News 1/19/22

Top News

Physical therapy software vendor WebPT acquires competitor Clinicient and its Keet digital MSK care subsidiary for an undisclosed sum. WebPT CEO Ashley Glover, who joined the company in November, will lead the combined businesses.

Webinars

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

Acquisitions, Funding, Business, and Stock

Yuvo Health raises $7.3 million in a seed funding round led by AlleyCorp. The New York-based startup helps FQHCs optimize back-office functions and transition to value-based care programs. It plans on expanding its team to focus on quality analytics and care coordination.

Dura Software, an umbrella company over software businesses that include EHR developer DBTech, acquires white-label telehealth vendor SecureVideo.

People

Atul Dhir (New Century Health) joins PatientsLikeMe as CEO.

Intraprise Health names George Pappas (DrFirst) CEO.

Announcements and Implementations

Health Information Management Systems (HiMS) develops a care delivery, communication, and coordination app.

Contacts

Jenn, Mr. H, Lorre

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News 1/17/22

Top News

ContinuumCloud, a cloud-based health IT developer focused on behavioral health and human services organizations, has acquired CaredFor, a patient engagement app company whose customers include more than 150 treatment centers. ContinuumCloud was formerly known as Behavioral Holdings, a software company formed by Battery Ventures nearly a year ago to market the Welligent EHR and Datis HR and payroll software to behavioral health organizations.

Webinars

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

Acquisitions, Funding, Business, and Stock

Heal co-founders Renee Dua, MD and Nick Desai raise $4.4 million for HeyRenee, their new, app-based care coordination and concierge service aimed at seniors. The platform will launch in early spring.

People

Jamey Christensen (Well Health) joins Health Note as SVP of sales.

Quartet Health names Jay Meyers (Wellvana Health) chief growth officer.

Other

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services will make available free, at-home COVID-19 tests at 18 libraries. Families may request up to five while supplies last.

Sponsor Updates

• Nordic achieves Select Partner and Public Sector Partner within the Amazon Web Services Partner Network.

Blog Posts

• 3 Signs That a Partnership is Complementary (Healthwise)

Contacts

Jenn, Mr. H, Lorre

More news: HIStalk.

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News 1/12/22

Top News

DeepScribe, an automated medical transcription startup based in San Francisco, raises $30 million. The company says its AI-powered technology has saved its 400 physician users an average of three hours per day. DeepScribe will use the funding to beginning scaling and marketing its technology to health systems.

Webinars

January 13 (Thursday) 1 ET. “Cultivating gender equity in STEM.” Sponsor: Intelligent Medical Objects. Presenters: Laura Miller, CEO, TempDev; Amanda Heidemann, MD, CMIO, CMIO Services, LLC; Deidra Jackson, VP of IFP customer success, Bright Health; Sunita Tendulkar, VP of agile portfolio management, IMO. Despites strides that are being made, women make up only 27% of the STEM workforce. This panel discussion will cover mentorship, STEM education, pay gaps, and debunking stereotypes.

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

Acquisitions, Funding, Business, and Stock

DTC telemedicine company LifeMD will acquire Cleared, an allergy-focused DTC telemedicine business, for $3.5 million.

Announcements and Implementations

CentralReach will integrate newly-acquired functional living skill assessment tools with its behavioral health software for autism care.

Islands Community Medical Services in Maine will leverage BlueStar Telehealth’s remote patient monitoring services.

Robeson Health Care, an FQHC with nine facilities in North Carolina, will use HealthSnap’s virtual chronic disease management technology.to remotely monitor patients with hypertension.

Other

Congrats to the University of Georgia, my alma mater, for winning the College Football Playoff National Championship Monday Night. The Bulldogs beat the Crimson Tide 33-18 in Indianapolis. While the rivalry may have been heated on the field, given that Georgia lost to Alabama several weeks before, UGA Head Coach Kirby Smart and Alabama Athletic Director Greg Byrne came together beforehand to encourage fans to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Go Dawgs!

Contacts

Jenn, Mr. H, Lorre

More news: HIStalk.

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News 1/10/22

Top News

Rockbridge Growth Equity invests in digital patient education company CheckedUp. The company’s last funding round, a Series A, occurred in 2018.

CheckedUp, which seems to market its products mainly to vision care providers, reminds me of Outcome Health, a much more high-profile company that offered similar services before it went down in flames in 2017. Several executives have been accused of luring investors in with false information about its customer base. The trials of co-founders Rishi Shah and Shradha Agarwal, and former CFO Brad Purdy, have been pushed back to 2023. Some analysts have suggested that the recent Theranos ruling doesn’t bode well for the former Outcome Health execs.

