News 7/11/22

Top News

Tebra, the new name for the combined ambulatory health IT businesses of Kareo and PatientPop, secures a $72 million investment from Golub Capital, giving it a $1 billion valuation.

Former Kareo CEO Dan Rodrigues took on the CEO role at Tebra earlier this month.

The companies’ combined IT capabilities include website development and management, messaging and scheduling, telehealth, EHR, care delivery, practice management, billing, payments, analytics, and reputation management.

Webinars

July 12 (Tuesday) 1 ET. “Digital Data Stewardship for Trusted, High-Quality Data Exchange.” Sponsor: Clinical Architecture. Presenter: Carol Graham, MS, RN, product manager, Clinical Architecture. Organizations face challenges in ensuring that the patient data they received and send is consistent, accurate, and usable. Use cases include receiving multi-source data across health information networks with variation in formats and content; merging and de-duplicating provider, payer, and research data; uplifting legacy data for current use cases and formats; and normalizing and formatting data for public health surveillance, quality measure reporting, and providing directly to the patient. This webinar will cover Pivot, a comprehensive Digital Data Steward solution that orchestrates format harmonization, content (vocabulary) normalization, de-duplication, and data quality validation into a single solution.

Previous webinars are on our YouTube channel. Contact Lorre to present your own.

Acquisitions, Funding, Business, and Stock

GeekWire profiles Ventrk, a physical therapy app startup led by former Seattle Seahawks player Doug Baldwin. The company, which has raised $1.5 million in seed funding, offers TheraCentric, a PT-focused app, and TrainCentric, a post-PT app that focuses more on diet, exercise, and sleep.

Government and Politics

The VA installs a Phillips-equipped telemedicine pod at American Legion Ball-McColm Post 5 in Emporia, KS as part of its Accessing Telehealth Through Local Area Stations pilot program. There are now a dozen ATLAS sites across the country.

People

CVS Health hires Tilak Mandadi (MGM Resorts) as EVP and chief data, digital, and technology officer.

Other

Suggested reading: Chuck Radis, DO shares his time in the mid-80s as the lone physician serving patients on four islands off the coast of Maine in “Go By Boat.” Radis opted for the somewhat unusually structured assignment as part of his National Health Service Corps Scholarship. The book, according to a local reviewer, “shows the demanding work involved in breaking new ground in providing healthcare services to underserved populations. He had to negotiate with multiple island constituencies and the federal healthcare bureaucracy. This double-barreled task is not for the faint-hearted.”

Sponsor Updates

Blog Posts

• Nurses of Note Awards 2022: The Nurse Navigator and Staff Educator (PerfectServe)

• Patient referral leakage: Are health systems making it easy to do the right thing? (Nordic)

Contacts

Jenn, Mr. H, Lorre

More news: HIStalk.

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

News 7/6/22

Top News

CareConnectMD secures $25 million from TT Capital Partners. The company provides primary care and care coordination services for medically fragile Medicare patients in the home or skilled nursing facilities. CareConnectMD also partners with other primary care groups in value-based care programs.

The investment will enable the company to expand its existing services in California, Ohio, and Texas, grow into new markets, and further develop its technology, including telemedicine.

Webinars

July 12 (Tuesday) 1 ET. “Digital Data Stewardship for Trusted, High-Quality Data Exchange.” Sponsor: Clinical Architecture. Presenter: Carol Graham, MS, RN, product manager, Clinical Architecture. Organizations face challenges in ensuring that the patient data they received and send is consistent, accurate, and usable. Use cases include receiving multi-source data across health information networks with variation in formats and content; merging and de-duplicating provider, payer, and research data; uplifting legacy data for current use cases and formats; and normalizing and formatting data for public health surveillance, quality measure reporting, and providing directly to the patient. This webinar will cover Pivot, a comprehensive Digital Data Steward solution that orchestrates format harmonization, content (vocabulary) normalization, de-duplication, and data quality validation into a single solution.

Previous webinars are on our YouTube channel. Contact Lorre to present your own.

Acquisitions, Funding, Business, and Stock

Virtual alcohol use disorder treatment provider Ria Health raises $18 million in a Series A funding round led by SV Health Investors. The company has provided its services since 2016 and is the first AUD provider to receive Joint Commission accreditation based on providing evidence-based treatment protocols and clinical quality measured by patient outcomes.

Online mental healthcare company Sensible Care raises $13 million in a Series A funding round led by Volition Capital. The company, co-founded and led by veteran Paul Kim, will use the new funding to expand beyond California to Texas, Florida, and Virginia.

People

Melissa Humphrey (Gainwell Technologies) joins Health Recovery Solutions as chief marketing officer.

