News 8/5/20

Top News

EHR Integration Services merges with health IT development company Byte Sized Solutions to form Keena Healthcare Technology. The new company will focus on clinical workflow and interface development, as well as EHR conversions and data archiving.

Founding partner Craig Luce began his career with IDX Systems, moving to Allscripts when it acquired IDX in 2000. He founded EHR Integration Services in 2006.

Webinars

August 19 (Wednesday) 1:00 ET. “A New Approach to Normalizing Data.” Sponsor: Intelligent Medical Objects. Presenters: Rajiv Haravu, senior product manager, IMO; Denise Stoermer, product manager, IMO. Healthcare organizations manage an ever-increasing abundance of information from multiple systems, but problems with quality, accuracy, and completeness can make analysis unreliable for quality improvement and population health initiatives. The presenters will describe how IMO Precision Normalize improves clinical, quality, and financial decision-making by standardizing inconsistent diagnosis, procedure, medication, and lab data from diverse systems into common, clinically validated terminology.

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

Acquisitions, Funding, Business, and Stock

Radiation Business Solutions acquires MBR Medical Billing for an undisclosed sum.

MedCoShare launches in Philadelphia to offer physicians co-working office space. Membership plans include reserved office space, medical equipment, and cleaning and disposal services. The company’s initial space includes eight exam rooms and two offices that could accommodate 10 full-time physicians.

Primary care development company Tandigm Health and Gateway Medical Associates (PA) launch Tandigm Physician Services, which will offer independent practices technologies and services for value-based care.

Announcements and Implementations

ReferWell adds virtual visit scheduling capabilities from Bluestream Health to its care coordination and transition software.

Other

Physician education company Knowledge to Practice announces GA of CurrentMD COVID, a series of subscription-based microlearning modules designed to help physicians diagnose, treat, and manage COVID-19 patients.

Sponsor Updates

Blog Posts

• Preparing your stakeholders for new information blocking rules (Nordic)
• Where to Find COVID-19 Reimbursement Rates & Billing Change Information (AdvancedMD)
• Hire the Best! Tips for Finding Office Talent (EClinicalWorks)

Contacts

Jenn, Mr. H, Lorre

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News 8/3/20

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Reuters reports that Web-based prescription savings company GoodRx is preparing to file for an IPO.

It added telemedicine services last year through its acquisition of HeyDoctor, and has had a busy 2020 with the addition of a labs marketplace with COVID-19 testing options, the hiring of new executives, and national expansion of its virtual visit capabilities.

Webinars

August 19 (Wednesday) 1:00 ET. “A New Approach to Normalizing Data.” Sponsor: Intelligent Medical Objects. Presenters: Rajiv Haravu, senior product manager, IMO; Denise Stoermer, product manager, IMO. Healthcare organizations manage an ever-increasing abundance of information from multiple systems, but problems with quality, accuracy, and completeness can make analysis unreliable for quality improvement and population health initiatives. The presenters will describe how IMO Precision Normalize improves clinical, quality, and financial decision-making by standardizing inconsistent diagnosis, procedure, medication, and lab data from diverse systems into common, clinically validated terminology.

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

Acquisitions, Funding, Business, and Stock

Colorado-based virtual scribe company Skywriter MD announces plans to expand operations into Lubbock, Texas, including hiring 100 additional employees.

Medicare-focused primary care company Oak Street Health amends its regulatory statement to reflect its goal of raising $250 million in an IPO expected later this week. It has raised nearly $550 million and now operates 54 medical centers in eight states.

NextGen reports a slight drop in Q1 revenue to $130.9 million, a result CEO Rusty Frantz attributes to a decrease in patient volume across the vendor’s ambulatory sites.

Announcements and Implementations

The Center for Reproductive Medicine implements Meditab’s FertilityEHR at its three clinics in Alabama.

Greenway Health will leverage Amazon Web Services to build a cloud-based data services platform for regulatory analytics.

Virginia Cardiovascular Specialists adds virtual visit capabilities to its NextGen Enterprise system.

Chesapeake Medical Imaging (MD) goes live on ERad’s RIS, PACS, speech recognition, and patient and physician portals through a virtual implementation at six of its 13 facilities.