Webinars

January 13 (Thursday) 1 ET. “Cultivating gender equity in STEM.” Sponsor: Intelligent Medical Objects. Presenters: Laura Miller, CEO, TempDev; Amanda Heidemann, MD, CMIO, CMIO Services, LLC; Deidra Jackson, VP of IFP customer success, Bright Health; Sunita Tendulkar, VP of agile portfolio management, IMO. Despites strides that are being made, women make up only 27% of the STEM workforce. This panel discussion will cover mentorship, STEM education, pay gaps, and debunking stereotypes.

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

Acquisitions, Funding, Business, and Stock

Meditology Services, an information management, cybersecurity, and compliance company based in Atlanta, has secured a strategic investment from Primus Capital. Meditology Managing Partner Cliff Baker, a former HITRUST Alliance executive, also serves as CEO of Corl Technologies, a vendor information risk management business.

RCM software and services vendor Encoda secures an undisclosed amount of funding from Hughes & Company.

Texas-based BayMark Health Services has acquired online addiction treatment vendor Kaden Health. The behavioral health provider will initially offer the telemedicine service to patients at its AppleGate Recovery Centers.

People

MediStreams hires Jeff Hlozek (About) as SVP of commercial operations and Christopher Watson (Acoustic) as CTO.

Healthcare messaging app developer Celo Health promotes Jack Clough to chief growth officer. He’ll oversee operations at the company’s first US-based office in Seattle.

Announcements and Implementations

Strategic Radiology implements StreamlineMD’s EHR and RCM software.

Imaging Healthcare Specialists (CA) selects Within Health’s automated patient retention software.

Other

Urgent care clinic CareCube (NY) comes under fire for billing patients and their insurance companies for the same COVID-19 test by using incorrect billing codes. The company has faced scrutiny before: Employees have filed lawsuits related to failure to pay overtime, and have complained about pressure to perform procedures for which they aren’t trained. Owner Niranjan Mittal, MD is still fighting lawsuits related to malpractice, refusal to pay wages, and firing a woman for being pregnant.

Fertility Centers of Illinois notify 80,000 patients of a February 2021 data breach that may have exposed PHI.

Sponsor Updates

• PerfectServe has achieved the top ranking in the category of secure communications platforms: physician practices, according to Black Book Market Research’s latest cybersecurity survey.
• The Consulting Report includes Nordic CEO Jim Costanzo on its list of “Top 50 Consulting Firm CEOs of 2021.”

Blog Posts

• Support Nurses’ Ability to Easily Communicate with Providers and Patients (PerfectServe)
• Here’s How Personalization Increases Patient Engagement (Healthwise)
• Meeting Staffing Needs: Looking Beyond COVID-19 (EClinicalWorks)

Contacts

Jenn, Mr. H, Lorre

More news: HIStalk.

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News 1/5/22

Top News

Primary care company Vera Whole Health will acquire health data and benefits navigation technology company Castlight Health in a deal valued at $370 million. Vera, which markets its services to health plans and employers, operates 26 care centers in 10 states.

Webinars

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

Acquisitions, Funding, Business, and Stock

Francisco Partners has acquired Office Ally, a healthcare clearinghouse, RCM, and software company based in Vancouver, Washington. Office Ally founder and CEO Brian O’Neill will retire once the transaction closes. He will be succeeded by Chris Hart (Rubicon Founders), who has held executive positions within ESolutions and Experian.

Patient relationship management and practice marketing company Review Wave will move from Irvine, California to McKinney, Texas, where it plans on creating 73 additional jobs over the next three years.

Global digital health company Babylon acquires health kiosk vendor Higi. Babylon was the lead investor in Higi’s $30 million Series B funding round in 2020. Babylon Health CEO Ali Parsa said at the time that he planned to integrate his company’s software and services with Higi’s Smart Health Stations. Babylon Health is perhaps best known for its virtual care partnerships with England’s NHS.

People

Kyle Wailes (SmileDirectClub) joins Wellvana as CEO.

Verdi Oncology names Bill Herman (Wulou Labs) CEO.

Tom Catchings (NaviHealth) joins Matrix Medical Network as CIO.

Medisys promotes Mark Lewis to VP of sales.

Other

Fun (but useless) facts: A law firm determines that Homer Simpson’s medical bills over the course of 31 seasons would have totaled close to $143 million. Top diagnoses include brain damage, paralysis, radiation exposure, skull fracture, and loss of consciousness. Homer’s most frequent injuries were sustained through falls.

Contacts

Jenn, Mr. H, Lorre

More news: HIStalk.

Get HIStalk Practice updates.
Contact us online.
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