News 11/15/17

Top News

Membership-based primary care practice Forward opens its second location, expanding beyond its San Francisco roots to take on the sprawling metropolis of Los Angeles. The startup offers patients high-tech amenities like total body scanning, wearables monitoring, around the clock access to staff via a proprietary app, and a paperless office. Founded by former Google director and Sidewalk Labs founder Adrian Aoun in 2016, the company got its start with a San Francisco location in January and is set to expand into fertility, sleep tracking, optometry, and dermatology.

Forward’s business model is similar to that of the so-far successful One Medical and now defunct Turntable Health, which, like Forward, offered high-tech care for a (cheaper) flat monthly fee. Despite achieving quality outcomes and high levels of patient satisfaction, the Las Vegas-based primary care practice could not make the finances work thanks to pressure from payers. Time will tell if Forward eventually finds itself in the same boat or breaking free from its predecessor’s shadow.

HIStalk Practice Musings

I have played tennis for most of my life and, several years ago, decided to make it my main form of exercise. Going to the gym had gotten boring and my workout routine had become stagnant, so I decided to devote my time to a competitive sport that offered some socializing with friends, and provided a good excuse to buy new outfits. I came across USTA’s latest health survey in my inbox this morning, and think it’s interesting that the organization is making an effort to collect analytics on its players. I’ll be interested to see how they organize the results (especially since the majority of questions focused on emotional health) and how those will impact their tennis programs for players of all ages and levels.

Webinars

November 30 (Thursday) 1:00 ET. “Making Clinical Communications Work in Your Complex Environment.” Sponsored by: PatientSafe Solutions. Presenters: Steve Shirley, VP/CIO, Parkview Medical Center; Richard Cruthirds, CIO, Peterson Health. Selecting, implementing, and managing a mobile clinical communications platform is a complex and sometimes painful undertaking. With multiple technologies, stakeholders, and disciplines involved, a comprehensive approach is required to ensure success. Hear two hospital CIOs share their first-hand experience, lessons learned, and demonstrated results from deploying an enterprise-wide mobile clinical communications solution.

December 5 (Tuesday) 2:00 ET. “Cornerstones of Order Set Optimization: Trusted Evidence.” Sponsored by: Wolters Kluwer. Updating order sets with new medical evidence is crucial to improving outcomes, but coordinating maintenance for hundreds of order sets with dozens of stakeholders is a huge logistical challenge. For most hospitals, managing order set content is labor intensive and the internal processes supporting it are far too inefficient. Evidence-based order sets are only as good as their content, which is why regular review and updates are essential. This webinar explores the relationship between clinical content and patient care with an eye toward building trust among the clinical staff. Plus, we will demonstrate a new evidence alignment tool that can easily incorporate the most current medical content into your order sets, regardless of format, including Cerner Power Plans and Epic SmartSets.

Previous webinars are on our YouTube channel. Contact Lorre for information.

Announcements and Implementations

The Iowa Clinic selects population health management technology and services from Lightbeam Health Solutions to better coordinate and deliver care for patients across its 11 locations.

Acquisitions, Funding, Business, and Stock

Boston-based investment firm Banyan Software acquires Atlanta-based Medicat, developer of healthcare technology for university and college health clinics, for an undisclosed sum. Banyan Software founder David Berkal will assume the CEO role at Medicat.

VillageMD enters into a value-based contract arrangement with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Georgia. The primary care delivery and practice management company entered the Georgia market earlier this year when it signed on Quality Care Providers.

People

Privia Health promotes Keith Fernandez, MD to national chief clinical officer, and Fred Taweel, MD to CMO – Mid-Atlantic Region.

Other

This looks interesting: Atul Gawande, MD and Andy Slavitt will keynote The Healthcare Costs Innovation Summit February 21 in Washington, DC. The event is being organized by West Health, a nonprofit focused on helping seniors age in place. The organization seems to have tight ties with federal government. Previous summits have focused on initiatives with the VA, FDA, FCC, CMS, and ONC.

