News 4/6/17

Top News

Less than two months after opening a second office, Drchrono closes a $12 million round of Series A funding led by Runa Capital. The Mountain View, CA-based company, which has raised just over $16 million since opening its doors in 2009, will add Runa Capital Partner Andre Bliznyuk and Maxfield Capital Managing Parter Oleg Koujikov to its board.

Webinars

April 26 (Wednesday) 1:00 ET. “SSM Integrated Health Technologies Clinical Data Migration: Functional and Technical Considerations.” Sponsored by Galen Healthcare Solutions. Presenters: Sandy Winklemann, MHA, RHIA, project manager, SSM Integration Health Technologies; Tyler Mawyer, MHA, managing consultant, Galen Healthcare Solutions; Kavon Kaboli, MPH, senior consultant, Galen Healthcare Solutions. GE Centricity and Meditech to Epic EHR transition. Join us for a complimentary webinar as present the decisions that are important to consider when performing a clinical data migration from the point of view of  the healthcare organization program manager, the clinical analyst, and the technical implementation team. Our expert panel will survey data migration considerations, best practices, and lessons learned. The webinar will present a unique client perspective, offering insight into considerations surrounding staffing, clinical mapping, legacy application support, and validation and testing.

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

Announcements and Implementations

Rio Grande Valley Health Alliance will pilot remote patient monitoring, care coordination, and telemedicine technology from Reliq Health Technologies with its primary care patients beginning next month. The alliance is a Texas-based ACO made up of 17 PCPs working in 15 independent practices. Launched in 2013, it now cares for 30,000 Medicare beneficiaries.

People

InSync Healthcare Solutions hires Trent Baker as CISO.

Former Cerner executive (and International Federation of Body Builders competitor) Daphne Bascom, MD becomes the first physician on staff at a YMCA in the US. She joins the YMCA of Greater Kansas City in the new role of SVP of community integrated health.

Telemedicine

PatientClick develops PC Connect, a patient-facing telemedicine app that also features health-record access.

Findings from an American Telemedicine Association survey of 170 member executives echo the results of other, similar studies released thus far in 2017:

• 83 percent will likely invest in telemedicine this year.
• 84 percent feel telemedicine services will “strongly” expand their organization’s coverage and reach.
• 98 percent believe virtual services offer a competitive advantage.
• Reimbursement and licensure are top barriers to greater adoption.

Government and Politics

ONC announces a health data provenance challenge. The office will award up to $180,000 in prizes to teams/entries that can successfully identify available capabilities and methods used by healthcare stakeholders to communicate the provenance of data as it is used to support care. The first round of submissions closes May 22.

Other

The National Quality Forum holds its annual conference in Pentagon City, VA. Data liquidity and outcomes measurement seemed to be hot topics. Aledade CEO Farzad Mostashari, MD lamented that Aledade physicians can’t get data from a third of their EHR vendors.

The wearable that wears you: Dutch industrial designer Daniel de Bruin creates the Neurotransmitter 3000 – a single-person ride that speeds up or slows down based on the rider’s biometric data. High levels of fear or nausea cause the ride to slow down, while more normal vital signs cause it to speed up.

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Jenn, Mr. H, Lorre

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News 4/5/17

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Findings from Medscape’s annual physician compensation report emphasize the many monetary challenges today’s MDs face, and the tendency towards burnout those challenges engender. A few findings:

• Irrespective of salary, 41 percent of PCPs and 33 percent of specialists believe they should earn more – nearly one in five are working longer hours for fewer wages.
• Physician salaries average $294,000 per year; specialists earn nearly $100,000 more than PCPs.
• Orthopedists bring home the most bacon at $489,000.
• Family physicians and pediatricians bring home the least, with $209,000 and $202,000, respectively.
• Providers in rural states tend to make more than their suburban and urban counterparts.

Webinars

April 26 (Wednesday) 1:00 ET. “SSM Integrated Health Technologies Clinical Data Migration: Functional and Technical Considerations.” Sponsored by Galen Healthcare Solutions. Presenters: Sandy Winklemann, MHA, RHIA, project manager, SSM Integration Health Technologies; Tyler Mawyer, MHA, managing consultant, Galen Healthcare Solutions; Kavon Kaboli, MPH, senior consultant, Galen Healthcare Solutions. GE Centricity and Meditech to Epic EHR transition. Join us for a complimentary webinar as present the decisions that are important to consider when performing a clinical data migration from the point of view of  the healthcare organization program manager, the clinical analyst, and the technical implementation team. Our expert panel will survey data migration considerations, best practices, and lessons learned. The webinar will present a unique client perspective, offering insight into considerations surrounding staffing, clinical mapping, legacy application support, and validation and testing.

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

Announcements and Implementations

CoreLinq Innovations adds payment capabilities from Integrity Payment Systems to its lines of outpatient radiology business tools.

Urgent care EHR vendor Edaris Health joins Athenahealth’s More Disruption Please program and marketplace. Launched in 2011, the marketplace offers MDP partner products (140 and counting) to Athenahealth end users.

