The article about Pediatric Associates in CA has a nugget with a potentially outsized impact: the implication that VFC vaccines…
News 2/22/23
Top News
Aledade acquires value-based care analytics vendor Curia for an undisclosed sum. The company, which manages a network of 1,500 independent primary care practices and health centers, has raised nearly $420 million. It acquired advance care planning company Iris Healthcare in January 2022.
Webinars
February 28 (Tuesday) 1 ET. “Words Matter: Simplifying Clinical Terms for Patients.” Sponsor: Intelligent Medical Objects. Presenters: Whitney Mannion, RN, MSN, senior terminologist, IMO; David Bocanegra, RN, nurse informaticist, IMO. The language of medicine can be confusing and contradictory to patients, challenging their ability to prepare for a procedure or pay their bills. This webinar will explore how the words that are used to communicate – online, in print, and in person – must be chosen carefully to allow patients to comprehend their diagnoses, treatments, and care plans. The presenters will also describe how the ONC Final Rule for the 21st Century Cures Act will make clinical and technical language more directly accessible through patient portals.
March 7 (Tuesday) noon ET. “Prescribe RPA 2.0 to Treat Healthcare Worker Burnout.” Sponsor: Keysight Technologies. Presenters: Anne Foster, MS, technical consultant manager, Eggplant; Emily Yan, MPA, product marketing manager, Keysight Technologies. Half of US health systems plan to invest in robotic process automation by the end of this year, per Gartner. The concept is evolving to help with staff burnout and physician productivity. The presenters will introduce RPA 2.0, explain how to maximize its value, demonstrate how to quickly start on RPA 2.0 and test automation in one platform, and answer questions about healthcare automation.
Previous webinars are on our YouTube channel. Contact Lorre to present your own.
Acquisitions, Funding, Business, and Stock
Amazon closes its $3.9 billion deal to acquire membership-based primary care provider One Medical, which has 200 clinics in 26 markets. The online retailer has said it will for a limited time reduce One Medical membership from $199 to $144 for Amazon customers. The FTC has been conducting an in-depth review of the deal, and has told the two companies they are closing the deal at their own risk.
Announcements and Implementations
Bluestem Health, an FQHC with seven clinics in Lincoln, NE, launches an online symptom checker using technology from Mediktor.
Care Counseling implements Opus EHR software for behavioral and mental health.
DirectTrust reports that 213 million Direct Secure Messages were sent and received in the fourth quarter of 2022, with the number of patients using Direct Secure Messaging increasing 7% to 700,000.
Research and Innovation
Forty-one percent of surveyed physicians say their prescribing habits have been occasionally or frequently influenced by content they’ve seen on social media. Nearly 100% of surveyed pharma marketers believe social media influences clinical and treatment decisions. Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter seem to be the social platforms of choice for physicians interested in keeping up with private medical groups, hospitals and trade associations, and government news.
Other
Michael Raines, MD reflects on the impact former President Jimmy Carter has had on healthcare services in Carter’s hometown of Plains, GA. Carter was instrumental in the re-opening of the town’s lone clinic in 2018, using his ties with the Mercer University School of Medicine to fast-track the plan. Raines has worked at the clinic since it opened and says it’s been busy since day one. Mercer has gone on to open four more rural clinics in neighboring counties.
The Robert Graham Center, The Physicians Foundation, and the Milbank Memorial Fund develop a scorecard tracking support for primary care. The initial scorecard reveals trends that have become common themes in the healthcare industry:
- The federal government has not invested enough in primary care.
- The primary care workforce is shrinking, causing gaps in access to care to increase.
- An increasing number of adults report they don’t have a regular source of primary care.
- Not enough physicians are being trained in community settings, where they are needed the most.
- Federal funding for primary care research is almost nil.
Sponsor Updates
- Nordic releases a new episode of its “Designing for Health” podcast featuring Memora Health’s Omar Nagji.
Blog Posts
Contacts
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