News 5/3/23

Top News

The DEA announces that it will temporarily extend COVID-era emergency telehealth policies, giving telemedicine prescribers of controlled substances, particularly those used to treat opioid addiction and ADHD, more time to prepare their patients and business strategies for eventual, more permanent policy changes.

Prescribers will still be able to write prescriptions for these medications after a telemedicine visit, rather than first requiring an initial, in-person consult. The agency, which received 38,000 comments on its proposal to revert to pre-COVID, in-person requirements, has not said how long the temporary extension will last.

Webinars

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

Acquisitions, Funding, Business, and Stock

Kristin Mallon and Michele Wispelwey launch FemGevity, a concierge telemedicine service for women going through menopause. Mallon, a licensed certified nurse midwife and certified obstetrical nurse, was formerly chief strategy officer at high-risk Ob/Gyn practice  Maternal Resources in New Jersey. Wispelwey was a former director of women’s health services at Accurate Diagnostics.

Announcements and Implementations

Phoenix Family Medical Clinic (AZ) selects CareCloud’s EHR, RCM, chronic care management, and remote patient monitoring technologies.

Raintree Systems adds payment capabilities to its EHR and practice management offerings for therapy and rehab practices.

LCH Health and Community Services, an FQHC with three locations in Pennsylvania, implements Athenahealth’s AthenaOne and AthenaOne Dental platforms.

Southern Delaware Imaging Associates opts for practice management and revenue cycle software and services from Healthcare Administrative Partners.

Other

Murfreesboro Medical Clinic & SurgiCenter in Tennessee remains closed as it works to bring systems back online after an April 22 cyberattack.

Sponsor Updates

• Nordic releases a new episode of its In Network podcast, “Making Rounds: Leveraging analytics to create efficiencies.”
• EClinicalWorks releases a new podcast episode, “Enhanced Telehealth Experience with Healow Solutions.”

Contacts

Jenn, Mr. H, Lorre

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News 5/1/23

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Practice Better, which offers practice management software for wellness providers, raises $27 million. Co-founder and CEO Nathalie Garcia created the company in 2014 to fulfill her own need for technology better tailored to her nutritional practice’s needs.

Webinars

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

Acquisitions, Funding, Business, and Stock

Healthcare strategy and advisory firm VMG Health acquires BSM Consulting, which offers practice management consulting and compliance services to ambulatory surgery centers and ophthalmology and medical aesthetic practices.

Fertility care provider Kindbody raises $25 million in a funding round led by Morgan Health, bringing its total raised to $306 million.

Ophthalmology-focused Medical Consulting Group acquires Corcoran Consulting Group, which specializes in revenue cycle services for eye care professionals.

People

Das Health promotes Michelle Jaeger to president and CEO.

Announcements and Implementations

Litchfield Hills Orthopedic Associates implements EClinicalWorks across its surgery center and two offices in Torrington, CT.

Ecker Center for Behavioral Health (IL) selects the Qualifacts CareLogic EHR to support its Certified Community Behavioral Health Center efforts.

Research and Innovation

A recent Upfront Healthcare survey of 10,000 adults finds that 33% have visited their primary care provider more often than before the pandemic, while 25% have visited their PCP less often, leading analysts to suggest that providers may need to do more to entice patients back into their waiting rooms.

Sponsor Updates

• Nordic Consulting rebrands Bails & Associates, which it acquired in 2021, to Nordic ERP Services.
• Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare (TN) uses PerfectServe to streamline transfer center communications.
• Flagstaff Surgical Associates (AZ) upgrades its EClinicalWorks software and implements Healow Pay and Healow Check-In.

Blog Posts

• Freezing the squeeze on the Canadian primary care system (Nordic)

Contacts

Jenn, Mr. H, Lorre

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News 4/26/23

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London-based TympaHealth raises $30 million in a Series A funding round. The company offers an ear and hearing healthcare platform with cloud-based storage and EHR integration that providers can adopt to expand their services. Tympa plans to expand into the US, initially targeting primary care providers, retailers, and pharmacies.

David Horowitz (Oticon USA), a former VA medical center audiologist, has joined the company as its VP of sales in the US.

Webinars

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

Acquisitions, Funding, Business, and Stock

Walmart Health will open four clinics in Oklahoma next year. The company expects to have 75 up and running in eight states by the end of 2024. Having spent almost five consecutive hours at my local Walmart last month for shopping, dental, and medical appointments, I can say it’s undeniably convenient to have so many services in one location.

The Boston Business Journal reports that Athenahealth will relocate its headquarters in Watertown, MA to Boston Landing, home of the Celtics and Bruins practice facilities and a concert venue. The company had hinted at a possible relocation when it announced a round of layoffs in February. Athenahealth purchased its Arsenal-on-the-Charles office space in 2012 for $169 million.

USPTO grants patient billing communications vendor Inbox Health a patent related to using machine learning to adjust communications methodology and message content.

People

Param Hegde (Catapult Group) joins Therapy Brands as CTO.

Announcements and Implementations

Quality Medical Clinic (CO) selects EClinicalWorks.

