News 6/15/15

Top News

Aledade raises a $30 million Series B funding round led by Arch Venture Partners with additional investment from Series A investor Venrock. The company, which made the announcement on its first anniversary, will use the hefty infusion of cash to continue building software for partner practices, create new ACOs and expand existing ones, develop value-based arrangements with commercial payers, and expand its workforce. Given that the company is just a year old, I wonder how it will avoid falling into the typical startup trap of growing too big, too fast. CEO Farzad Mostashari, MD offers this explanation: 

“Both our rate of growth and the amount of this funding round were driven by the demand we’ve seen across the country for our unique ACO model – and for the expertise our team is bringing to the table. But we’re extremely conscious of growing in a way that maintains the concierge medicine-level of engagement we want with our partner practices, and their patient populations. We’re putting in place structured customer feedback mechanisms, and taking full advantage of the scaling power of cloud-based analytics and technology tools. But at the end of the day it comes down to talent. We’ve built an all-star team of health care policy, technology, and regulatory experts at Aledade – and that team has been foundational to our success so far.  We’ll be doing a lot of hiring over the next several months – data scientists, engineers, and business and operations staff.  But for every new team member we bring on, we’ll be asking ourselves the same questions we have since day one: Does this person share our North Star? Do they want to help primary care doctors lead the biggest transformation in healthcare we’ve seen in this country in generations? If we stay true to that mission, and bring on individuals who share it, we’re confident that we’ll maintain the same – or better – level of service and success for our partners.”

HIStalk Practice Announcements and Requests

Did you know June is National Migraine Awareness Month? I didn’t until an intrepid PR staffer sent me an email alert about it and the iHeadache app developed by neurologist Brian Loftus, MD. Given that I suffer from them maybe a half dozen times a year, I don’t know how much I’d benefit from using it, though I know of one close family member – and chronic sufferer – whose interest might be piqued.

One of my favorite radio stations honors ER and urgent care workers as Work Day Heroes. It’s a nice idea, given that these types of clinicians don’t have the opportunity to establish long-term rapport with their patients and probably aren’t the recipients of hand-drawn thank you notes and new baby photos from grateful patients and parents.

Webinars

June 30 (Tuesday) 11:00 ET. “Value Based Reimbursement – Leveraging Data to Build a Successful Risk-based Strategy.” Sponsored by McKesson. Presenters: Michael Udwin, MD, executive director of physician engagement, McKesson; Jeb Dunkelberger, executive director of corporate partnerships, McKesson. Healthcare organizations are using empowered physician leadership and credible performance analysis to identify populations, stratify risk, drive physician engagement, and expose opportunities for optimized care. Attendees will learn best practices in laying a foundation for developing a successful risk-based strategy.

Acquisitions, Funding, Business, and Stock

CVS acquires Target’s retail clinic and pharmacy business for $1.9 billion. CVS will rebrand the Target operations under its MinuteClinic and CVS/pharmacy names, and anticipates opening an additional 20 Target-based MinuteClinics within the next three years. The companies will also develop up to 10 smaller TargetExpress stores, each including a CVS pharmacy.

Catalia Health secures $1.25 million in seed funding from Khosla Ventures and other investors. The personal robotics and chronic-disease management company will use the funding to scale up development of its Mabu Personal Healthcare Companion, including putting its first robots on the market by the end of 2015.

Announcements and Implementations

Software company ThoughtWorks partners with nonprofit Save the Children to develop an open-source EHR for use in highly infectious medical outbreaks such as Ebola. The EHR features an adaptable user interface, catering to healthcare workers in constraining protective gear or those working in less restrictive environments.

People

Nordic Consulting promotes Abby Polich to VP of affiliate solutions.

Alfred Hamilton (George Washington University) joins CTG as vice president and general manager of its healthcare and life sciences practice.