NPR looks at the impact Hurricane Maria is having on Puerto Rico’s already pressing physician shortage, pointing out that the continued lack of basic resources is pushing some to move their practices to the US or quit entirely. “Over this past year, we had lost physicians at a rate four times bigger than the rate of emigration,” explains Bolivar Arboleda Osorio, MD who, along with his physician wife, has decided to remain on the island. “People are moving, going somewhere else. Not just because of the economy. It’s because they don’t feel safe. They don’t feel that the government will be able to provide for everybody’s well-being.”

On the flip side of Arboleda Osorio’s observations are the experiences of OpenEMR customers. The vendor claims that, despite unreliable sources of power, water, communications, and the Internet, several of its Puerto Rican customers – many with generators – were able to keep their EHR systems up and running thanks to robust servers and support from HITECH Compliance.

Sponsor Updates

• Tips for structuring a successful mobile device pilot (PerfectServe)
• Using Technology to Build an Integrated Practice #6 of 6 (AdvancedMD)
• Prepping Your Patients for Year-End (Aprima)

Contacts

Jenn, Mr. H, Lorre

More news: HIStalk, HIStalk Connect.

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News 11/14/17

Top News

In an effort to gain a firmer foothold in the telemedicine market, Mynd Analytics acquires Arcadian Telepsychiatry Services. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Mynd Analytics has developed behavioral health-focused precision analytics to help providers more accurately prescribe medications. Arcadian founder Robert Plotkin will remain CEO of the now wholly-owned Mynd Analytics subsidiary.

Webinars

November 15 (Wednesday) 1:00 ET. “How Hospitals and Practices Can Respond to Consumerism by Better Engaging Patients Through Price Transparency and Payment Options.” Sponsored by: Change Healthcare. Presenters: Kathy Moore, president, Moore Martini Medical; Linda Glidewell, VP of business development, consumer payment solutions, Change Healthcare. Healthcare consumerism and high-deductible health plans require providers to offer upfront estimates and payment options throughout all points of service. In his webinar, we’ll discuss consumerism as a critical area of opportunity in revenue cycle management and review numerous areas across the revenue cycle where your staff interacts with patients and leaves lasting impressions. From your first interaction with patients on the phone to discuss financial responsibility; to collecting payments at all points of service; to offering payment plans and various payment options — these are all areas that can be game-changing. With the right approach to consumerism, you can improve patient collections and optimize revenue from the start while also improving the overall patient experience.

November 30 (Thursday) 1:00 ET. “Making Clinical Communications Work in Your Complex Environment.” Sponsored by: PatientSafe Solutions. Presenters: Steve Shirley, VP/CIO, Parkview Medical Center; Richard Cruthirds, CIO, Peterson Health. Selecting, implementing, and managing a mobile clinical communications platform is a complex and sometimes painful undertaking. With multiple technologies, stakeholders, and disciplines involved, a comprehensive approach is required to ensure success. Hear two hospital CIOs share their first-hand experience, lessons learned, and demonstrated results from deploying an enterprise-wide mobile clinical communications solution.

December 5 (Tuesday) 2:00 ET. “Cornerstones of Order Set Optimization: Trusted Evidence.” Sponsored by: Wolters Kluwer. Updating order sets with new medical evidence is crucial to improving outcomes, but coordinating maintenance for hundreds of order sets with dozens of stakeholders is a huge logistical challenge. For most hospitals, managing order set content is labor intensive and the internal processes supporting it are far too inefficient. Evidence-based order sets are only as good as their content, which is why regular review and updates are essential. This webinar explores the relationship between clinical content and patient care with an eye toward building trust among the clinical staff. Plus, we will demonstrate a new evidence alignment tool that can easily incorporate the most current medical content into your order sets, regardless of format, including Cerner Power Plans and Epic SmartSets.

Previous webinars are on our YouTube channel. Contact Lorre for information.

Check out the recording of last’ week’s webinar titled “How Clinically Integrated Networks Can Overcome the Technical Challenges to Data-Sharing.”

