News 6/9/16

Top News

Practice Fusion settles with the FTC over charges that it misled consumers by asking for reviews of their physicians without adequately disclosing that those reviews would be posted publicly online. The reviews were published in 2012 as part of the company’s efforts to develop a public-facing healthcare provider directory. “Practice Fusion’s actions led consumers to share incredibly sensitive health information without realizing it would be made public,” says FTC Bureau of Consumer Protection Director Jessica Rich. “Companies that collect personal health information must be clear about how they will use it – especially before posting such information publicly on the Internet.” The settlement, which doesn’t seem to carry a fine, prohibits Practice Fusion from “misrepresenting the extent to which it uses, maintains, and protects the privacy or confidentiality of data it collects.”

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Webinars

 

June 28 (Tuesday) 2:00 ET. “Your Call Is Very Important.” Sponsored by West Healthcare Practice. Presenters: Cyndy Orrys, contact center director, Henry Ford Health System; Brian Cooper, SVP, West Interactive. The contact center is a key hub of patient engagement and a strategic lever for driving competitive advantage. Cyndy will share how her organization’s call center is using technologies and approaches that create effortless patient experiences in connecting them to the right information or resource. Brian will describe five key characteristics of a modern call center and suggest how to get started.

Contact Lorre for webinar services. Past webinars are on our HIStalk webinars YouTube channel.

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Announcements and Implementations

HealthFusion adds ZocDoc’s appointment-booking technology to its MediTouch YourHealthFile patient portal.

Definitive Healthcare adds data on over 23,000 FQHCs, renal dialysis clinics, and rural health centers to its line of market intelligence solutions.

DJO Global develops claims management and inventory dispensing software for orthopedic clinics.

Medfx and Falcon Physician partner to develop EHR, PM, and RCM software for nephrology practices.

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Acquisitions, Funding, Business, and Stock

Austin, TX-based EPatientFinder raises $8.2 million in Series B financing, bringing its total raised to $11 million. The company will use the latest round of financing for further development of its Clinical Trial Exchange software, which helps physicians connect patients with clinical trials and

New York City-based Klara Technologies shift gears, pivoting from a teledermatology software company to instead focus on secure messaging for physician practices.

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Telemedicine

FastMed Urgent Care rolls out TouchCare telemedicine services at its 57 clinics in North Carolina. The Durham, NC-based urgent care company plans to waive the telemedicine exam fee if in-person follow-up care is needed. FastMed will expand the new service to its locations in Arizona and Texas by the end of the year.

Atlanta-based MedZed offers a new house call service that combines its EHR-friendly telemedicine capabilities with home visits from medical assistants, nurses, and paramedics.

Missouri lawmakers pass SB621, which authorizes the use of telemedicine yet (if my legalese-reading capabilities are up to par) precludes the prescribing of medication unless a provider-patient relationship already exists.

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Contacts

Jennifer,  Mr. H, Lorre, Dr. Jayne, Dr. Gregg

More news: HIStalk, HIStalk Connect.

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