News 4/12/21

Top News

San Francisco-based Canvas Medical raises $17 million and announces a partnership with Anthem and its providers.

The startup has developed EHR, practice management, and telemedicine software to help practices and payer networks share data more effectively.

Former Practice Fusion software engineer Andrew Hines started the company in 2015 after seeing his wife Anna, a nurse practitioner, struggle nightly at home with sub-par charting software.

Webinars

April 20 (Tuesday) noon ET. “The Modern Healthcare CIO: Digital Transformation in a Post-COVID World.” Sponsors: RingCentral, Net Health. Presenters: Dwight Raum, CIO, Johns Hopkins Medicine; Jeff Buda, VP/CIO, Floyd Medical Center. A panel of CIOs from large health systems will discuss how the digital health landscape is changing and what organizations can do now to meet future patient needs. Moderator Jason James, CIO of Net Health, will guide the panelists through topics that include continuum of care and telemedicine, employer-provided care delivery, consumerization of healthcare, and sustainability and workforce management.

April 21 (Wednesday) 1 ET. “Is Gig Work For You?” Sponsor: HIStalk. Presenter: Frank L. Poggio, retired health IT executive and active job search workshop presenter.  This workshop will cover both the advantages and disadvantages of being a gig worker. Attendees will learn how to how to decide if gig work is a good personal fit, find the right company, and protect themselves from unethical ones.

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

Acquisitions, Funding, Business, and Stock

In Canada, ambulatory health IT company CloudMD acquires workplace healthcare provider Oncidium for $80 million.

AMA commercialization subsidiary Health2047 spins out Emergence Healthcare Group, a turnkey practice management and health IT company focused on independent practices. It will begin offering its services in California’s Bay Area later this year.

People

Kaiser Permanente promotes Diane Comer to chief information technology officer.

Announcements and Implementations

Central Coast Visiting Nurses Association (CA) implements COVID-19 vaccine management software from CharmHealth and an accompanying data-collection app from Countermind.

The EHR division of Canadian Well Health Technologies, which also manages 20 clinics, adopts FHIR standards for third-party app developers.

Sponsor Updates

• PerfectServe publishes the complete guide to “Clinical Collaboration Systems for Hospitals.”

Blog Posts

• ONC 2021 Annual Meeting: Moving towards meaningful communication (Nordic)

Contacts

Jenn, Mr. H, Lorre

More news: HIStalk.

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News 4/7/21

Top News

Firefly Health raises $40 million in a Series B round of funding led by Andreessen Horowitz. The company has developed a virtual-first model for primary care enhanced by partnerships with urgent, home, and specialty care providers.

Its internal billing technology has helped to ensure that providers get paid quickly, which has no doubt helped it attract partners in the four states it currently serves. It will expand its services to another five by the end of the year.

Led by Executive Chairman Jonathan Bush and CEO Fay Rotenberg, Firefly Health will use the new financing to expand its services beyond payers to employers.

Webinars

April 21 (Wednesday) 1 ET. “Is Gig Work For You?” Sponsor: HIStalk. Presenter: Frank L. Poggio, retired health IT executive and active job search workshop presenter.  This workshop will cover both the advantages and disadvantages of being a gig worker. Attendees will learn how to how to decide if gig work is a good personal fit, find the right company, and protect themselves from unethical ones.

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

Acquisitions, Funding, Business, and Stock

Senior-focused primary care company Agilon Health hopes to raise nearly $1 billion in its forthcoming IPO. The California-based company operates in 11 regions.

Practice management company Privia Health files paperwork with the SEC for an IPO. The company has raised over $400 million since launching in 2007.

As Inchoate mentioned in yesterday’s HIStalk post, investment firm KKR has acquired a majority interest in Therapy Brands, parent company of 19 behavioral health IT businesses.

EBlu Solutions raises $11.4 million in a Series A funding round. The company has developed prior authorization verification software for practices that offer in-office infusion and injection treatments.

People

Ellen Donahue-Dalton (Medecision) joins VillageMD as its first chief marketing officer.