Government and Politics

ONC releases detailed information on every healthcare professional who attested to the Medicare Meaningful Use program since its inception through April 2015. The massive file includes national provider identifier numbers, details related to when and what stage of MU attesters achieved, and the EHR vendor and product (including certification year) used to attest.

And speaking of MU … EPs have until midnight tonight to comment on the proposed rule from CMS that would modify MU standards for the next several years, including the hot-button issue of eliminating nearly all patient engagement measures. MGMA is a big fan of the proposed rule, which it believes will “decrease the administrative burden for EPs already participating in the program and increase the number the EPs joining the program for the first time.”

This article highlights the shady privacy practices of the government data warehouse used to store information indefinitely on consumers who have registered at Healthcare.gov, even those that didn’t sign up for coverage.

Research and Innovation

MetaOptima debuts the MoleScope at the World Congress of Dermatology in Vancouver, offering physicians and consumers a microscope attachment for smartphones that allows them to take, store, and share images of moles and other suspicious skin lesions.

PatientsLikeMe and the FDA agree to collaborate on research that will determine how patient-reported data can offer new insights into drug safety. The FDA will now be able to access and analyze data from the 350,000 PatientsLikeMe member network, including 110,000 adverse event reports on 1,000 medications.

Telemedicine

Iowa passes legislation allowing a first-time patient visit over telemedicine if the standard of care doesn’t demand an in-person visit.

The local paper profiles John Shufeldt, MD and his Scottsdale, AZ-based MeMD telemedicine company. The state of Indiana recently joined the roster of MeMD’s service locations as part of a pilot project to test the telemedicine waters. State officials will decide this fall after the pilot concludes whether or not to allow virtual appointments between physicians and patients with no previous in-person relationship.

Other

I can’t decide whether this is creepy or useful: Plastic surgeon Carrie Stern launches MirrorMe3D to offer prospective clients 3-D renderings of how surgery could impact their features. Printouts range from $60 to $300 for a full-sized head. 

The American Medical Association passes a proposal that calls for the AMA to create ethical and professional guidelines for media doctors such as Dr. Oz, whose evidence-lacking claims reach millions of TV viewers who aren’t aware of his paid endorser status and his off-center positions on scientific topics. The AMA will also issue guidelines disciplining unethical media doctors through existing channels such as state licensing boards and medical societies.

Sponsor Updates

• Medicity recaps its HIStalk webinar, “Successful HIEs DO Exist: Best Practices for Care Coordination.”
• Billian’s HealthData offers an Essentials licensing tier of its market intelligence database that includes key hospital and health system executives.
• Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta goes live with Clockwise.MD in its urgent care centers, allowing patients to reserve their spot in line and receive wait time updates.
• Versus Technology offers “How Your Hospital can Easily Track Nurse-to-Patient Ratios.”
• Greenway Health chooses Talksoft as Partner of the Month for June 2015.
• Nordic Consulting focuses on intervention in the latest episode of The HIT Breakdown podcast series.

Contacts

Jennifer,  Mr. H, Lorre, Dr. Jayne, Dr. Gregg, Lt. Dan

More news: HIStalk, HIStalk Connect.

Get HIStalk Practice  updates.
Contact us online.

Population Health Management Weekly Wrap Up 6/12/15

Top News

Raleigh, N.C.-based PredictifyMe lands $1.25 million in venture capital funding. The startup is prepping the debut of its predictive analytics platform for retailers, insurance, education, and healthcare companies. Its yet-to-be-released Hourglass Healthcare tool aims to build consumer profiles by aggregating their healthcare data with environment, consumer expenditure, buying habits, lifestyle triggers, and location and then rank them for associated risks with major illnesses.

Acquisitions, Funding, Business, and Stock

The Advisory Board Co. awards a $75,000 BUILD (Bold, Upstream, Integrated, Local, and Data-Driven) Health Challenge grant to an alliance of local organizations in Springfield, MA to help improve the health and wellbeing of residents in the underserved neighborhood of Old Hill. The Healthy Hill Initiative funds will be earmarked for projects in six areas including public health, healthcare, and health data. The Challenge will award up to $7.5 million in financial awards and low-interest loans over two years to support up to 14 community-driven efforts.