Announcements and Implementations

The Pennsylvania Medical Society’s Care Centered Collaborative and HealthEC embark on a multi-year project to help independent physicians develop value-based business models through clinically integrated networks. Piscataway, NJ-based HealthEC will provide PMS member practices with access to its data aggregation services, MIPS data-submission tools, and care coordination resources.

Alpha II develops a Web-based version of its Easy Coder diagnosis code book.

IDoc, an association for independent optometrists, will offer members Abyde’s automated HIPAA-compliance solution.

The Mississippi Division of Medicaid expands its Clinical Data Interoperability Program to include the Hattiesburg Clinic – one of the largest providers for Medicaid beneficiaries in the state. The program uses an enterprise master patient index and EHR interface from MedeAnalytics to enable real-time sharing of clinical data between the DOM and healthcare facilities.

Regional Medical Imaging (MI) implements RoyalPay billing technology from Royal Solutions Group across its eight locations in Flint.

Telemedicine

Nomad Health adds telemedicine opportunities to its healthcare jobs website. The New York City-based company got its start in 2015 and raised $16 million in a Series A round last year.

Telemental health startup Pacifica Labs adds a therapist directory to its app and website. The company reports it has signed up 1.7 million users since launching in early 2015.

Government and Politics

In case you were wondering: Tweets from @realDonaldTrump are indeed official statements from the president, according to DOJ lawyers.

CMS seems to be hiring for a chief data officer. Niall Brennan, who served in the position for over six years, moved on in January to become president and executive director of the Healthcare Cost Institute.

Research and Innovation

A small Council of Accountable Physician Practices study reveals that patients and physicians place the most importance on strong relationships, evidence-based medicine, and care coordination. Interestingly – and perhaps to the detriment of telemedicine vendors – patients reported they’d rather see their own physician than have 24/7 access to any physician. When it comes to EHRs, physicians were more skeptical than patients of the technology’s ability to enhance care.

Other

Dr. Oz visits the University of Pennsylvania- his alma mater – as part of the Wharton Wellness Board’s new speakers series. The still-practicing cardiologist, who focused his presentation mainly on how to achieve and maintain wellness, told students he decided to scale back his OR hours because he was getting burnt out performing surgeries for conditions that could have been nipped in the bud years prior with proper preventative care. He also addressed Internet rumors that attracted some students to the event: “I don’t know how many of you Googled me recently, but you’re going to see me selling all kinds of weight loss supplements and facial creams. They are all fake,” said Dr. Oz. “Fake ads are the first step towards fake news. And fake news is all about money.”

Contacts

Jenn, Mr. H, Lorre

More news: HIStalk, HIStalk Connect.

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News 11/13/17

Top News

Taking advantage of Twitter’s new 280 character limit, President Trump announces that he will nominate Alex Azar for HHS Secretary, quickly followed by a tweet calling for an end to Obamacare’s “unfair & highly unpopular” individual mandate.

Azar served as HHS general counsel from 2001 to 2005, and then as deputy secretary until 2007, when he joined pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly. He resigned as president of Eli Lilly affiliate Lilly USA in January.

Webinars

November 15 (Wednesday) 1:00 ET. “How Hospitals and Practices Can Respond to Consumerism by Better Engaging Patients Through Price Transparency and Payment Options.” Sponsored by: Change Healthcare. Presenters: Kathy Moore, president, Moore Martini Medical; Linda Glidewell, VP of business development, consumer payment solutions, Change Healthcare. Healthcare consumerism and high-deductible health plans require providers to offer upfront estimates and payment options throughout all points of service. In his webinar, we’ll discuss consumerism as a critical area of opportunity in revenue cycle management and review numerous areas across the revenue cycle where your staff interacts with patients and leaves lasting impressions. From your first interaction with patients on the phone to discuss financial responsibility; to collecting payments at all points of service; to offering payment plans and various payment options — these are all areas that can be game-changing. With the right approach to consumerism, you can improve patient collections and optimize revenue from the start while also improving the overall patient experience.