Announcements and Implementations

Cardinal Health’s Specialty Solutions business develops a software suite for community-based oncology practices that includes analytics; cloud-based EHR, practice management, RCM, telemedicine, and patient portal solutions; Jvion’s Core clinical decision tool; and clinical trials matching capabilities.

WebMD announces GA of PracticePro software that includes patient engagement and intake, and practice marketing and CRM capabilities.

Welkin Health launches a care management platform physicians can customize to meet their virtual, in-person, or hybrid care model needs.

Tucson Gastroenterology (AZ) and Midland Cardiac Clinic (TX) select RCM software and services from Greenway Health.

Other

Zoom fatigue is real, y’all: Just over half of 1,800 surveyed drivers say they have trouble concentrating behind the wheel after video chatting. Perhaps physicians should start recommending that patients complete a set or two of jumping jacks after every video call.

Contacts

Jenn, Mr. H, Lorre

More news: HIStalk.

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News 4/5/21

Top News

New Haven, CT-based medical billing and patient communications startup Inbox Health raises $15 million in a Series A round of funding led by Commerce Ventures.

HIStalk Practice Musings

I’m nearing the end of Emma Donoghue’s “The Pull of the Stars,” which chronicles several fictitious days in the life of a maternity/fever ward nurse in an Irish hospital during World War 1 and the Spanish flu outbreak of 1918. I could do without the recurring use of the word “pandemic,” things being what they are; other than that, the book is one I’m flying through eagerly. Sort of fun fact: According to an interview with the author, the meaning of the word ‘influenza’ comes from an Italian superstition that stars influenced health. That they were directly causing the flu.”

I always enjoy coming across recommended reading lists from health IT companies. Pivot Point Consulting has put together this stack as part of its 10th anniversary promotions.

Webinars

April 21 (Wednesday) 1 ET. “Is Gig Work For You?” Sponsor: HIStalk. Presenter: Frank L. Poggio, retired health IT executive and active job search workshop presenter.  This workshop will cover both the advantages and disadvantages of being a gig worker. Attendees will learn how to how to decide if gig work is a good personal fit, find the right company, and protect themselves from unethical ones.

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

Acquisitions, Funding, Business, and Stock

New York City-based CoachCare will use new funding to further develop and scale its telemedicine and remote patient monitoring services.

People

Healthcare analytics and cloud-based software vendor WhiteSpace Health names Gautam Char (Kriya Capital) president and CEO.

American Oncology Network promotes Todd Schonherz to CEO. Schonherz succeeds Brad Prechtl, who will take on the role of president and chief development officer.

Announcements and Implementations

Outpatient mental healthcare provider LifeStance Health implements patient engagement and analytics software from OnTrak.

Pivot Physical Therapy leverages technology from on-demand PT company Luna to match patients with best-fit physical therapists for in-home visits and messaging in between appointments.

Ambulatory management services organization Revo Health will roll out practice management software from Allscripts to its network Infinite Health Collaborative clinics.

Other

British physician David Jeffrey, MD suggests medical students study Shakespeare and his “empathic approach” as a way of enhancing the patient-doctor relationship. He cites “King Lear,” “The Tempest,” and “As You Like It” as examples of ways in which Shakespeare’s plays ”encourage students and doctors to engage a psychosocial perspective when thinking about the patient’s story, stimulating their ability to see the world through the other’s eyes.”

Sponsor Updates

• PerfectServe’s Optimized Provider Scheduling powered by Lightning Bolt achieves top customer satisfaction rankings in the latest Enterprise Physician Scheduling report from KLAS.
• Medicomp Systems releases the first episode of its “Tell Me Where It Hurts” podcast with Jay Anders, MD.

Blog Posts

• Growing from strong foundations (Nordic)

Contacts

Jenn, Mr. H, Lorre

More news: HIStalk.

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News 3/31/21

Top News

The FCC prepares to launch a second round of funding for the COVID-19 Telehealth Program, which has already issued $200 million to 539 applicants for assistance with implementing virtual care capabilities.