ARC Fertility (CA) selects patient payment technology from Rectangle Health.

Idaho Health Data Exchange implements social services search and referral capabilities from Aunt Bertha.

Other

The California Medical Association and Orange County Medical Association host several dozen drive-by PPE distribution events for qualifying healthcare workers that work in smaller practices. Each pre-registered recipient receives a box filled with 350 N95 masks, 2,000 surgical masks, 2,000 pairs of gloves, 100 gowns, and 50 face shields.

Sponsor Updates

Blog Posts

• How Virtual Waiting Rooms Protect Patients, Staff, and Productivity (PerfectServe)
• Are quality metrics becoming MacGuffins of healthcare? (Nordic)

Contacts

Jenn, Mr. H, Lorre

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News 7/29/20

Top News

App-based house call and virtual primary care company Heal announces a $100 million investment from Humana. The financing, which will help it to expand into Chicago, Houston, and Charlotte, NC, is part of a partnership that will make Heal’s primary care services available to Humana members.

Webinars

August 19 (Wednesday) 1:00 ET. “A New Approach to Normalizing Data.” Sponsor: Intelligent Medical Objects. Presenters: Rajiv Haravu, senior product manager, IMO; Denise Stoermer, product manager, IMO. Healthcare organizations manage an ever-increasing abundance of information from multiple systems, but problems with quality, accuracy, and completeness can make analysis unreliable for quality improvement and population health initiatives. The presenters will describe how IMO Precision Normalize improves clinical, quality, and financial decision-making by standardizing inconsistent diagnosis, procedure, medication, and lab data from diverse systems into common, clinically validated terminology.

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

People

Ronald Dixon, MD (Onduo) joins Remedy as CMO.

Kindbody names Patty Stull (Shady Grove Fertility) COO, Taryn Branca (Mercer) SVP of Enterprise Sales, and Boon Chen (IntegraMed Fertility) as VP of engineering.

Announcements and Implementations

E-consult software vendor RubiconMD announces GA of RubiconRX, a service that loops in pharmacists to the virtual consultation process for optimal medication management.

FQHCs including Carevide (TX), Palms Medical Group (FL), and Fresno American Indian Health Project (CA) implement I2I’s population health management technology.

Research and Innovation

A DocASAP survey of 1,000 consumers finds that 40% have scheduled a telemedicine appointment over the last several months, with nearly all expressing satisfaction with their visits due to ease, efficiency, and convenience. Nearly 100% of those who’ve had a virtual visit say they’d prefer them over future in-person encounters.

Other

Hundreds of medical files, syringes, and and blood samples have been discovered in a dumpster behind the now closed Southcare Community Service building in Wilmington, NC. Government health officials are assessing HIPAA violations and resulting fines.

Sponsor Updates

Blog Posts

• 6 Tech Tips to Quench the Burnout (AdvancedMD)
• Reflections on healthcare IT consulting in the midst of COVID-19 (Nordic)
• Pushing Boundaries, Reaching New Horizons (EClinicalWorks)
• Overview of Nordic’s Provider Experience Solution (Nordic)

Contacts

Jenn, Mr. H, Lorre

More news: HIStalk.

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News 7/27/20

Top News

The online healthcare company war heats up: Health, wellness, prescription delivery, and telemedicine company Ro raises $200 million, bringing its total raised to $376 million while achieving a $1.5 billion valuation.

The company, which offers several gender-specific healthcare products and services, plus a smoking cessation program, is working on building out its telemedicine software so that physicians can more easily see and triage waiting patients. It also plans to develop an at-home diagnostic testing service.

Competitor Hims, which is valued at $1 billion, let it be known last week that it hopes to go public through acquisition.

Webinars

August 19 (Wednesday) 1:00 ET. “A New Approach to Normalizing Data.” Sponsor: Intelligent Medical Objects. Presenters: Rajiv Haravu, senior product manager, IMO; Denise Stoermer, product manager, IMO. Healthcare organizations manage an ever-increasing abundance of information from multiple systems, but problems with quality, accuracy, and completeness can make analysis unreliable for quality improvement and population health initiatives. The presenters will describe how IMO Precision Normalize improves clinical, quality, and financial decision-making by standardizing inconsistent diagnosis, procedure, medication, and lab data from diverse systems into common, clinically validated terminology.