Mindful Care (NY) will implement NextGen Healthcare’s behavioral health suite of technologies across its urgent mental healthcare facilities in six states.

Southern Delaware Imaging Associates will use revenue cycle and practice management software and services from Healthcare Administrative Partners.

Horizons Mental Health Center (KS) selects Netsmart’s CareFabric clinical, financial, and operational software.

Dell Laser Consultants in Austin, TX will roll out ModMed’s ophthalmology and payment processing software.

Research and Innovation

Physicians are more agreeable, conscientious, and extroverted than their patients, according to an analysis of two large personality surveys conducted in Australia. Physicians were also found to be more neurotic and less open than their patients. Family physicians were noted for their high level of agreeableness compared to other specialties and the general public.

Sponsor Updates

• AdvancedMD employees in Utah volunteer at the St. Vincent De Paul Dining Hall, Utah Food Bank, Clementine Ranch, and Encircle during its day of service.
• Nordic posts a podcast titled “Designing for Health: Interview with Chris McCarthy, Part 2.”

Contacts

Jenn, Mr. H, Lorre

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News 4/24/23

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Private equity firm TPG and pharmaceutical company AmeriSourceBergen  (soon to be known as Cencora) will acquire cancer-focused practice management company OneOncology for $2.1 billion.

According to its latest annual report, OneOncology manages 15 practices with a collective clinical staff of 1,500, backed by shared technologies and analytics.

Webinars

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

Acquisitions, Funding, Business, and Stock

Online ADHD prescription company Done pivots to a hybrid care model care in light of the May 11 expiration of the Public Health Emergency, after which physicians must see certain patients in person before prescribing controlled substances.

Announcements and Implementations

Mental healthcare and social services support provider Firsthand selects Ursa Health’s no-code analytics development platform.

Community Health Center of Cape Cod, which has six locations in Massachusetts, implements Bright.md’s SmartExam virtual care assessment and treatment planning software.

ScribeEMR begins offering virtual medial practice services including appointment scheduling, insurance verification and prior authorization, patient intake, chart prep, referral coordination, and billing.

Axios reports that Athenahealth will begin offering chronic care management services. It employs CCM nurses in Florida, Georgia, and Texas, and plans to expand to every state. Chief Product Officer Paul Brient says that, “Through this new initiative, we are expanding our partnership from one historically focused on helping our customers run their practices to one where we are also an extension of their care teams.”

Other

Former Kaiser Permanente CEO Robert Pearl, MD tells Wired that he’d make sure all of the provider’s 24,000 physicians were using ChatGPT in their practices, with the caveat that everything it does must be reviewed by a practicing physician: “I think it will be more important to doctors than the stethoscope was in the past. No physician who practices high-quality medicine will do so without accessing ChatGPT or other forms of generative AI.”

Contacts

Jenn, Mr. H, Lorre

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News 4/19/23

Top News

Front-office practice management startup Third Way Health raises $1.55 million in pre-seed funding, which it will use to launch US operations via pilots with practices in California and New York.

Webinars

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

Acquisitions, Funding, Business, and Stock

In response to pressure from former board members, Cano Health separates the roles of chairman and CEO, both held most recently by Marlow Hernandez, DO. Director Solomon Trujillo has been named chairman, allowing Hernandez to focus solely on the role of chief executive. The company notified shareholders of the role split in a letter that outlined its plans to improve operations, which may include selling off certain assets.

Announcements and Implementations

Choice Medical Group (CA) will use analytics from Decision Point to improve patient engagement.

The Collaborative for Children and Families in New York will implement EHR and care coordination software from Foothold Technology.

Next Level Medical leverages RevSpring’s patient engagement and payment technologies across its urgent care and employee wellness clinics in Texas.

Direct primary care company Hint Health selects Eden Health to power its fully virtual care service for employers and health plans.

Government and Politics

Online vision test company Visiblly, formerly known as Opternative, will pay $500,000 to the FDA to settle allegations that it misrepresented customer satisfaction rates and satisfaction guarantees, marketed its tests without the required clearance or approval, and claimed that its tests were as accurate as in-person exams. Visibly gained the necessary FDA approvals last August while the investigation was underway.

Research and Innovation

A small survey of practices that use medical chatbots on their websites finds that 77% believe AI-powered chatbots will be able to effectively treat patients within the next decade. The most common chatbot uses among those surveyed include Scheduling appointments, requesting medication refills, and providing requested information. Over half of practices that use chatbots for scheduling save an hour of administrative work each week.

New Surescripts data shows that almost half of all counties in the US are experiencing a shortage of primary care physicians. Sixty-one percent of those counties are home to retail pharmacies that could be tapped to fill in the healthcare gap.

Other

The Florida Association of ACOs develops an accelerator program to connect startups with mentors and investors, ACOs, and value-based care organizations.

Oncologist, assistant medical school professor, and singing comedian Stuart Bloom, MD brings “How to Avoid Burnout in 73 Minutes: A Musically Invasive Musical Procedure” to the stage in Minneapolis. Three of the five performances have already sold out.

Contacts

Jenn, Mr. H, Lorre

More news: HIStalk.

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