News 3/1/23

Top News

Virtual sleep care provider BetterNight raises $33 million in a funding round led by NewSpring.

HIStalk Practice Announcements and Requests

Mr. HIStalk is putting together our guide to ViVE 2023. HIStalk Practice sponsors are invited to submit information about their exhibit hall, networking, speaking, and presentation activities. The digital and downloadable guide will be available a week or two before the March 26-29 event in Nashville.

Interested in becoming a HIStalk Practice sponsor? Contact Lorre for more information.

Webinars

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

Vouched will use $6.3 million in new funding to market its AI-powered identity verification software to virtual and in-person healthcare providers. It has raised $18 million since launching in 2018.

Physician network management company Privia Health reports a 32% Q4 uptick in revenue to $364 million, with onboarded providers and practice collections increasing by 9% and 24%, respectively Total revenue for 2022 increased to $1.4 billion. Privia helps 3,500 providers across 920 practices care for 4 million patients.

Prescription savings vendor GoodRx reports a 14% decline in Q4 revenue to $184 million, due in large part to a decline in prescription transactions and the temporary decision by Kroger to stop accepting GoodRx discounts. The company laid off 140 employees in technology and marketing last fall as it began reining in marketing and administrative expenses in anticipation of Q4 declines. GoodRx paid the FTC $1.5 million to settle allegations that it sold customer data to third-parties without their permission. The company, which has admitted no wrong-doing, outlined the history of its attempts to act in good data-sharing faith with the FTC in a blog last month.

CVS Health acquisition target Oak Street Health reports a 2022 revenue increase of 51% to $2.2 billion. CVS agreed to acquire the Medicare-focused primary care provider for $10.6 billion.

Announcements and Implementations

InterState Health Systems selects EHR, practice management, and RCM technology from CareCloud. IHS is developing primary, urgent, and virtual care services for truck drivers and travelers along interstates across the country.

Research and Innovation

A KeyCare survey of 400 consumers finds that nearly 70% of those who needed minor or urgent medical care while traveling in the last year received it virtually from their regular physician or an affiliated provider. Speed, convenience, preferred provider, and cost were top patient considerations. When traveling in the future, consumers report their top preferences will be their preferred provider via telemedicine, ERs, urgent care clinics, and virtual care from a new physician.

Productivity, revenue, patient access, and employee morale increase when practices offer hybrid and/or remote working arrangements, according to a survey of 150 providers who have adopted these types of employment models.

A majority of patients will consider switching providers if communication during the pre-care process is poor, according to a survey of 1,000 patients. An even larger majority say they would trust their provider more if that organization used their preferred method of communication during pre-care engagement. Interestingly, when it comes to post-care engagement, patients overwhelmingly prefer paper billing statements to digital statements.

Contacts

Jenn, Mr. H, Lorre

More news: HIStalk.

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News 2/27/23

Top News

Vytalize Health secures $100 million in funding, bringing its total raised to $175 million. The company specializes in helping senior-focused primary care practices effectively participate in ACOs and other value-based care programs.

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

Medical billing and coding vendor Gebbs Healthcare Solutions acquires CPa Medical Billing, which offers RCM technologies and services to FQHCs and physician groups.

People

Walmart promotes Brian Setzer to EVP of Health & Wellness.

Announcements and Implementations

Redding Gastroenterology (CA) transitions to EClinicalWorks Cloud.

Ambience Healthcare announces GA of Ambience AutoScribe, software that automates the generation of notes using AI within a provider’s EHR workflow.

Eye Care Center of Northern Colorado implements ModMed’s EHR and practice management software for ophthalmology at its four clinics.

Research and Innovation

A Black Book poll of physician practices finds that over half will update or replace their practice management software within the next 18 months to improve clinical quality documentation and/or data-sharing. Top sought-after digital enhancements include analytics and practice performance data, cybersecurity capabilities, and revenue cycle and coding improvements. Respondents were most satisfied with practice management software from EClinicalWorks (solo practices), ModMed (two to five physicians) and NextGen groups ranging from six to 99 end users).

Sponsor Updates

• Healing Hands Ministries uses the PRISMA health information search tool of EClinicalWorks.

