News 7/29/24

Top News

Occupational healthcare company Concentra raises $529 million in its IPO, $56 million shy of its intended goal.

Webinars

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

Acquisitions, Funding, Business, and Stock

Astrana Health (formerly known as Apollo Medical Holdings) will acquire Centene business Collaborative Health Systems, a management services organization for independent primary care practices. The acquisition marks Astrana’s second in 2024, having purchased Community Family Care Medical Group IPA (CA) in April.

UnitedHealth Group’s Optum care delivery business will lay off 525 employees and close several urgent care clinics and physician practices in California beginning in mid-September. A new state law is set to increase the hourly wage of healthcare workers from a minimum of $15 to $26 beginning October 15.

Announcements and Implementations

Livingston Community Health (CA), Moses Lake Community Health Center (WA), and Bedford-Stuyvesant Family Health Center (NY) are among a dozen FQHCs that have recently selected digital patient communications software from Artera.

The Chicago Lighthouse, a social services nonprofit, implements TCN’s cloud-based contact center technology and integrates it with its Epic EHR.

Research and Innovation

BUDS Technology develops the Nurse Daisy virtual medical assistant app, which offers automated remote symptom and vital sign monitoring, triage, check-ins, and follow-ups.

Other

The Oklahoma State University Department of Agricultural Economics spearheads a rural telehealth project at four local libraries using grant money from organizations like AARP. The potential for additional library-based telehealth sites has led the state to start defining telehealth standards for rural libraries. Southern Oklahoma Library System Executive Director Gail Oehler points out that, “We’re willing to do these kinds of partnerships and innovative projects like the one with OSU Extension because it’s our mission as a local library.”

Sponsor Updates

• EClinicalWorks will offer customers within Aledade’s network free access to Sunoh.ai’s AI medical scribe software.

Blog Posts

• Data security, providing patient financial care + more: Navigating cyberattack ripple effects (Waystar)
• Transforming Rheumatology Workflows with EClinicalWorks (EClinicalWorks)

Contacts

Jenn, Mr. H, Lorre

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News 7/24/24

Top News

Humana’s chain of CenterWell primary care clinics for seniors will open new locations in 23 former Walmart Health clinics in Florida, Georgia, Missouri, and Texas.

Citing reimbursement challenges, Walmart Health abruptly closed all of its 51 clinics last month and quickly sold off its MeMD virtual care service.

CenterWell anticipates openings its new clinics in the first half of next year.

Webinars

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

Acquisitions, Funding, Business, and Stock

Nashville-based behavioral health IT vendor Qualifacts will move into new offices in Tampa, FL in October. The company is likely consolidating the offices of its Tampa location and that of InSync Healthcare Solutions, which it acquired in 2021.

People

Frank Elston (Health Connect America) joins multi-state Crossroads Treatment Centers as CIO.

Announcements and Implementations

Regional Cancer Care Associates (NJ) will leverage software and services from Outcomes Matter Innovations to develop value-based care programs, beginning with breast cancer.

HealthReach Community Health Centers will implement InteliChart’s patient portal at its 12 facilities in Maine.

Odyssey Health goes live with Oracle Health’s EHR and behavioral health capabilities at its Martindale Clinic in Utah.

In California, San Mateo County Health selects healthcare AI and population health management software from Innovaccer.

Other

The Associated Press profiles the work Pedro Juan Vázquez Bragan, MD is doing in Puerto Rico. Also known as rapper PJ Sin Suela, the physician is working to raise awareness of the lack of access to medical care and basic services like power and water across the island. In between album debuts and tour dates, Bragan works with nonprofit Direct Relief, visiting remote areas of the island via mobile clinic, offering door-to-door medical care to residents who are still dealing with the effects of Hurricane Fiona in 2022. He credits his fans with being a huge support: “They sign up to treat patients for free all day with me. I come out of (the clinic) crying sometimes.”

Contacts

Jenn, Mr. H, Lorre

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News 7/22/24

Top News

Palomar Health Medical Group (CA) restores its phone, EHR, appointment scheduling, e-prescribing, and patient portal systems after a cyberattack in early May took its computer systems offline. The provider has not yet released details around what type of attack forced it to revert to downtime procedures.

Webinars

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

Acquisitions, Funding, Business, and Stock

Grocery store chain Kroger will close four in-store Little Clinics in Richmond, VA. The company, through its Kroger Health division, operates over 200 clinics across the country. While at first glance the closures seem to be a localized business decision related to patient volume and reimbursements, I can’t help but wonder if this is a sign of things to come, a la Walmart Health, Walgreens, and CVS Health. Aside from these four closures, The Little Clinic seems stable. It announced earlier this month that its providers will begin offering popular weight-loss management medications via in-person and virtual appointments.