Tennessee-based Mountain States Health Alliance and Wellmont Health System officials create four community work groups to provide public input as the two organizations explore integrating their services. Findings from the work groups, which include population health, will be used to create a health needs assessment that will drive future initiatives including accountable care.

Announcements and Implementations

Accountable Care Medical Group (FL) chooses HealthEC’s population health management solution.

Greater Rochester Independent Practice Association (NY) integrates DataMotion’s Direct Secure Messaging with Infor’s Cloverleaf Cloud HIE to improve population health capabilities.

Research and Innovation

Researchers at New York University’s Langone Medical Center’s Division of Medical Ethics point out that that the use of EHRs as the primary source of data for NIH’s precision medicine initiatives poses unique concerns. They cite the unlikelihood of the initial precision medicine cohort to see the same physicians over an extended amount of time, as well as the fact that many patients in underserved communities receive sporadic care via ERs or free clinics. Interoperability also rears its ugly head: “This is a quaint but antiquated picture of medicine,” they explain. “PMI requires a centralized electronic record system to be most effective, but it has done nothing (yet) to streamline the hodgepodge system it currently relies on.”

Other

The South Korean government is enforcing the quarantine of over 2,300 citizens exposed to Middle East respiratory syndrome by tracking their cell phone locations.

Computerworld takes a fresh look at the changing face of healthcare, coining a new (to me) acronym in the process. SMAC refers to social, mobile, analytic, and cloud technologies that are beginning to drive self-care and predictive health strategies. As former executive director of innovation and advanced technologies at Kaiser Permanente Faye K. Sahai, explains, “When you look at social determinants of health, the doctor, hospital, and clinic are just a small percentage. It’s really more about how you eat, sleep, your environment, and genetics.”

In a pro-ACA (and ACO) editorial, Mercy Health (OH) executive John Starcher cites registries and tracking tools as key components of the health system’s population health initiatives. The organization’s Mercy Health Select ACO, the first in Cincinnati, manages 75,000 patients.

Contacts

Jennifer,  Mr. H, Lorre, Dr. Jayne, Dr. Gregg, Lt. Dan

More news: HIStalk, HIStalk Connect.

Get HIStalk Practice  updates.
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#HIStalking Tweet Chat Recap

News 6/11/15

Top News

Results from an Arkansas Medical Society survey paint a grim picture of physician preparedness for the switch to ICD-10 on October 1. Of 95 clinics surveyed, only 16 percent are prepared to implement the classification set today, while 30 percent firmly believe they won’t be ready by October. AMS Executive Vice President David Wroten has made no secret of his frustration with the switch: “It’s not going to save the health care system one penny. It’s not going to improve health care services one iota. There’s no benefit to the patient. There’s not benefit to the institution. The only benefit this is for are researchers and number-crunchers, yet we’re the ones having to pay for it.” Wroten and his colleagues are in favor of a one- to two-year grace period where providers would not be penalized if they haven’t made the switch.

Tweet Chat

Today’s #HIStalking tweet chat, hosted by Carly Medosch (@CarlyRM), was fun and informative. My favorite tweet came from @MayoInnovation in response to Q4: What’s a surefire way for the healthcare system to make you want to disengage? Check out the recap here. 

Acquisitions, Funding, Business, and Stock

Healthcare business process outsourcing company MiraMed acquires Plexus Management Group, a consulting and PM business, and Plexus Information Systems, an anesthesia information management systems vendor, for an undisclosed sum. MiraMed anticipates the businesses will complement its Anesthesia Business Consultants subsidiary.