Blog Posts

• How to Combat Physician Burnout in Cardiology (PerfectServe)
• Communication Silos: What Clinicians Need to Know About EHRs (TigerConnect)
• How Patient Education Improves Patient Experience (Healthwise)

Contacts

Jenn, Mr. H, Lorre

More news: HIStalk.

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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

• Go big, go fast, and go to the front lines (Nordic)

Contacts

Jenn, Mr. H, Lorre

More news: HIStalk.

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

News 2/20/23

Top News

Primary care EHR vendor Elation Health acquires Lightning MD, which sells billing and payer connectivity systems to independent practices. Elation will begin offering existing customers its technology combined with Lightning MD’s capabilities this summer.

Elation raised $50 million last summer, bringing its total raised to $109 million.

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.

Announcements and Implementations

Sunrise Mountain Family Medical Clinic (NV) selects cloud-based EHR technology from EClinicalWorks.

Government and Politics

Noel DeLeon, a former office manager for a practice in New Jersey, pleads guilty to a charge of conspiracy to distribute amphetamines. DeLeon or the practice’s doctor would typically collect cash payments before providing patients with prescriptions for Adderall. Patients would contact him directly via text message for refills, and pay via a personal payment app. Some patients bribed DeLeon for faster fulfillment. The practice had little to no record-keeping, with some medical records only containing contact and prescription information. He faces up to 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine.

Research and Innovation

Primary care physicians who engaged the services of remote, audio-only scribes report lower levels of burnout, improved workflow satisfaction, and less EHR stress compared to their counterparts who did not, according to a study conducted by researchers at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. Physicians with scribes avoided nearly an hour of documenting in the EHR.

Other

The local paper profiles Frank Tursi, DO and David Levy, MD physicians in Erie, PA who have been seeing patients for more than 40 years. Neither has any plans to retire. Both have seen multiple generations of the same family, and have interesting stories to tell about the changes in treatments, business, and technologies. Both have become employed with local health systems, a situation Tursi says is a “double-edged sword. I no longer had to worry about staffing or equipment breaking down. It was an adjustment. The employees technically didn’t work for me any longer. But the practice itself didn’t change at all.”

Sponsor Updates

Blog Posts

• Taking the temperature of health systems (Nordic)
• 4 Ways to Modernize the Hospital Call Center (PerfectServe)
• Choice architecture to the rescue (Nordic)
• Behind the Scenes: DEI in Health Education Illustrations (Healthwise)

Contacts

Jenn, Mr. H, Lorre

More news: HIStalk.

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

News 2/15/23

Top News

Virtual hearing care company Tuned raises $3.5 million. The company, which currently markets its services to employers and payers, plans to offer pediatric care later this year.

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

Marker Learning raises $15 million in a Series A funding round. The company offers remote learning disability evaluations and support through its virtual platform and network of psychologists and educators.

People

Derek Kang (UCLA Health) joins Vytalize Health as chief compliance officer.

Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen appoints Timothy Tesmer, MD a private practice ENT specialist, to serve as the state’s next CMO.

Announcements and Implementations

Care Choice Family Clinic, a new practice in Plano, TX, selects healthcare technology from EClinicalWorks.

Research and Innovation

A Wolters Kluwer Health survey of 1,000 adults who’ve seen a doctor within the last year finds that the vast majority of patients have questions after the appointments. A third of those surveyed report they didn’t receive any educational materials during their appointments. Nearly 70% say they are more likely to see the same physician again if offered educational content. Survey authors note that providing educational content at the point of care could help cut down on patient portal messaging.

Other

In the UK, the Cornish town of Lostwithiel pulls out all the stops in its efforts to recruit a new physician to the town’s clinic, which serves 5,500 patients. Residents participated in a flash mob last month, and more recently have recorded a song, “Lostwithiel Needs A Doctor,” and accompanying video that they hope will get the attention of potential candidates. Organizers consider it “an innovative, yet increasingly desperate, attempt to replace a much-loved retiring GP within two weeks.”

Contacts

Jenn, Mr. H, Lorre

More news: HIStalk.

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