The article about Pediatric Associates in CA has a nugget with a potentially outsized impact: the implication that VFC vaccines…
News 5/7/18
Top News
Elliott Management makes an all-cash offer of $160 per share for Athenahealth, putting the total transaction at more than $6 billion. The hedge fund already owns a 9-percent stake in the company. Elliott representatives believe they can close the deal in as little as three weeks, after which they plan to take the company private. In a letter to Athena shareholders, Elliott Senior Portfolio Manager Jesse Coh writes, “For many years, despite all of its advantages, AthenaHealth’s stock price has underperformed because the Company has failed to correct a host of identifiable operational issues. Today, its inability to operate effectively and scale successfully is foreclosing a tremendous value-creation opportunity to the detriment of the business and its shareholders.”
Webinars
May 9 (Wednesday) 2:00 ET. “How to Make VBC Work for You: The Business Case to Transform Into the Health System of the Future.” Sponsor: Philips Wellcentive. Presenters: Mason Beard, co-founder and chief product officer, Philips Wellcentive; Scott Cullen, MD, principal, ECG Management Consulting; Seema Mathur, director of strategy, Sage Growth Partners. How well is your organization funding its transformation to VBC? This free webinar explains how to achieve ROI as your organization transforms to meet the future. You’ll learn how VBC is impacting healthcare system management, three strategies for funding your transformation, and what the healthcare system of the future will look like.
May 16 (Wednesday) 1:00 ET. “You Think You Might Want to Be a Consultant?” Sponsor: HIStalk. Presenter: Frank Poggio, CEO/president, The Kelzon Group. Maybe you just got caught in a big re-org and don’t like where things are headed, or, after almost a year of searching for a better opportunity your buddy says, “You’ve got decades of solid experience and you’re a true professional, you should become a healthcare IT consultant.” Now you start thinking, “This could be my ticket to success. I know the healthcare industry and can show people how to do things right. The sky’s the limit!” Not so fast. Consulting offers many advantages, and many pitfalls. This webinar will discuss both the rewards and the risks of moving into a full-time consulting role, as an independent, or part of a large firm. It will present a checklist you can apply to assess whether consulting is a good fit for you, and present the ground work necessary to be a successful consultant.
May 24 (Thursday) 1:00 ET. “Converting Consumers into Patients: Strategies for Creating Engaging Digital Experiences People Demand.” Sponsor: Healthwise. Presenters: Antonia Chappell, director of consumer solutions, Healthwise; Josh Schlaich, senior product manager, Healthwise. Nearly three-quarters of US adults use a digital channel to manage their health and the internet to track down health information. It’s clear that consumers have come to expect online interactions as an integral part of their overall patient experience. In fact, the Internet may be the first way people come in contact with your organization. They have more choice than ever on where to get healthcare services, and their decisions are increasingly influenced by how well organizations connect with them in the digital space. This webinar will show you how to create engaging digital and web experiences that convert casual consumers into patients and keep them satisfied throughout their entire patient journey.
June 5 (Tuesday) 1:00 ET. “Increase Referrals and Patient Satisfaction with a Smarter ‘Find a Doctor’ Web Search.” Sponsors: Phynd Technologies, Healthwise. Presenters: Joseph H. Schneider, MD, MBA, FAAP, retired SVP/CHIO, Indiana University Health; Keith Belton, VP of marketing, Phynd. A recent survey found that 84 percent of patients check a hospital’s website before booking an appointment. However, ‘Find a Doctor’ search functions often frustrate them because their matching functionality is primitive and the provider’s information is incomplete or outdated. Referring physicians need similarly robust tools to find the right specialist and to send the patient to the right location. Attendees of this webinar will learn how taxonomy-driven Provider Information Management improves patient and referrer satisfaction by intelligently incorporating the provider’s location, insurance coverage, specialty and subspecialty, and services offered that can be searched via patient-friendly terms.
Previous webinars are on our YouTube channel. Contact Lorre for information.
Announcements and Implementations
Urgent care chain CityMD (NY) sees a 20-percent decrease in staffing needs after implementing staff scheduling software from Intrigma.
GI North (GA) and GI Partners of Illinois select GMed’s EHR, PM and MIPS-friendly reporting software for gastroenterologists.
DrChrono adds patient engagement messaging from Cliniconex to its EHR for urgent care facilities.
Acquisitions, Funding, Business, and Stock
MTBC will acquire the practice management, revenue cycle and group purchasing organization assets of Houston-based Orion Healthcorp and its 13 affiliates. MTBC CEO Stephen Snyder expects the acquisition will open up opportunities in “long-term practice management services, niche hospital offerings, and a pharmaceutical group purchasing organization that provides discounts to … physician customers.” Orion Healthcorp parent company Constellation Healthcare Technologies filed for bankruptcy in March.
People
Miami-based Leon Medical Centers names Roymi Membiela (UHealth) VP and chief consumer officer.
Government and Politics
A federal jury in Massachusetts finds gynecologist Rita Luthra, MD guilty of violating HIPAA and obstructing a criminal healthcare investigation after investigators find that she allowed pharma reps from Warner Chilcott to access patient files as part of a kickback scheme, and then lied about it. Warner Chilcott paid $125 million for its part in the 2015 crime. Luthra has yet to be sentenced.
Telemedicine
Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin signs into law a bill that mandates Medicaid and payer reimbursement for telemedicine services, including those provided by PAs, psychologists, and family therapists. The law will go into effect in July of next year.
Sponsor Updates
- Medicity publishes a new perspective paper, “Interoperability 2.0: How to Consume, Organize and Share Health Data to Achieve Greater Value.”
- PerfectServe will exhibit at the 2018 ANIA Annual Conference May 10-12 in Orlando.
Contacts
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