Announcements and Implementations

Erie Family Health Centers (IL) have implemented Epic.

First introduced last fall, Teladoc Health adds new features to its virtual primary care service for health plans including in-network referrals and care coordination support; free, same-day medication delivery; and in-home, on-demand lab collection.

Sponsor Updates

• EClinicalWorks releases a new podcast, “How Price Transparency Can Offer a Competitive Edge.”

Blog Posts

• A Different Point of View: Solving the ‘Inter (without) Operability’ Conundrum (Medicomp Systems)
• Visuals in Health Education: The Positive Impact is Easy to See (Healthwise)
• How Allia Group Recovers Out of Network Revenue with its Proprietary Platform Paired with AdvancedMD Reporting (AdvancedMD)
• Revenue cycle transformation: 3.4% increase in net revenue and still growing (Nordic)

Contacts

Jenn, Mr. H, Lorre

More news: HIStalk.

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

News 6/29/22

Top News

Walmart will acquire Memomi, an augmented reality optical software company has offered Walmart customers the ability to virtually “try on” eyewear since 2019.

Webinars

July 12 (Tuesday) 1 ET. “Digital Data Stewardship for Trusted, High-Quality Data Exchange.” Sponsor: Clinical Architecture. Presenter: Carol Graham, MS, RN, product manager, Clinical Architecture. Organizations face challenges in ensuring that the patient data they received and send is consistent, accurate, and usable. Use cases include receiving multi-source data across health information networks with variation in formats and content; merging and de-duplicating provider, payer, and research data; uplifting legacy data for current use cases and formats; and normalizing and formatting data for public health surveillance, quality measure reporting, and providing directly to the patient. This webinar will cover Pivot, a comprehensive Digital Data Steward solution that orchestrates format harmonization, content (vocabulary) normalization, de-duplication, and data quality validation into a single solution.

Previous webinars are on our YouTube channel. Contact Lorre to present your own.

Acquisitions, Funding, Business, and Stock

Independent physician enablement company Aledade will open a new office in New York City, San Francisco, and Durham, NC. The company, headquartered in Bethesda, MD, also has an office in Austin. Aledade was founded eight years ago as a value-based care venture by former national coordinator Farzad Mostashari, MD. It has raised nearly $420 million.

Ambulatory surgery center development and management company Atlas Health Partners will work with MedAxiom, a performance improvement company focused on cardiovascular organizations, to launch a yet-to-be-named cardiovascular ASC business.

People

Srini Chillara (Verisys) joins Kipu Health as CTO.

Announcements and Implementations

Atwal Eye Care (NY) will implement Nextech’s EHR and practice management software across its five offices and surgery center.

Liberty Doctors (SC) partners with tech-enabled value-based care company Agilon Health to launch a Freedom Senior Care Advantage program for its Medicare patients.

The Villages Health (FL) selects Kaid Health’s Whole Chart Analysis technology to improve documentation and coding for its population of Medicare Advantage patients.

Research and Innovation

A CHG Healthcare survey of 543 physicians finds that 43% changed jobs during the pandemic, with top reasons being a need for better work/life balance, increased pay, and more flexibility. Of those who changed jobs, 39% moved into a different practice setting and 31% worked locum tenens assignments. Ten percent went to work for telemedicine companies.

Clinical staff practicing in rural and non-rural settings believe the biggest opportunities for technology to improve care quality in both areas are to be found in better medical equipment; faster, more reliable Internet connections; and expanded use of EHRs, according to a Walmart survey of more than 10,000 people.

Sponsor Updates

Blog Posts

• The Importance of Patient Engagement in a Medical Practice (AdvancedMD)
• Dermatology Made Easier This Summer (EClinicalWorks)

Contacts

Jenn, Mr. H, Lorre

More news: HIStalk.

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

News 6/27/22

Top News

Kins announces a seed funding round of $7.2 million. The Boston-based company offers its virtual and in-home physical therapy programs to payers and directly to consumers. CEO Dan Smith was formerly head of Asics Digital, which included overseeing the development and management of the footwear company’s RunKeeper app.

Webinars

July 12 (Tuesday) 1 ET. “Digital Data Stewardship for Trusted, High-Quality Data Exchange.” Sponsor: Clinical Architecture. Presenter: Carol Graham, MS, RN, product manager, Clinical Architecture. Organizations face challenges in ensuring that the patient data they received and send is consistent, accurate, and usable. Use cases include receiving multi-source data across health information networks with variation in formats and content; merging and de-duplicating provider, payer, and research data; uplifting legacy data for current use cases and formats; and normalizing and formatting data for public health surveillance, quality measure reporting, and providing directly to the patient. This webinar will cover Pivot, a comprehensive Digital Data Steward solution that orchestrates format harmonization, content (vocabulary) normalization, de-duplication, and data quality validation into a single solution.