GE Healthcare adds the CareFinity business continuity and archiving solution from EMedApps to its Centricity Partner Program.

OptimizeRx adds access to prescription savings programs from SingleCare Services to its e-prescribing savings platform.

Acquisitions, Funding, Business, and Stock

Office Practicum staff make the company’s relocation to new corporate headquarters, announced in early March, official with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. The pediatric-focused EHR and PM software company will be at the new office in Fort Washington, PA for at least seven years.

People

Bevey Miner (HealthLoop) joins Practice Fusion as CMO.

Telemedicine

The results of an American Society of Sleep Medicine survey show overwhelming support for telemedicine:

• Nearly half of respondents are willing to use telemedicine to see a PCP.
• Just over 70 percent of those making more than $75,000 annually would use the technology to see a healthcare professional.
• Nearly 70 percent would be willing to see a sleep specialist via virtual consult. (The percentage climbs to 77 percent for Millenials.)

The news is no doubt music to the ears of ASSM, which introduced a telemedicine tool for sleep specialists in January 2016.

Other

File these guys under “Guilty Pleasure:” US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, MD tweets/teases (tweases?) his upcoming appearance on Rhett & Link’s Good Mythical More Youtube series (a continuation of their Good Mythical Morning series). If you’ve never heard of these guys, I highly encourage you to check out “My OCD (Song).”

Sponsor Updates

Blog Posts

• Telemedicine: Celebrate the possibilities of expanded patient care (AdvancedMD)
• Connecting the Dots – The Value of SSOT Crosswalk Documents (Culbert Healthcare Solutions)
• Can you and your patients have it all? Why you should personalize and standardize care plans (Healthwise)

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Jenn, Mr. H, Lorre

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News 4/4/17

Top News

The CVS Health Foundation continues its support of the National Association of Free & Charitable Clinics with an award of over $1 million to 33 FCC clinics across the country. Recipients will use the $20,000 to $35,000 in funding to support chronic disease management and prevention programs, improve care coordination, and increase access to care. Clearwater Free Clinic (FL) has already earmarked its funds for new EHR software.

Webinars

April 26 (Wednesday) 1:00 ET. “SSM Integrated Health Technologies Clinical Data Migration: Functional and Technical Considerations.” Sponsored by Galen Healthcare Solutions. Presenters: Sandy Winklemann, MHA, RHIA, project manager, SSM Integration Health Technologies; Tyler Mawyer, MHA, managing consultant, Galen Healthcare Solutions; Kavon Kaboli, MPH, senior consultant, Galen Healthcare Solutions. GE Centricity and Meditech to Epic EHR transition. Join us for a complimentary webinar as present the decisions that are important to consider when performing a clinical data migration from the point of view of  the healthcare organization program manager, the clinical analyst, and the technical implementation team. Our expert panel will survey data migration considerations, best practices, and lessons learned. The webinar will present a unique client perspective, offering insight into considerations surrounding staffing, clinical mapping, legacy application support, and validation and testing.

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

Acquisitions, Funding, Business, and Stock

Columbus, OH-based Healthy Roster raises $1.9 million to further develop its EHR and app for student athletes and trainers. Founded in 2015, the company has close to 10 staff members, and is the third company launched by co-founder and CEO Nathan Heerdt; he founded JobBoards.com in the late 90s and Caster Ventures in 2007.

Announcements and Implementations

Arizona Connected Care selects referral management technology from Fibroblast to streamline referrals among its ACO network of 450 physicians.

People

The Community Health Centers of Burlington (VT) promotes Alison Calderara to CEO. She takes over from Greg Robinson, who was fired last November along with three others amidst disagreements (and a software conversion) with the board about CHCB’s direction.

Zipnosis CEO Jon Pearce joins the American Telemedicine Association’s Industry Council Executive Committee.

Mary Jo Potter (Healthcare Angels) joins SnapMD’s Corporate Advisory Board.

Marta Roth, MD (Roth Family Medicine) joins the American Health Council’s physician board.

Research and Innovation

A Johnson & Johnson study of 10,000 adults finds that health risk assessments – screening tools used by employers and payers to identify health risks associated with stress, sleep, and quality of life – can be a valuable tool in identifying people at risk for depression. A quarter of respondents experienced mild depressive symptoms; one in five of those deteriorated over time with a corresponding increase in symptoms.

Telemedicine

San Francisco-based PlushCare brings its virtual consult services to New Jersey – one of a handful of states that still have no regulatory guidance around the definition, practice, and reimbursement of telemedicine. New Jersey Health Care Quality Institute President and CEO Linda Schwimmer says the company’s services “may be a good option” for residents of The Garden State: “I say ‘may be’ because that comes down to the quality of their care and experience,” she explains. “The reason why we would like to see a clear law and regulations on telehealth is because from a consumer protection standpoint, I want patients to have assurances that the services are provided by licensed healthcare professionals and that NJ has oversight over those providers.”

Other

Heads up, USPS: New Zealand’s postal service turns to fried chicken delivery to diversify in the midst of plummeting sales. NZ Post has partnered with Kentucky Fried Chicken for a trial run of home deliveries in the port city of Tauranga, with the expectation that the pilot will expand to about half the country in the near future.