Forbes takes a look at companies poised to make a big splash in healthcare over the next 12 to 18 months, noting that Walmart is poised to have a disruptive impact in primary care thanks to its attempts to accelerate low-cost consumerization of care.

People

Perry Wallack (Cornerstone OnDemand) joins the Kareo Board of Directors.

Announcements and Implementations

Multispecialty medical group ABQ Health Partners (NM) commits to a second pilot with Augmedix, the Stanford startup that utilizes the Google Glass platform to populate EHRs with data captured from real-time streaming of physician visits. An initial pilot last year with five physicians found that the technology saved each two hours a day.

Telemedicine

Brain Injury Services of SWVA will use a grant from Wounded Warrior Project to establish the Community Living Connection (CLiC) telemedicine program for veterans with traumatic brain injury. CLiC for Vets will combine cognitive rehabilitative exercises with practical skills, and offer information on available benefits and resources to advance personal goals and reintegration into the community.

Buffalo, NY-based Wegmans grocery story begins a telemedicine pilot project in four stores that will give shoppers access to an iPad to visit with physicians and psychologists when they have questions the pharmacist can’t answer. Clinical expertise will be provided by Doctor on Demand.

Research and Innovation

WEDI goes live with its latest ICD-10 survey in an effort to gauge progress made by health plans, providers, and clearinghouses since its last poll in February.

Prescriptions for a medication regimen to reduce strokes and heart attacks in diabetic patients increased by 40 percent after community health clinics implemented Kaiser Permanente’s ALL quality improvement protocol. The study clinics shared an EHR through nonprofit OCHIN, which added alerts to notify physicians when patients met thresholds to receive medications, and shortcuts to expedite ordering the medications.

Bad news for physician workflow and patient safety: A usability study of 11 EHR vendors finds that three had no user-centered design teams, while only four had "basic" user-centered processes. I’m baffled by the fact that multi-billion-dollar companies haven’t ponied up salaries for this type of expertise.

Other

The Palm Beach Post highlights the success physicians have seen thus far as part of Aledade’s ACO network, including a five-fold increase in vaccine administration thanks to increased patient engagement via patient portals. Aledade CEO Farzad Mostashari, MD also noted an increase in e-prescribing, with the caveat that technology can only do so much when it comes to transforming healthcare. He believes changing payment models and smarter incentives will really be what changes the game.

Thomas Ellis, MD CMIO of ECU Physicians (SC) brushes off the bad vibes of recent op/ed EHR diatribes from Washington Post columnist Charles Krauthammer, telling consumers:

“We are on the cusp of creating a system that places information directly in front of the provider to allow for better decisions, better communication and ultimately better outcomes for everyone. Providers want this to work and I see more of them engaging in the process as they see the potential. Patients, don’t worry about your provider leaving the medical field because of electronic health records. Instead, be a part of the process, be a part of your health and help providers help you. Sign up for your provider’s patient portal and become more engaged. Providers, keep asking for improvements, share ideas and engage in making the electronic record more user friendly.”

Sponsor Updates

• E-MDs customer Orlando Heart Specialists (FL) is chosen as one of five sites to pilot the American College of Cardiology SMARTCare ischemic heart disease treatment options program.
• PerfectServe client Orange Coast Memorial Medical Center is featured on the American Medical Group Association’s premiere of online news program High Performing Health.
• Leidos Health Vice President and Health Information Privacy and Security Officer Sean Murphy will speak on a panel cybersecurity in healthcare panel at the iHT2 Summit June 16-17 in Washington, D.C.

Contacts

Jennifer,  Mr. H, Lorre, Dr. Jayne, Dr. Gregg, Lt. Dan

More news: HIStalk, HIStalk Connect.

Get HIStalk Practice  updates.
Contact us online.

News 6/10/15

Top News

NoMoreClipboard notifies customers of a May 26, 2015 data breach after detecting suspicious activity on one of its servers related to its personal health record and patient portal. Compromised user data may include names, home addresses, usernames, hashed passwords, security questions and answers, email addresses, birthdates, health information, and Social Security numbers. The company is working with a third-party firm to determine the extent of the damage, and how many users have been affected.