Previous webinars are on our YouTube channel. Contact Lorre to present your own.

People

Virtual musculoskeletal medical practice Vori Health names John Walsh (Zipari) CTO.

Government and Politics

CMS announces the Enhancing Oncology Model, a new five-year payment program designed by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation that will incentive oncology practices to improve the delivery of high-quality, coordinated care, including social support, and improves patient and caregiver support. Participating practices will provide enhanced services that include patient navigation, care planning, collection of electronic patient-reported outcomes, and screening for social needs.

Research and Innovation

A survey of 50 leaders at FQHCs across the country finds an overwhelming majority are determined to remain independent, and nearly 75% are willing to work with similar organizations and pool data for greater insights into workforce and service line trends, patient populations, payment models, and the impact of regulatory requirements and Medicaid expansion.

Other

Interesting: I noticed a local McDonald’s advertising telemedicine benefits as part of a hiring push. Turns out the company offers full- and part-time employees access to virtual care benefits that include 10 free urgent or mental healthcare visits per year. I wonder how many employees take advantage of the benefit. Having been self-insured now for several years, I also wonder how common telemedicine is as a benefit included within a health plan or as an employer add-on. Is it par for the course these days, or definitely a perk? Readers, please weigh in.

Hopefully, telemedicine hasn’t become so routine that The Onion’s portrayal of virtual care providers is anywhere near accurate.

Sponsor Updates

• The Health Information Resource Center recognizes Healthwise with seven Digital Health Awards for its medical illustrations and health education videos.
• Medicomp Systems releases a new Tell Me Where It Hurts Podcast, “On Innovation with Dr. Nick van Terheyden.”

Blog Posts

• The big squeeze: Navigating the confluence of post-COVID challenges (Nordic)

Contacts

Jenn, Mr. H, Lorre

More news: HIStalk.

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

News 6/22/22

Top News

Physical therapy-focused practice management software startup Spry raises $7 million in a funding round led by Eight Roads Ventures.

Webinars

July 12 (Tuesday) 1 ET. “Digital Data Stewardship for Trusted, High-Quality Data Exchange.” Sponsor: Clinical Architecture. Presenter: Carol Graham, MS, RN, product manager, Clinical Architecture. Organizations face challenges in ensuring that the patient data they received and send is consistent, accurate, and usable. Use cases include receiving multi-source data across health information networks with variation in formats and content; merging and de-duplicating provider, payer, and research data; uplifting legacy data for current use cases and formats; and normalizing and formatting data for public health surveillance, quality measure reporting, and providing directly to the patient. This webinar will cover Pivot, a comprehensive Digital Data Steward solution that orchestrates format harmonization, content (vocabulary) normalization, de-duplication, and data quality validation into a single solution.

Previous webinars are on our YouTube channel. Contact Lorre to present your own.

People

DispatchHealth promotes Reza Alavi, MD (Optum) to president of its Advanced Care hospital-at-home program.

Announcements and Implementations

Bizmatics integrates Zocdoc’s appointment finder and booking software with its PrognoCIS EHR.

Therapy Brands makes its pediatric Fusion EHR, practice management, and billing system available to physical, occupational, and speech therapy practices serving adult patients.

Research and Innovation

Patient preferences for online conveniences are growing, according to a Phreesia survey of 4,136 patients:

• An average of 83% say they’d book or reschedule an appointment online if given the option.
• Sixty-four percent prefer to see providers who offer online check-in; 29% consider it a must-have when selecting a provider.
• Seventy percent would opt for online payments if given the option.
• Nearly 90% have digitally messaged their physician; 41% say it’s also a must-have.

Other

The American Medical Association highlights physician (and patient) frustrations with prior authorization denials. Several, including Tauseef Ali, MD have taken to Twitter to post de-identified denial letters: “Patients ‘love it – and they get very excited and encouraged that there is a doctor who is advocating on their behalf.’”

Other physicians take a more satirical route. I’d label it as comedy if patient lives weren’t on the line.

Sponsor Updates

• AdvancedMD recognizes Product Developer Kylie Jensen with a FIT Award.
• Nordic posts DoctTalk Ep. 106, “Redefining health for a new era of care.”

Blog Posts

• Disease Explorer: Effectiveness Through Cohorts (EClinicalWorks)

Contacts

Jenn, Mr. H, Lorre

More news: HIStalk.

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