News 1/30/19

Top News

The 42 physicians breaking away from Novant Health announce their intent to join Holston Medical Group, a physician-owned chain of practices with locations in Tennessee and Virginia, that will expand into the Charlotte area. The newly-minted HMG MDs will experience a bit of a health IT learning curve as they transition from Novant’s Epic system to HMG’s Allscripts software.

None scheduled soon. Previous webinars are on our YouTube channel. Contact Lorre for information.

Acquisitions, Funding, Business, and Stock

Bloomberg profiles Gobiquity, a Nashville-based startup that has developed an eye-screening app for pediatricians. The company has raised $20 million since launching in 2013 from investors like Salesforce founder Marc Benioff. Its GoCheck app has helped 4,000 pediatricians across the country screen nearly 1 million kids – all without screening devices that typically cost upwards of $20,000. The app uses proprietary software to analyze eye photos for signs of abnormalities, and then sends that analysis to a patient’s EHR. An adult version of the app is in the works.

People

Nagi Prabhu (Icertis) joins Solutionreach as chief product officer.

Patient-Centered Primary Care Collaborative President Paul Grundy, MD (HealthTeamWorks) joins Innovaccer as chief transformation officer.

Other

Faced with dwindling federal grants, Metro Inclusive Health (FL) includes co-working and event space in its renovated headquarters as a way to test out new revenue streams. The four-facility nonprofit plans to launch a telemedicine app and apply for FQHC status later this year.

In other non-traditional revenue-stream news, Walgreens and CVS add dental services to select locations as they continue to try out ways to become one-stop healthcare shops, and stave off the implications of Amazon’s direct-to-consumer healthcare takeover. In an effort to attract more seniors, Walgreens has added an Aspen Dental practice to one of its Florida stores, while CVS has partnered with invisible aligner company SmileDirectClub.   

Contacts

Jenn, Mr. H, Lorre

More news: HIStalk.

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

News 1/28/19

Top News

A study of over 70,000 adults with and without a designated primary care doctor finds that those who do identify as having primary care more high-value care, less low-value care, and better patient experiences. Perhaps even more interesting is the fact that 25 percent of surveyed adults didn’t take advantage of primary care services even though they had health insurance coverage. That finding, according to the study’s authors, point to a lack of primary care access, physician shortages, and the propensity of younger patients to seek care outside of the traditional primary care business model – all signs that point to the value technology could play in connecting more adults with primary care services.

Webinars

None scheduled soon. Previous webinars are on our YouTube channel. Contact Lorre for information.

Acquisitions, Funding, Business, and Stock

Seattle-based startup Vyrty raises $3 million to scale a its mobile Sync.MD PHR, which it claims gives patients the ability to download their health data from any source and share it with their providers. I  have to admit I’m surprised this type of company is getting funding given Apple’s increasingly wide health record app reach, not to mention the already saturated EHR/PHR market. Granted, technology like Sync.MD might be appealing to Android users. The company has also developed a health record card that can be read by providers using a special card reader.

Global investment company Investcorp acquires practice management company Health Plus Management for an undisclosed amount. Health Plus CEO Stuart Blumberg, who founded the company in 1994, will remain with the business.

CNBC profiles 98point6, an on-demand primary care service that offers patients access to care via chatbot and messaging for a monthly fee. The company has raised $86 million since launching in 2015, and recently announced its availability to patients in all 50 states. The leadership team includes former Amazon Prime head Rob Schwietzer and family planning software developer Robbie Cape. Its bread and butter thus far seems to be contracts with self-insured employers like Seattle Children’s Hospital and

People

EHR and practice management company CentralReach names Cheryl Michael (Envera Health) chief product officer.

Announcements and Implementations

Northern Virginia Pulmonary and Critical Care Associates selects EHR and practice management software from TSI Healthcare, plus cloud-hosting services, and help with MIPS.

Government and Politics

CMS launches the What’s Covered Medicare app to give members easier access to program resources, especially coverage information. The app is part of the government’s EMedicare initiative, which launched last year as a set of digital tools that give patients better insight into their Medicare coverage and healthcare costs.

Other

New York City-based direct primary care company Parsley Health opens its first stand-alone clinic using a design aesthetic based on principles that mimic nature. The calming effect is grounded in science: Research shows that natural references within a space can lower heart rate and blood pressure. LED lights are used instead of fluorescents, which produce slight flickers that can be irritating to the nervous system and the cause of headaches. Even the clinic’s hallways, which mimic nature, are designed to reduce stress, improve comfort, and provide a greater sense of safety. The company, which also operates three clinics inside of WeWork co-working offices, also plans to open a clinic in Los Angeles.