November 30 (Thursday) 1:00 ET. “Making Clinical Communications Work in Your Complex Environment.” Sponsored by: PatientSafe Solutions. Presenters: Steve Shirley, VP/CIO, Parkview Medical Center; Richard Cruthirds, CIO, Peterson Health. Selecting, implementing, and managing a mobile clinical communications platform is a complex and sometimes painful undertaking. With multiple technologies, stakeholders, and disciplines involved, a comprehensive approach is required to ensure success. Hear two hospital CIOs share their first-hand experience, lessons learned, and demonstrated results from deploying an enterprise-wide mobile clinical communications solution.

December 5 (Tuesday) 2:00 ET. “Cornerstones of Order Set Optimization: Trusted Evidence.” Sponsored by: Wolters Kluwer. Updating order sets with new medical evidence is crucial to improving outcomes, but coordinating maintenance for hundreds of order sets with dozens of stakeholders is a huge logistical challenge. For most hospitals, managing order set content is labor intensive and the internal processes supporting it are far too inefficient. Evidence-based order sets are only as good as their content, which is why regular review and updates are essential. This webinar explores the relationship between clinical content and patient care with an eye toward building trust among the clinical staff. Plus, we will demonstrate a new evidence alignment tool that can easily incorporate the most current medical content into your order sets, regardless of format, including Cerner Power Plans and Epic SmartSets.

Previous webinars are on our YouTube channel. Contact Lorre for information.

Announcements and Implementations

Camellia Women’s Imaging (AL) selects mammography tracking, physician portal, PACS, RIS, and speech-recognition technology from eRad.

Laguna Beach, CA-based patient engagement company MDBackline develops software that automates the patient intake process and shares relevant health data with a practice’s EHR.

Acquisitions, Funding, Business, and Stock

GE CEO John Flannery claims 2018 will be a “reset year” for the company during a presentation to investors. Flannery stressed that the company will remain committed to its health care, aviation, and energy businesses. It will undergo a broader restructuring that will include laying off 25 percent of staff at its home office in Boston, downsizing its board, eliminating certain employee bonuses, and reducing its quarterly dividend. GE stock suffered a eight-year low on the news.

People

Former National Coordinator Karen DeSalvo, MD joins Humana’s Board of Directors.

Medical Technology Partners VP Nancy Young takes on the additional role of president of the Medical Association of Billers, which she acquired for an undisclosed sum last week.

Government and Politics

The CDC names 24 winners (primarily family medicine practices and FQHCs) of its annual Million Hearts Hypertension Control Challenge. The contest recognizes healthcare organizations that have developed proven strategies to help patients achieve blood pressure control rates at or above the 70-percent target.

Telemedicine

Amerigroup will offer Medicare Advantage members access to LiveHealth Online virtual consults beginning in 2018. The organizations partnered earlier this year to bring free virtual consults to victims of Hurricane Harvey via Amerigroup mobile health clinics.

Research and Innovation

New Change Healthcare research finds that 40 states are pursuing value-based payment models, 23 have mandated value-based goals involving providers and payers, 17 have or are developing ACOs, and 12 are making similar moves towards episode-of-care programs.

Other

Cigna partners with the US Women’s Health Alliance to introduce a maternity episode-of-care program to its value-based Cigna Collaborative Care initiative. The new program will incentivize 28 USWHA-member OB/GYN practices to improve quality, outcomes, and affordability. The alliance developed a custom analytics-based measurement system to track physician performance. The program seems especially apropos given headline-grabbing statistics released earlier this year exposing escalating maternal death rates in the US.

Contacts

Jenn, Mr. H, Lorre

More news: HIStalk, HIStalk Connect.

Get HIStalk Practice updates.
Contact us online.
Become a sponsor.

News 11/9/17

Top News

EyeMD EMR Healthcare Systems acquires ophthalmology-specific software for ASCs from competitor Health Care Intranet Technologies. CEO Abdiel Marin believes the new software will ease data transfer between its EHR customers and ASCs, and help the company gain more ASC market share.

HIStalk Practice Announcements and Requests

I neglected to mention earlier this week that Lorre is running her year-end special for new HIStalk (and HIStalk Practice) sponsors – avoid the pre-HIMSS rush, sign up now, and get the rest of this year free. She’ll also offer a deal to wayward former sponsors who want to return to the fold.

