SmarterDx Raises $50M to Bolster Hospital Revenue Integrity and Quality with Its Clinical AI Solution

SmarterDx, which uses AI to audit and review medical claims, raises $50 million in a Series B funding round.

Morning Headlines 5/15/24

Crosby Health Raises $2.2M in Pre-Seed Funding

Crosby Health will use $2.2 million in pre-seed funding to further develop its automated clinical appeals software.

CareCloud, Inc. (CCLD) Reports Q1 Loss, Misses Revenue Estimates

Ambulatory health IT vendor CareCloud reports Q1 results: revenue down 13%, EPS –$0.02 versus –$0.28, beating earnings expectations but falling short on revenue.

Augmedix Delivers 40% Revenue Growth for First Quarter of 2024

Augmedix, which specializes in AI medical documentation, reports Q1 results: revenue up 40%, EPS –$0.12 versus –$0.14, beating expectations for both.

Morning Headlines 5/14/24

Switchboard Health Announces $6.5M Series Seed Funding

Specialty care coordination company Switchboard Health raises $6.5 million in seed funding.

HHS Announces LEAP in Health IT Special Emphasis Notice for AI and Behavioral Health Focused Projects in Fiscal Year 2024

HHS offers new funding opportunities for projects related to accelerating the adoption of health IT in behavioral healthcare settings, and to developing novel ways to evaluate and improve the quality of health care data used by AI solutions.

Avel eCare opens renovated headquarters with room to grow

Avel ECare, a telemedicine provider serving patients in 42 states, expands and renovates its headquarters in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Morning Headlines 5/13/24

Cybersecurity Event Update

Ascension’s 140 hospitals in 19 states remain offline following a ransomware attack on Thursday.

#StopRansomware: Black Basta

The federal government issues a warning about the Ascension-linked Black Basta ransomware variant.

Senators call for VA to tighten performance standards in new health records contract

Three members of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee call for the VA to take advantage of its recently renegotiated contract with Oracle Health to strengthen accountability and oversight terms.

Sift Healthcare Raises $20M Series B Funding Round to Enhance AI-Powered Payment Solutions

AI-enhanced RCM company Sift Healthcare raises $20 million in a Series B funding round led by B Capital.

Morning Headlines 5/10/24

CareCloud Retains Citizens JMP as its Exclusive Capital Structure Advisor

CareCloud hires an investment bank to review its capital structure after it turns down an unsolicited acquisition offer.

DoorSpace secures $2M in seed round

Healthcare workforce management software startup DoorSpace raises $2 million in seed funding.

Guthrie Lourdes Hospital Experiences Communication System Issues

Guthrie Lourdes Hospital (NY) works to recover from a communications system outage that impacted phone lines.

Oracle’s $28 Billion Cerner Health Tech Bet Sputters With Lost Customers and Slipping Sales

Bloomberg reports that the former Cerner business lost at least 12 large clients in 2023.

Morning Headlines 5/9/24

Network Interruption Update

Ascension diverts ambulances, reverts to downtime procedures, and urges business partners to disconnect from its systems after detecting suspicious activity on its network.

In-House Health Raises $4 Million Seed Round, Unveils AI-Powered Scheduling Platform to Combat Nurse Shortage Crisis

In-House Health announces GA of its scheduling and management software for nursing staff and $4 million in seed funding.

Ciba Health Raises $10M in Series A Funding

Ciba Health, which offers digital therapeutics and virtual care, raises $10 million in Series A funding.

Morning Headlines 5/8/24

Rad AI Closes $50 Million to Empower Physicians with AI

Rad AI, which offers AI-powered radiology reporting workflow software, raises $50 million in Series B financing.

Blackwell Security raises $13M co-led by General Catalyst and Rally Ventures to empower healthcare cybersecurity operations

Healthcare cybersecurity solutions vendor Blackwell Security raises $13 million in additional funding and hires Geyer Jones (Cylera) as its first CEO.

OptMyCare Secures $3 Million in Series A Funding from Investor Group Led by LiveOak Ventures

AI-powered risk stratification software startup OptMyCare announces $3 million in Series A funding.

Palomar Health Medical Group phones, patient portal offline after ‘suspicious activity’ detected

Palomar Health Medical Group (CA) reverts to downtime procedures after detecting suspicious activity on its computer network.

Morning Headlines 5/7/24

Livara Health Raises $15 Million to Expand Value-Based Musculoskeletal Care Delivery Model

Tech-enabled musculoskeletal care management company Livara Health raises $15 million in Series B funding, bringing its total raised to $27 million.

Opmed.ai Secures $15M in Series A Funding

Operating room management software startup Opmed.ai raises $15 million in a Series A funding round.

US hospital network Steward files for bankruptcy, aims for new loan

Multi-state hospital operator Steward Health Care files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and seeks up to $300 million in financing to keep the doors of its 31 remaining hospitals open.

Morning Headlines 5/6/24

Collusion in Health Care Pricing? Regulators Are Asked to Investigate

Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) asks the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division to investigate the pricing algorithms that are used by MultiPlan to reduce insurer payments to providers for out-of-network claims.

UH operating losses again top $200M; but system says big investment in My Chart is starting to pay off

University Hospitals in Ohio attributes its nearly half billion dollars in operating losses over the last two years to inflation, rising employee costs, and expenses associated with its Epic implementation last fall.