The second round, funded by $250 million from the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, will feature several changes from the first including more equitable distribution across states and territories, an applicant rating system, application deadline, and phased funding.

Webinars

April 21 (Wednesday) 1 ET. “Is Gig Work For You?” Sponsor: HIStalk. Presenter: Frank L. Poggio, retired health IT executive and active job search workshop presenter.  This workshop will cover both the advantages and disadvantages of being a gig worker. Attendees will learn how to how to decide if gig work is a good personal fit, find the right company, and protect themselves from unethical ones.

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

People

American Oncology Network promotes Caroline Hewitt to VP of marketing.

Marathon Health promotes co-founder Jeff Wells, MD to CEO. Wells replaces retiring Jerry Ford, who will remain a board member and advisor. The company has also hired Matt Weissert (Hazel Health) as SVP of client and care team experience.

Announcements and Implementations

SimplePractice develops Monarch, a directory of therapy providers and online booking capabilities that can be integrated into EHRs.

New Jersey Urology has implemented Phreesia’s patient intake software, including no-contact check-in capabilities from a patient’s home or car.

Azalea Health integrates PatientPing’s real-time care alert and coordination software with its AzaleaOne EHR.

Government and Politics

Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont allocates $1.3 million in CMS funding to help providers connect their EHRs to the state PDMP via Appriss Health’s PMP Gateway interface.

Other

Netsmart earns the highest ranking for customer satisfaction in a Black Book ambulatory EHR survey of nearly 2,000 mental and behavioral health professionals.

Sponsor Updates

Blog Posts

• 5 steps to creating a 5-star online reputation (AdvancedMD)
• Better Ways to Hear Patients’ Stories (EClinicalWorks)

Contacts

Jenn, Mr. H, Lorre

More news: HIStalk.

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News 3/29/21

Top News

Cityblock Health wraps up its Series C funding round, ultimately raising $192 million. The company focuses on providing value-based care to Medicaid populations in New York through partnerships with payers, community clinics, social services, and behavioral health providers.

Webinars

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

Announcements and Implementations

Harris Healthcare’s PulseCheck business integrates CareCloud’s (fka MTBC) MTBC Force RCM and practice management software with its UrgiChart documentation software for urgent care.

Central Virginia Family Physicians, part of Privia Medical Group, implements Suki’s AI Assistant for voice-enabled clinical documentation.

California-based clinic network TrueCare implements Epic’s MyChart.

Crossover Health, a primary care company serving payers and employers like Amazon, raises $162 million in a Series D funding round, bringing its total raised to $281.5 million.

Concierge practice Pure Cardiology in Charlotte, NC implements virtual health and wellness services from Health Logx, which leverage remote patient monitoring capabilities from Carium.

Government and Politics

Lydia Henslee and several co-conspirators plead guilty to conspiracy and kickback charges related to stealing patient information from a provider’s EHR and then selling the information to durable medical equipment providers in the guise of physician orders. The defendants used their $3 million in ill-gotten gains to purchase cars and jet skis.

Other

The local news profiles Niu Health, an online clinic launched by Hawaii-based physician Tony Trpkovski, MD. The digital clinic offers unlimited telemedicine sessions for $10 a month. Patients can access prescription medications via an Amazon-type lockers located at partner clinics. The clinic’s operating costs are subsidized by advertisers that pay to have their messaging played in the clinic’s virtual waiting room.

And speaking of virtual waiting rooms …

CVS Health and the nonprofit Purchaser Business Group on Health launch CalHIVE, a telemedicine initiative that will work with seven California-based primary care organizations to help them improve care for patients with diabetes and asthma using individualized coaching and analytics.

Sponsor Updates

• Medicomp Systems launches a new healthcare podcast spotlighting ways to improve health IT.

Blog Posts

• A Partner for Reinventing Your Practice (EClinicalWorks)
• How COVID-19 Changed the Healthwise Model – and the Future of Health Care (Healthwise)
• Transparency and Healthcare (Nordic)
• How to Manage Complex Radiology Scheduling (PerfectServe)

Contacts

Jenn, Mr. H, Lorre

More news: HIStalk.

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