Webinars

November 15 (Wednesday) 1:00 ET. “How Hospitals and Practices Can Respond to Consumerism by Better Engaging Patients Through Price Transparency and Payment Options.” Sponsored by: Change Healthcare. Presenters: Kathy Moore, president, Moore Martini Medical; Linda Glidewell, VP of business development, consumer payment solutions, Change Healthcare. Healthcare consumerism and high-deductible health plans require providers to offer upfront estimates and payment options throughout all points of service. In his webinar, we’ll discuss consumerism as a critical area of opportunity in revenue cycle management and review numerous areas across the revenue cycle where your staff interacts with patients and leaves lasting impressions. From your first interaction with patients on the phone to discuss financial responsibility; to collecting payments at all points of service; to offering payment plans and various payment options — these are all areas that can be game-changing. With the right approach to consumerism, you can improve patient collections and optimize revenue from the start while also improving the overall patient experience.

Previous webinars are on our YouTube channel. Contact Lorre for information.

Announcements and Implementations

Modernizing Medicine adds new image management features, including improved centralized access and device integration, to its Modmed Ophthalmology EHR.

Acquisitions, Funding, Business, and Stock

EHR, PM, and RCM vendor ISalus Healthcare relocates to larger office space in downtown Indianapolis. Fun fact: “Salus” is the ancient Roman Goddess of health, prosperity, and public welfare. Company founders tweaked the name to indicate their desire to positively impact healthcare with Internet-driven technologies. 

People

FastMed Urgent Care names Webster Golinkin CEO. Golinkin founded RediClinic in 2005 and stayed on with the company after it was acquired by RiteAid in 2014. He went on to become a member of RiteAid’s senior management and CEO of its population health management-focused Health Dialog business.

Tom Visotsky (HCS) joins Kno2 as VP of vertical market sales.

Telemedicine

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina begins offering employer-sponsored plan members virtual consults from MDLive.

MDLive partners with online dermatology provider Iagnosis Healthcare to launch teledermatology consultations for consumers. It will offer the service to employers and payers on January 1, 2018.

Government and Politics

Seattle Mariners fans poke fun at Andy Slavitt’s mis-tweet after Tuesday’s contested vote in Maine over Medicaid expansion.

Other

Bring Your Daughter to Work Day takes on a whole new meaning: Identical triplets Vicky, Sarah, and Joanna Bedell – all OB/GYNs who attended school at Brandeis University in Boston – join their mother Janet Gersten, MD at her recently renamed New Age Women’s Health practice in Miami. As she contemplates retirement, Gersten sees a bright future ahead for her daughters. “The idea is to have a group practice with the three of them and have other doctors join them,” she says. “We invested in a building; it’s been customized to fit our needs for the practice and research business, and there’s room to grow there for other practitioners.”

Contacts

Jenn, Mr. H, Lorre

More news: HIStalk, HIStalk Connect.

Get HIStalk Practice updates.
Contact us online.
Become a sponsor.

News 11/8/17

Top News

Learning Machine brings blockchain to the medical licensure process with a pilot program that puts medical education credentials on a blockchain records-issuing system endorsed by the Federation of State Medical Boards. As part of the program, healthcare professionals can use a linked app to maintain secure profiles that include records of professional degrees, transcripts, and credentials. Learning Machine VP of Business Development Natalie Smolenski stresses that the program puts professionals – rather than vendors – in charge of their data. “That is the great promise of blockchain technology,” she adds. “Now individuals can own their digital property without reliance upon trusted intermediaries to serve as custodians of that property.”

