News 7/26/21

Top News

Craft Capital Management sells OnDemand Visit, a telemedicine practice development company, to an unnamed national healthcare services company.

Webinars

July 28 (Wednesday) 1 ET. “Stop running from your problem (list): Strategies for streamlining the EHR’s front page.” Sponsor: Intelligent Medical Objects. Presenters: Amanda Heidemann, MD, CMIO, CMIO Services LLC; James Thompson, MD, physician informaticist, IMO. How can clinicians mitigate the longstanding EHR problem list challenges of outdated or duplicative entries, rigid displays, and limited native EHR capabilities? The presenters will describe how to analyze current problems, create a problem list governance strategy, and measure improvement progress.

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

Acquisitions, Funding, Business, and Stock

HealthQuest Capital invests in patient journey management company 83bar.

People

Adhitya Bhatia (Persistent Systems) joins Himagine Solutions as chief client officer.

Therapy Brands names Rob Sutton (Affiliated Monitoring) SVP of customer care and Nick Padula (Philips Healthcare) EVP of its applied behavioral analysis segment.

Announcements and Implementations

US Radiology Specialists will implement Fujifilm’s Synapse Enterprise Information System across its 160 outpatient imaging centers.

Research and Innovation

Kareo’s semi-annual report on the state of independent practices may give you something to smile about:

• Just over half of surveyed practices saw the same number of patient visits in 2020 as they did in 2019, no doubt enabled by the high adoption rates of telemedicine.
• Seventy-five percent of practices expect to grow this year, compared to 59% in 2019.

Other

The local news honors Dennis Saver, MD who passed away recently at the age of 68. Named family physician of the year by the Florida and American academies of family physicians, Saver helped to launch the We Care Clinic in the early 90s to serve patients in need. In 2012, Saver was recognized at the White House as a leader in health IT.

Fans of “Poldark” may be interested in this: Practices in Cornwall are offering locum shifts to physicians vacationing in the area to help offset the lack of clinicians and “the extortionate cost of the hols.”

Sponsor Updates

• Authority Magazine interviews Nordic Advisory Services Practice Lead John Distefano.
• EClinicalWorks releases a customer success video featuring Zeid Medical Group, “Using Prisma and Interoperability for Better Records.”

Contacts

Jenn, Mr. H, Lorre

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News 7/21/21

Top News

Tech-enabled primary care company Carbon Health raises $350 million in a funding round led by Blackstone. A list of individual investors contributing to the round includes artist Shephard Fairey and several professional athletes. The California-based company has raised over $522 million since launching in 2015.

Carbon Health operates 80 clinics in a dozen states, and offers virtual care in 23. It acquired virtual diabetes clinic Steady Health last month.

It has named Myoung Cha (Apple) chief strategy officer and president of home-based care, and Nita Sommers (Khlosla Ventures) chief growth officer.

Webinars

July 28 (Wednesday) 1 ET. “Stop running from your problem (list): Strategies for streamlining the EHR’s front page.” Sponsor: Intelligent Medical Objects. Presenters: Amanda Heidemann, MD, CMIO, CMIO Services LLC; James Thompson, MD, physician informaticist, IMO. How can clinicians mitigate the longstanding EHR problem list challenges of outdated or duplicative entries, rigid displays, and limited native EHR capabilities? The presenters will describe how to analyze current problems, create a problem list governance strategy, and measure improvement progress.

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

Acquisitions, Funding, Business, and Stock

Well Health Technologies launches a venture funding arm that has invested in Bright, a Canadian developer of corporate virtual wellness programs.

People

Jennifer Frankenfield (Optum/ConnectYourCare) joins Clearwave as chief product officer.

Announcements and Implementations

Care and social services coordination software company Unite Us develops an end-to-end solution that enables users to identify and predict social care needs in communities, manage patient enrollment for services, and leverage outcomes data and analytics.

Health IT vendor MedEvolve announces GA of Patient Financial Engagement Services, including digital payment options, financial counseling, and mobile patient engagement capabilities.