Sponsor Updates

Blog Posts

• Why We’re Fixing EHRs Where They Hurt at HIMSS19 (Medicomp Systems)
• How to capture positive online reviews for your practice (PerfectServe)

Contacts

Jenn, Mr. H, Lorre

More news: HIStalk.

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

News 1/23/19

Top News

Aledade adds $10 million to its Series C funding round, bringing its total to $56 million. The financing, led by Mosaic Health Solutions and Echo Health Ventures, brings the ACO development company’s total funding to over $130 million since launching five years ago. It hopes to add 80-plus employees over the next year, plus focus on building payer partnerships.

Webinars

None scheduled soon. Previous webinars are on our YouTube channel. Contact Lorre for information.

Acquisitions, Funding, Business, and Stock

Forty-one physicians declare their intent to break away from Novant Health (NC) and form their own medical group – a move similar in nature to last year’s decision by dozens of Atrium Health physicians to leave amid legal wranglings to form Tryon Medical Group. Those physicians now span eight offices to care for 80,000 patients.  Head cardiologist Dale Owen, MD said at the time that the breakaway was because, “We didn’t feel like we were in control of our practice. We didn’t feel like we were serving the patients properly either.”

Announcements and Implementations

Medical dictation vendor Computers Made Effective will offer IM Your Doc’s real-time messaging and video consult solution.

People

Maven Clinic hires Melissa Frieswick (Virgin Pulse) as chief revenue officer.

Greenway Health names Kali Durgampudi (Nuance) chief technology and innovation officer.

Telemedicine

Athletico Physical Therapy (IL) selects telemedicine technology from Mend to offer virtual PT consults to its patients in 12 states.

The Pill Club, an app-based birth control prescription and delivery company, raises $51 million in a Series B round led by VMG Partners.

Other

A blog in Health Affairs suggests several ways CMS can support resource-strapped small practices participating in MIPS, especially those that don’t have the IT infrastructure necessary to meet reporting requirements. (According to 2017 MIPS performance data, smaller practices fared worse than their larger counterparts in the areas of Composite Performance Score and financial penalties.) Suggestions include simplifying or reducing quality reporting requirements, and providing up-front funds for health IT purchases.

Sponsor Updates

• AdvancedMD publishes a new guide, “What NOT to do When Working with a VBC RCM Outsource Supplier.”
• Aprima’s PRM, Version 18 earns ONC Health IT Certification from the Drummond Group.

Contacts

Jenn, Mr. H, Lorre

More news: HIStalk.

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

News 1/21/19

Top News

A county-by-county analysis finds that opioid use and overdose deaths increased in places where pharma companies focused their marketing efforts, and that the number of interactions between pharma reps and MDs is a more telling indicator of opioid prescriptions than the dollar amount associated with the interaction. One in 12 US physicians are the recipients of opioid marketing, with one in five of those being family medicine providers.

“The widespread practice of taking doctors out to lunch or dinner to talk about opioid products is probably contributing more to the opioid crisis in the US than these less common instances of docs receiving really large-value payments,” explained lead researcher and pediatrician Scott Hadland, MD. “Our findings suggest that direct-to-physician opioid marketing may run counter to national efforts to reduce overdose deaths,” he added, “and that policymakers should consider limits on marketing as part of a robust, evidence-based response to the US overdose crisis.”

Webinars

None scheduled in the coming weeks. Previous webinars are on our YouTube channel. Contact Lorre for information.

Acquisitions, Funding, Business, and Stock

EHR and practice management company EMDs consolidates operations and relocates its headquarters to new office space in Austin, TX. The vendor’s Practice Partner and Plus 4.0 solutions earned ONC Health IT certifications earlier this month.

Announcements and Implementations

Discovery Behavioral Health, a substance use and addictive behavior treatment provider with 60 facilities across the US, selects KipuHealth’s behavioral health-focused EHR.

DaVita Physician Solutions develops and implements CKD EHR by Epic at 20 DaVita practices in 12 states. The software was developed over nine months to help DaVita providers treat patients with chronic kidney disease, and was designed to work in tandem with their Epic systems. The company hopes to roll the new technology out to all DaVita providers by 2020.