Webinars

November 15 (Wednesday) 1:00 ET. “How Hospitals and Practices Can Respond to Consumerism by Better Engaging Patients Through Price Transparency and Payment Options.” Sponsored by: Change Healthcare. Presenters: Kathy Moore, president, Moore Martini Medical; Linda Glidewell, VP of business development, consumer payment solutions, Change Healthcare. Healthcare consumerism and high-deductible health plans require providers to offer upfront estimates and payment options throughout all points of service. In his webinar, we’ll discuss consumerism as a critical area of opportunity in revenue cycle management and review numerous areas across the revenue cycle where your staff interacts with patients and leaves lasting impressions. From your first interaction with patients on the phone to discuss financial responsibility; to collecting payments at all points of service; to offering payment plans and various payment options — these are all areas that can be game-changing. With the right approach to consumerism, you can improve patient collections and optimize revenue from the start while also improving the overall patient experience.

Previous webinars are on our YouTube channel. Contact Lorre for information.

Announcements and Implementations

Eye Care Leaders announces availability of custom MyCare EHR and PM solutions and services for ophthalmology practices.

Acquisitions, Funding, Business, and Stock

Private equity firm Alpine Investors takes a controlling interest in behavioral health EHR vendor Exym. Alpine’s Nick Horn will take on the role of Exym CEO while founder Matt DeBeer will transition to CTO. Exym launched its flagship pre-EHR Activity Tracking System in 2005.

Circling like vultures, several EHR vendors – including Allegiance MD, CureMD, and MTBC – look to lure in SOAPware EHR customers with special promotions as the company prepares to sunset its technology early next year.

Government and Politics

The Kaiser Family Foundation develops an individual mandate penalty calculator to help consumers compare potential tax penalties with the cost of healthcare plans found on federal and state-based exchanges. Open enrollment on the exchanges continues through December 15. Entering my credentials just for fun finds that my household would be subject to a $2,085 penalty, and would be eligible for $683 in monthly financial assistance. The calculator determined that the lowest-cost plan in my area would cost around $500 a month with assistance and $1,200 without. I can only assume the yearly deductible would be $10,000 or more.

A new PDMP report from St. Louis County health officials in Missouri finds that physicians write 1.5 prescriptions for controlled substances per person; that number jumps to three for women over 65. Data from the first three months of the program, which launched in April, will hopefully give prescribers and government officials a good start at understanding prescribing habits among the PDMP’s 54 participating cities and counties.

CMS Administrator Seema Verma does a little redecorating at the CMS offices in Baltimore.

Telemedicine

San Francisco-based Sappira launches the text-based HeyDoctor primary care app in 19 states. Consults are $20 a pop – significantly cheaper than a typical video consult, but in my mind also significantly hampered by a lack of contextual interaction. (Emojis can only convey so much, after all.) The app will go live in 10 more cities by the end of the year.

EverythingBenefits adds Teladoc’s HealthiestYou telemedicine app to its line of products for payroll,and benefits broker and administrators.

Research and Innovation

A new study finds that an AI-based weight-loss coaching app for diabetic patients is just as effective as face-to-face coaching in terms of weight lost and healthy meals eaten.

Other

Premier Medical Group (TN) brings phone systems and its Athenahealth EHR back on line after experiencing an unspecified technical outage for several hours. The group is the area’s largest multispecialty practice, with four locations and 60 providers.

The local paper profiles Jack "Jay" Saux, MD and his costumed efforts at St. Tammany Cancer Center (LA) to help patients get through the physical and emotional trials that come with cancer treatment. “They have this terrible disease, you’re spending a lot of time preparing treatments and helping them get through the toxicities and side effects of treatments,” says Saux, who has used his physician pirate alter ego to raise money for local healthcare charities. "And the thing they appreciate the most is when you sat down and held their hand or told them a story or let them take a picture of you in your costume."

Sponsor Updates

• AdvancedMD will exhibit at the American Academy of Ophthalmology conference November 11-14 in New Orleans.
• EClinicalWorks will exhibit at the Kentucky Primary Care Association Conference November 8-10 in Lexington.

Blog Posts

• Using Technology to Build an Integrated Practice #4 of 6 (AdvancedMD)
• Intrinsic and Extrinsic Physician Motivators to Consider When Driving Change (Culbert Healthcare Solutions)

Contacts

Jenn, Mr. H, Lorre

More news: HIStalk, HIStalk Connect.

Get HIStalk Practice updates.
Contact us online.
Become a sponsor.