Alabama Regional Medical Services selects remote patient monitoring technology from DarioHealth.

Practice EHR announces upcoming GA of practice management software for enterprise environments.

Other

The Lake County Health Department in Illinois notifies 25,000 patients of two data breaches. The first, which occurred in 2019, involved an unencrypted email containing a medical records request spreadsheet that was sent to an internal employee. The second, discovered in May, involved an unencrypted Google spreadsheet used by employees and volunteers.

A Direct Relief analysis finds that none of the 20 FQHCs impacted by the recent Lava, Tennant, and Salt fires in Northern California have backup generators, meaning that they’ll have no way to access digital medical records or keep vaccines at appropriate temperatures should power fail. Direct Relief will likely target outpatient facilities along the hurricane-prone Gulf Coast in its next analytics project.

Sponsor Updates

• EClinicalWorks releases a new podcast, “How Population Health Solutions Improve Patient Outcomes and Experiences.”

Blog Posts

• What are the economics of remote patient monitoring for your practice? (AdvancedMD)
• Winning the Medical Information Game (EClinicalWorks)

Contacts

Jenn, Mr. H, Lorre

More news: HIStalk.

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News 7/19/21

Top News

EverCommerce acquires Medical Design Technologies, which offers mobile charge capture capabilities and analytics to small and medium-sized practices.

Webinars

July 28 (Wednesday) 1 ET. “Stop running from your problem (list): Strategies for streamlining the EHR’s front page.” Sponsor: Intelligent Medical Objects. Presenters: Amanda Heidemann, MD, CMIO, CMIO Services LLC; James Thompson, MD, physician informaticist, IMO. How can clinicians mitigate the longstanding EHR problem list challenges of outdated or duplicative entries, rigid displays, and limited native EHR capabilities? The presenters will describe how to analyze current problems, create a problem list governance strategy, and measure improvement progress.

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

Acquisitions, Funding, Business, and Stock

Leonard Green & Partners reportedly begins the sale process for MDVIP, a membership-based primary care provider that it acquired in 2017.

People

ZoomCare names Jeffrey Fee (PatientOne) CEO.

Practice EHR promotes Chris Baltas to COO.

Announcements and Implementations

VillageMD and Walgreens announce they will open 29 new facilities in Texas this year as part of their plan to open 600 joint facilities across the US within the next four years. The partners announced their expansion plans, backed by a $1 billion investment, at the beginning of the year.

Phreesia announces GA of Appointment Accelerator, a patient engagement tool designed to fill cancelled appointment slots.

Spring Hills Management Services Organization will implement CareCloud’s EHR, practice management, and RCM software and services across its post-acute and assisted living, and home care facilities in seven states.

Illinois Bone & Joint Institute begins implementing Epic at its facilities in Illinois and Indiana.

Research and Innovation

MGMA highlights key factors physician practices will need to address in recruiting and keeping post-pandemic employees:

• Consider hiring incentives, bonuses, flex schedules, and teleworking models; as well as even more creative options for rural areas.
• Enhance compensation packages with features designed to combat burnout and enhance wellness.

Other

How’s this for a show premise?!: Tony Award-winning actress Audra McDonald stars in “The Bite” as a telemedicine doctor who discovers that a new strain of the coronavirus is turning her patients into zombies. The six-episode series airs on Spectrum. While I’m sure it’s no “Shaun of the Dead,” I may just have to binge it over the next long weekend.

I noticed some chatter around lapel pins as I was catching up on HIStalk posts that I missed while on vacation. Healthcare workers, especially those in pediatrics, may be interested to know that a Pokemon fan has created lapel pins of several characters dressed as if ready for the healthcare trenches.

Contacts

Jenn, Mr. H, Lorre

More news: HIStalk.

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News 7/7/21

Top News

Vancouver-based RCM and health IT vendor Kovo HealthTech acquires Midwest Medical Billing, a competitor located in Omaha, NE.