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Jenn, Mr. H, Lorre

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News 4/3/17

Top News

The National Governors Association selects Kentucky, Michigan, Nevada, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, and Pennsylvania to participate in its Rural Health Learning Collaborative. The program will help states identify and implement solutions that will improve healthcare access for their communities, which typically suffer from physician shortages, and high rates of uninsured and aging patients.

Webinars

April 26 (Wednesday) 1:00 ET. “SSM Integrated Health Technologies Clinical Data Migration: Functional and Technical Considerations.” Sponsored by Galen Healthcare Solutions. Presenters: Sandy Winklemann, MHA, RHIA, project manager, SSM Integration Health Technologies; Tyler Mawyer, MHA, managing consultant, Galen Healthcare Solutions; Kavon Kaboli, MPH, senior consultant, Galen Healthcare Solutions. GE Centricity and Meditech to Epic EHR transition. Join us for a complimentary webinar as present the decisions that are important to consider when performing a clinical data migration from the point of view of  the healthcare organization program manager, the clinical analyst, and the technical implementation team. Our expert panel will survey data migration considerations, best practices, and lessons learned. The webinar will present a unique client perspective, offering insight into considerations surrounding staffing, clinical mapping, legacy application support, and validation and testing.

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

People

WEDI elects Laurie Darst (Mayo Clinic) chair and Jay Eisenstock (Aetna) chair-elect of its Board of Directors.

The Society of Behavioral Medicine appoints Gary Bennett, Jr (Duke University) president and Sherry Pagoto (University of Massachusetts) president-elect.

Announcements and Implementations

MTBC adds analytics for ACOs and medium to large group practices to its line of business intelligence tools.

Healthcare Administrative Partners offers MIPS measure assurance services to its specialty practice clients. Services include analytics, Provider Quality Report Card, qualified registry set up, and practice profile and evaluation.

Midtown Outpatient Surgery Center (FL) implements the ASC Cloud EHR from SurgicalNotes.

Daw Systems adds electronic prior authorization capabilities from CoverMyMeds to its cloud-based ScriptSure e-prescribing technology.

Desert Radiology (NV) extends its agreement with Zotec Partners for RCM services covering its seven outpatient facilities in Las Vegas.

Telemedicine

Maryland legislators consider a bill that would expand telemedicine coverage to include counseling for addiction treatment. If passed, the bill, could help ameliorate the state’s shortage of mental health professionals and curb its growing addiction problem: Opioid-related deaths have doubled from 529 in 2011 to 1,089 in 2015.

Other

It’s never too late for funny: Amazon introduces Petlexa , enabling our four-legged friends to communicate their orders via squeak, bark, or meow.

Sponsor Updates

• Intelligent Medical Objects will exhibit at AORN International Surgical Conference & Expo April 1-5 in Boston.

Blog Posts

• Eliminate the Wait: Self-Rooming at Aurora’s Children’s Health (Versus Technology)

Contacts

Jenn, Mr. H, Lorre

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Population Health Management Weekly Wrap Up 4/2/17

Christopher Stanley, MD (Catholic Health Initiatives) joins Navigant as Healthcare practice director.

Reuters reports that Advisory Board Company and Evolent Health are considering a merger of some or all of their businesses but ABCO has other bidders, among them Press Ganey. Advisory Board and UPMC created Evolent in 2011 and it went public in 2015, with Advisory Board owning 13.7 percent of the shares.

Nan Hayworth, MD – the only female physician ever elected to Congress – joins HealthEC’s Board of Directors.

The AAFP creates the Center for Diversity and Health Equity, an initiative still in its infancy that will focus on understanding and addressing the role social determinants of health play in overall population health management initiatives. Planned activities include research on current social determinants, a concerted effort in partnership with other medical organizations to recruit students from underrepresented minority groups into family medicine, and the development of tools and resources to help family physicians address SDOH with their patients.

Cerner and Nevada, MO launch a county-wide prescription drug monitoring program as part of their Healthy Nevada program. The regional PDMP is a step in the right direction, covering 40 percent of the state’s population via participating counties. Missouri is the only state without a statewide PDMP. Its legislators have two potential bills in the work – one that would focus on monitoring the prescription records of physicians and another that would look at the prescription histories of patients.

Thomas Jefferson University’s Jefferson College of Population Health and Hearst Health award Intermountain Healthcare (UT) the $100,000 Hearst Health Prize for its Mental Health Integration program. The program, which integrates mental health screening and treatment within primary care and certain specialty practices, has tracked 100,000 patients over a 10-year period and found:

• Higher rates of active depression screening when compared with traditional practice models
• Lower rates of utilization
• Significant reductions in payment to the health system.

Charlotte County Public Schools in Florida selects Marathon Health to take over management of its onsite wellness center for employees scheduled to open May 17. Marathon Health embedded point-of-care clinical decision support tech from Medicomp Systems within its Healthcare Engagement System platform late last year.

The Garage releases the latest version of its Bridge population health management technology.

Contacts

Jenn, Mr. H, Lorre

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