People

Paul Shenenberger (Summit Health Management) joins Privia Health as CISO and SVP of IT operations.

Government and Politics

MyPractice24 owner and CEO Ed Henry pleads guilty to to one count of government property theft as part of his involvement in a medical kickback scheme that defrauded Medicare using the chronic care management company’s services and help from conspiring physicians.

Other

What a novel idea: Research surfaces that finds reading for pleasure relieves symptoms of physician burnout.

Oh the eye-rony: A patient on his way to an appointment at Gilbert Eyecare (VA) crashes his car into the practice after accidentally pressing the gas pedal instead of the brakes. Optometrist David Gilbert has since put up a sign that reads, “Walk-ins Welcome. Drive-Thru Not So Much.”

More eyecare humor: A practice in Louisiana offers free eye exams to all NFL officials after the New Orleans Saints championship loss to the Los Angeles Rams, a turn of events many have attributed to a botched call by referees.

Sponsor Updates

Blog Posts

• Building healthcare’s most advanced care team collaboration: An interview with the CEOs of PerfectServe and Telmediq (PerfectServe)
• Blue Button: The Latest in Interoperability (EClinicalWorks)
• 2-Factor Authentication: Your security supercharger (AdvancedMD)

Contacts

Jenn, Mr. H, Lorre

More news: HIStalk.

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

News 1/16/19

Top News

CVS CEO Larry Merlo tells the National Press Club that the retail pharmacy chain has a bold vision for its role in the healthcare ecosystem now that its Aetna acquisition has been finalized. According to Merlo, the company will add wearable devices, push notifications, and predictive analytics to its health IT repertoire, which already includes prescription price transparency tools from within its Epic EHR. New concept stores will feature these capabilities in action, giving customers access to patient navigators who can help them act on preventive recommendations, take advantage of immunizations and screenings for chronic conditions from pharmacists, and better understand CVS Health services and their insurance benefits.

The company will also launch a five-year, $100 million program that will partner with community organizations to help improve access to care and management of chronic conditions and opioids through its chain of MinuteClinics. CVS will provide grant funding to more than 100 free clinics and community health centers in 2019 alone.

Webinars

January 17 (Thursday) 1:00 ET. “Panel Discussion: Improving Clinician Satisfaction & Driving Outcomes.” Sponsor: Netsmart. Presenters: Denny Morrison, PhD, chief clinical advisor, Netsmart; Mary Gannon, RN, chief nursing officer, Netsmart; Sharon Boesl, deputy director, Sauk County Human Services; and Allen Pendell, SVP of IS and analytics, Lexington Health Network. This panel discussion will cover the state of clinician satisfaction across post-acute and human services communities, turnover trends, strategies that drive clinical engagement and satisfaction, and the use of technology that supports those strategies. Real-world examples will be provided.

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

Acquisitions, Funding, Business, and Stock

Atlanta-based Aetna members can now take advantage of Heal’s app-based house call service. It is the first new market for the California-based company since it launched in 2015.

Clinical communications and collaboration company PerfectServe acquires competitor Telmediq for an undisclosed sum. Telmediq founder and CEO Ben Moore will become PerfectServe’s chief product officer. PerfectServe was acquired by K1 Investment Management last year.

Announcements and Implementations

ChiroFusion adds online scheduling to its EHR for chiropractors.

Government and Politics

Canadian physician and professor Nav Persaud argues for a national EHR for primary care to improve data sharing between institutions. “If we are truly committed to improving the health of Canadians,” he says, “a bold move such as this is needed.” Persaud cites the VA and Singapore as shining examples of organizations that have successfully adopted single-record systems, omitting mention of the VA’s decision to spend billions of dollars on a new system from Cerner, and the 2018 SingHealth data breach that compromised the data of 1.5 million patients and resulted in several staff members being fired for negligence.

Other

The American College of Physicians includes for the first time sections on telemedicine and EHRs in its annual ethics manual. A snippet:

“The EHR should assist and enhance clinical reasoning and the development of cognitive and diagnostic skills; for example, copy-and-paste and other features should be used carefully and only if they help reflect the physician’s thought processes about the current patient encounter and produce an accurate and complete medical record that meets ethical standards. Electronic health record information retrieval, exchange, and remote access can improve care, but also create risks, including unauthorized disclosure and use of protected health information.”

Contacts

Jenn, Mr. H, Lorre

More news: HIStalk.

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