HIStalk Practice Musings

Watching: Jungle. A terrifyingly suspenseful tale of the dangers that await a band of backpackers when they decide to trek into uncharted territory while traveling with a mysterious guide in South America. It’s based on a book, which is based on a true story. My five-month sojourn in Western Europe during college seems a coddled existence compared to the trauma-inducing dangers encountered by these young men. (Daniel Radcliffe of Harry Potter fame does a fantastic job in the lead role.) I’ve added the book to my summer reading list. Email me with your summer reads so far. I’d love to add recommended books to my list and share with readers.

If you’re looking for titles to add to your own summer reading list, check out “The 36 best books and podcasts on health and science to check out this summer” from STAT.

HIStalk Practice Announcements and Requests

HIStalk Practice will be on hiatus next week, assuming tropical storms or hurricanes don’t disrupt my beach plans. I’m looking forward to several relaxing days with a good book in my hands and sand between my toes.

Webinars

None scheduled in the coming weeks. Previous webinars are on our YouTube channel. Contact Lorre to present your own.

People

Kit Brekhus, MD joins Skylight Health as CMO.

Announcements and Implementations

Healthix will use population health management technology from The Garage to improve the organization, management, and analysis of its HIE data for its New York-based member organizations.

Midwest Vision Partners, a practice growth company based in Chicago, selects Nextech’s IntelleChartPro EHR.

Research and Innovation

A survey of 1,000 patients finds that 40% prefer to use virtual waiting room technology on their mobile device or waiting room kiosks. A third reported their practice doesn’t offer any type of mobile check-in, and 44% have said they’ll consider switching to another practice that does offer contactless check-in.

A majority of providers say they are less likely to stay with an organization or recommend it for care during a time of merger or acquisition, according to a survey of 800 physicians. They also reported lower morale amongst co-workers and less of a desire to go above and beyond due to feelings of uncertainty around job stability. They are sobering statistics from the patient care perspective, especially given research released last week that found hospitals, health systems, and corporations now own nearly half of America’s physician practices, with the biggest jump in consolidation occurring in the last half of 2020.

Sponsor Updates

• EClinicalWorks releases a new customer success story, “PrimeCare Medical Clinic: Rocking Patient Engagement in Little Rock.”

Blog Posts

• 2021 Mid-year Postage Rate Increase (AdvancedMD)
• Record Retrieval Made Easy with PRISMA (EClinicalWorks)

Contacts

Jenn, Mr. H, Lorre

More news: HIStalk.

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Contact us online.
Become a sponsor.

News 7/5/21

Top News

One Medical leadership says the company will recognize the unionizing efforts of its employees once they have been validated through an election conducted by the National Labor Relations Board.

Fierce Healthcare reports that CEO Amir Rubin is disappointed with the inconsistent nature of the employees’ unionizing efforts – particularly the way in which they’ve gone public with the announcement. They maintain in a letter to Rubin that they are committed to the primary care company’s values, but have taken to media outlets to air their dirty laundry. The company has refuted their claims of mistreatment.

Webinars

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

People

Neel Shah, MD (Harvard Medical School/Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center) joins virtual women’s health clinic Maven as CMO.

Government and Politics

HHS issues a sector alert through its Health Sector Cybersecurity Coordination Center about PACS vulnerabilities that are exposing patient data and potentially compromising systems. The warning lists 23 systems with known vulnerabilities.

Other

One Medical inadvertently exposes 981 email addresses when an employee forgets to use the BCC option on a mass patient mailing.

Practicefirst Medical Management Solutions notifies patients of an attempted ransomware attack in December of last year that may have exposed PHI. Based in Amherst, NY, the company offers practice management, billing, coding, credentialing, and compliance services.

Sponsor Updates

• Medicomp Systems releases a new Tell Me Where It Hurts Podcast featuring Amy Gleason, project lead at the US Digital Service.

Blog Posts

• Operating Room Management: Scheduling and OR Efficiency (PerfectServe)
• Using Technology to Build Stronger Relationships (Healthwise)

• Spelunking through the medical chart (Nordic)
• Dermatology Made Easier This Summer (EClinicalWorks)

Contacts

Jenn, Mr. H, Lorre

More news: HIStalk.

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