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

Acquisitions, Funding, Business, and Stock

Well Health Technologies forms a new subsidiary dedicated to investing in and marketing digital health apps. The Canadian company, which recently launched a cybersecurity division, also has a network of clinics and an EHR business unit.

Walmart Health will open six more clinics in the Atlanta area by the end of this year, bringing its total to at least 13 by the end of 2021. The company already has clinics or plans to open them in Georgia, Arkansas, Illinois, and Florida. Reports suggest that Walmart may incorporate its healthcare services into its forthcoming subscription service, Walmart+, or offer access to telemedicine services from partners Doctor on Demand or 98point6. The program’s annual $98 fee will include same-day grocery deliveries, fuel discounts, and other unnamed perks.

Announcements and Implementations

Birmingham Heart Clinic (AL) will implement EHR, practice management, patient engagement, and financial analytics software from TSI Healthcare.

Northeast Valley Health deploys InteliChart’s Healthy Outcomes patient engagement software across its 16 community health centers in California.

DrChrono adds ClearGage’s patient estimator and financing software to its practice management system.

Office Practicum will add telemedicine capabilities from Anytime Pediatrics to its specialty EHR.

Government and Politics

The HHS Office for Civil Rights fines Metropolitan Community Health Services $25,000 for failing to adopt a corrective action plan to settle potential HIPAA violations from a 2011 data breach. The North Carolina-based FQHC has also agreed to two years of corrective monitoring.

Other

GeekWire profiles Remmie Health, a Seattle-based startup that has developed an otoscope-like device for use at home. Biomedical engineer Jane Zhang developed the device after struggling through several years of ENT visits with her young son for ear infections. She and her team are developing symptom assessment and telemedicine capabilities to help parents cut down on office visits.

Contacts

Jenn, Mr. H, Lorre

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News 7/22/20

Top News

Reuters reports that online prescription delivery and telemedicine company Hims is considering going public through a merger with an unnamed company that could put its value at $1 billion.

Hims launched in 2017 and now offers treatments for hair loss, erectile dysfunction, skincare, mental health, and general wellness. It launched companion site Hers a year later.

Webinars

None scheduled soon. Previous webinars are on our YouTube channel. Contact Lorre to present your own.

Acquisitions, Funding, Business, and Stock

Walmart Health will expand into Florida next year, with an initial presence in Jacksonville. Clinics will also eventually open in Illinois.

Offshore IT and RCM vendor Medical Billing Wholesalers completes its acquisition of competitor Benchmark Billing Solutions.

Announcements and Implementations

TheraNest adds e-prescribing capabilities to its practice management and EHR software for therapists, psychologists, counselors, and social workers.

DrFirst announces GA of CareComplete, a data aggregation tool that better enables providers to make real-time care decisions using payer and treatment data.

Streamline Healthcare Solutions adds telemedicine features to its SmartCare EHR.

ReferralMD adds automated prior authorization to its care coordination software.

GoodRx expands its telemedicine service to all 50 states and Washington, DC.

Other

Florida Orthopaedic Institute notifies patients of an April ransomware attack that may have compromised PHI.

Remote patient monitoring company Electronic Caregiver develops the Protector Initiative Infectious Disease Mitigation Program, which uses technology to help organizations screen people for COVID-19 before they enter a building or event.

Boston-based primary care physician Amy Wheeler, MD shares the struggles she and her colleagues face in convincing patients not to delay care because they’d prefer an in-person visit to a virtual one. Returning to pre-COVID-19 patient volumes won’t happen anytime soon: “To begin ramping back up, we are scheduling only about one-quarter of the patients we were seeing before the pandemic started so we can study our workflows and make sure we maintain safety for patients and staff. After this cautious time, we will move through Massachusetts’ four-phase reopening plan and increase in-person visits while continuing to maintain safe social distancing.”

Sponsor Updates

Blog Posts

• Important Ways COVID-19 Should Change Your Clinic Moving Forward (Part 1) (AdvancedMD)
• How to Keep Your Patients & Staff Safe During COVID-19 (EClinicalWorks)
• Things to consider when embarking on a merger or acquisition (Nordic)

Contacts

Jenn, Mr. H, Lorre

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