Webinar

We had a great turnout for Tuesday’s Medicity-sponsored webinar titled “Successful HIEs DO Exist: Best Practices for Care Coordination.” Participation was so extensive that we ran out of Q&A time, but we’ve sent the remaining questions to speakers Brian Ahier of Medicity and Dan Paoletti of Ohio Health Information Partnership and will provide their answers by email. Check out the Twitter recap here.

Tweet Chat

Carly Medosch (@CarlyRM) will host the next #HIStalking tweet chat Thursday, June 11 at 1pm ET. Check out discussion topics here.

Acquisitions, Funding, Business, and Stock

EdgeMed Healthcare, a medical billing and PM services company based in Boca Raton, FL, selects Bankers Healthcare Group as its exclusive financing partner.

Reuters highlights the growing and competitive market for cloud storage of genetic data, fueled no doubt by the healthcare industry’s desire to cash in on anything remotely related to precision medicine. Amazon Web Services has the edge on Google, with Microsoft and IBM also looking to grab a slice of the business pie, which may be worth $1 billion a year by 2018.

People

Thomas McCarter, MD (Executive Health Resources) joins Team of Care as the company’s first CMO.

Government and Politics

Alabama joins the ICD-10 legislative frenzy, passing a joint resolution urging Congress to delay the October 1 implementation date. SJR 79 sponsor Sen. Tim Melson, MD explains that, "Physicians are already overburdened by federal reporting regulations, such as meaning use of electronic health records and the Physician Quality Reporting System that will straddle the ICD-10 start date of Oct. 1. Adding ICD-10 to the mix will only make matters worse for physicians who are only trying to treat their patients."

Former Democratic presidential nominee Howard Dean highlights the successes and failures of the ACA, emphasizing the positive role ACOs are playing in the industry shift to value-based care. He even goes so far as to suggest that an “ACO could, in theory, sell health care directly on the exchange, rather than through an insurance company serving as intermediary.”

Cerner CEO Neal Patterson joins a panel of industry stakeholders at today’s initial Senate HELP committee hearing on the future of EHRs. Led by Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN), the committee focused on outlining its plans to conduct an intense review of EHRs over the summer in the hopes of coming up with five or six steps for improvement. Upcoming hearings will focus on the burden physicians face as a result of EHRs and who controls information within the EHR.

Research and Innovation

The Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago develops the first bionic leg controlled by the brain. Engineers have made an intuitive control system incorporating electromygraphic signals that decodes a user’s intentions as they walk or go up and down stairs. Funding for a pilot project with seven amputees was funded by the Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research Center, part of the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command.

Telemedicine

Walgreens expands its MDLive-based telemedicine platform to users in Colorado, Illinois, and Washington. Users can also now access the platform via the company’s website on desktops and tablets. The company plans to open up the service to a total of 25 states by the end of the year.

Russia’s health minister announces plans to equip its rural health posts – medical centers in rural areas that provide first-aid – with Internet connections over the next two years. The connectivity will enable the posts to offer residents remote consultations via Skype. A two-year timeline seems daunting when you consider there are 83,000 villages with populations of less than 100 people across Russia.

Other

The local paper profiles Texas-based FQHC Cactus Clinic and its recent improvements, including moving to a new Athenahealth EHR and extending operating hours as part of a renewed focus on customer service.

For those traveling to Westeros over the summer, Google Maps offers public-transit directions via dragon. Presumably UK developers clock the dragon flight from Snowdon to the Brecon Beacons in Wales at 21 minutes.

Contacts

Jennifer,  Mr. H, Lorre, Dr. Jayne, Dr. Gregg, Lt. Dan

More news: HIStalk, HIStalk Connect.

Get HIStalk Practice  updates.
Contact us online.