FDA Qualifies Apple Atrial Fibrillation History Feature as an MDDT

FDA qualifies the Apple Watch as the first digital health tool to monitor atrial fibrillation during clinical studies.

Morning Headlines 5/3/24

Transcarent Raises $126 Million Series D

Transcarent raises $126 million in a Series D funding round that values the company at $2.2 billion.

Avel eCare Acquires Hospitalist Telemedicine Provider ‘Horizon Virtual’

Telemedicine provider Avel ECare acquires Horizon Virtual, which offers virtual hospitalists.

Pfizer plans direct-to-consumer platform for Covid and migraine treatments

Pfizer will follow the lead of competitor Lilly in rolling out an online platform where patients can order the company’s drugs directly, connecting US customers with independent telehealth consultants who will send prescriptions to a drug dispensing partner.

Contexture and Quality Health Network Announce Affiliation

Contexture, which manages HIEs in Arizona and Colorado, acquires Colorado-based HIE Quality Health Network.

Morning Headlines 5/2/24

CVS Health Corporation Reports First Quarter 2024 Results and Revises Full-Year 2024 Guidance

CVS Health shares plunge on the news of disappointing Q1 results and revised full-year 2024 guidance.

Aledade and Medical Advantage Team Up To Expand Value-Based Care in Michigan

Value-based care and physician practice optimization company Aledade acquires Medical Advantage, a subsidiary of The Doctor’s Company that provides value-based healthcare consulting to practices in Michigan.

Tiger Global-backed Innovaccer in talks to raise $250M in new funding, sources say

Health data and analytics company Innovaccer is reportedly in talks to raise $250 million at a valuation of between $2.5 billion and $3 billion.

Morning Headlines 5/1/24

Walmart Health Is Closing

Walmart Health announces that it will close its clinics and virtual care service, noting that it can no longer sustain a business model that is beset by rising costs and declining reimbursements.

VA remains committed to controversial computer system, says Veterans Affairs official in Spokane visit

Deputy VA Secretary Tanya Bradsher says that the department is committed to rolling out Oracle Health during a recent visit to Mann-Grandstaff Medical Center (WA), which went live on the problematic software in 2020.

Trovo Health Announces $15 Million Seed Funding Round Led by Oak HC/FT

Trovo Health, which offers AI-powered assistants for specialty practices, raises $15 million in a seed funding round.

Morning Headlines 4/30/24

GeBBS Healthcare Solutions Acquires CCD Health (Contact Centers Dominicana)

RCM vendor Gebbs Healthcare Solutions acquires CCD Health, a contact center based in the Dominican Republic that specializes in appointment scheduling for outpatient radiology practices.

Turning point: COVID-era hospital reporting set to end

As of May 1, hospitals will no longer have to submit data on admissions and occupancy related to respiratory diseases.

Telemedicine and In-Person Visit Modality Mix and Electronic Health Record Use in Primary Care

A small study featured in JAMA finds that primary care physicians who saw patients both virtually and in person during a single shift perform around 6% more EHR-based work than colleagues who saw patients via a single modality.

Morning Headlines 4/29/24

Teladoc Health Inc. (TDOC) Q1 2024 Earnings: Misses on EPS, Surpasses Revenue Expectations

Teladoc Health reports Q1 results: revenue up 3%, EPS –$0.49 versus –$0.42, beating revenue expectations but falling short on earnings.

Federal rule banning noncompete agreements could give Wisconsinites more job mobility

An Epic spokesperson says that the company agrees with FTC’s regulation to end the use of non-compete agreements as long as the agreements weren’t created to protect intellectual property.

OMIS-A Starts New Chapter

The US Army celebrates the replacement of its MC4 battlefield EHR with Operational Medicine Information Systems – Army (OMIS-A).

FTC Finalizes Changes to the Health Breach Notification Rule

The Federal Trade Commission finalizes changes to the Health Breach Notification Rule that requires vendors of health apps and related technologies to notify individuals, the FTC, and the media if personally identifiable health data is exposed.

Morning Headlines 4/26/24

Epic Systems is starting sixth campus, and it’s from ‘Other Worlds’

Epic breaks ground on its sixth campus called Other Worlds, which draws inspiration from “The Lord of the Rings” and “The Chronicles of Narnia.”

Health insurance giant Kaiser will notify millions of a data breach after sharing patients’ data with advertisers

Kaiser will notify 13.4 million former and current patients of a data breach that occurred when since-removed tracking code on its website and apps shared patient data with third-party advertisers.

Truveta delivers largest and most complete mother and child EHR dataset to advance healthcare

Truveta publishes a mother-child EHR dataset for research, which includes clinician notes and images from 30 health systems that are linked to claims, SDOH, and mortality data.

Morning Headlines 4/25/24

Optum is shutting down its virtual care business

Optum will shut down its virtual care business for urgent and primary care after three years in business.

Midi Health, the Fastest-Growing Virtual Clinic for Perimenopause and Menopause, Raises an Additional $60M in Series B Round – $100M Total Funding to Date – to Transform Women’s Healthcare

Midi Health, which offers virtual care for peri- and menopausal women, raises $60 million in a Series B funding round.

98point6 hit by new layoffs in latest change at health tech startup

Virtual care technology company 98point6 conducts another round of layoffs, with some employees noting on LinkedIn that the company is now running with a skeleton crew.

It’s Always Summer Time: Announcing Our Series A Fundraise

Pediatric text messaging-based care startup Summer Health raises $12 million in Series A funding.