Announcements and Implementations

Utah Navajo Health System, CenterPlace Health (FL), Access Health Louisiana, and PrimeCare Health (IL) select Suki’s ambient clinical assistant.

Advanced Heart Group (IL) will implement EHR, practice management, patient portal, and AI clinical assistant software from NextGen Healthcare.

Other

In West Virginia, three people suffer injuries when a car smashes through the front of Charleston Area Medical Center’s Telemedicine Center. Several patients were in telemedicine exam rooms, though the local news reports that some of the injured were outside of the facility at the time of the accident.

Frustrated with a lack of access to primary care and crowded ERs, a group of seniors living in the same condo complex in Ottawa organize a monthly wellness clinic that typically serves 27 patients. The residents have partnered with a local university, pharmacist, paramedic, health center, and aging-in-place program to offer wellness checks, referrals, and lunch in one of the condo’s communal rooms.

Sponsor Updates

• Nordic releases a new “Designing for Health” podcast, “Interview with Mitesh Patel, MD.”
• EClinicalWorks releases a new podcast, “Say Hello to Easy Joint Documentation with EClinicalWorks.”

Blog Posts

• The 2024 EClinicalWorks and Healow National Conference: Grapevine Awaits You! (EClinicalWorks)
• Navigating Recovery: Helping Patients Who Struggle with Substance Abuse & Addiction (AdvancedMD)

Contacts

Jenn, Mr. H, Lorre

More news: HIStalk.

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News 7/17/24

Top News

Thyme Care, a value-based oncology care company based in Nashville, raises $95 million in a Series C funding round that  brings its total raised to $178 million. Thyme Care, which partners with oncology practices and payers, plans to expand beyond its current 25 markets.

Webinars

July 18 (Thursday) noon ET. “New CMS Final Rule: Strategies to Get EHR and IT Vendors Up to Speed.” Sponsor: DrFirst. Presenters: Nick Barger, PharmD, VP of product, DrFirst; Tyler Higgins, senior director of product management, DrFirst. The new final rule that was issued by CMS on June 13, 2024, goes beyond a basic upgrade of SCRIPT standards and improves care connections among doctors, pharmacies, and patients. The presenters will lead EHR and IT vendors through the final rule, provide details on key provisions and compliance deadlines, offer tactics to tackle roadmap development, and provide direction on where and how partners can best leverage the requirements for the benefit of their customers.

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

Acquisitions, Funding, Business, and Stock

Virtual maternal mental healthcare company Seven Starling announces $10.9 million in Series A funding. The company, co-founded by former Warby Parker manager Tina Keshani is looking to expand its services to more Medicaid plans and to further develop its technology.

People

VSP Vision promotes Charlie Biegel to president of its Eyefinity EHR and practice management company.

Announcements and Implementations

Teladoc Health begins offering pediatric and family-focused mental healthcare using clinical services and software from Brightline Health.

Priority Care Pediatrics (MO) selects EHR and patient engagement technology from EClinicalWorks, and AI medical scribe software from Sunoh.ai.

Texas Oncology subsidiary Precision Health Informatics will implement Cota’s AI-powered Cailin health data curation software across its Texas Oncology facilities.

Contacts

Jenn, Mr. H, Lorre

More news: HIStalk.

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News 7/15/24

Top News

Headway, which helps patients find, book, and pay for mental healthcare appointments online, reportedly raises $100 million in a funding round led by Spark Capital. The three year-old company’s valuation has doubled in the last year to $2.3 billion.

Webinars

July 18 (Thursday) noon ET. “New CMS Final Rule: Strategies to Get EHR and IT Vendors Up to Speed.” Sponsor: DrFirst. Presenters: Nick Barger, PharmD, VP of product, DrFirst; Tyler Higgins, senior director of product management, DrFirst. The new final rule that was issued by CMS on June 13, 2024, goes beyond a basic upgrade of SCRIPT standards and improves care connections among doctors, pharmacies, and patients. The presenters will lead EHR and IT vendors through the final rule, provide details on key provisions and compliance deadlines, offer tactics to tackle roadmap development, and provide direction on where and how partners can best leverage the requirements for the benefit of their customers.

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

Acquisitions, Funding, Business, and Stock

Occupational healthcare provider Concentra hopes to raise up to $585 million through its yet-to-be-scheduled IPO, potentially achieving a valuation of $3.3 billion. Parent company Select Medical Holdings, which operates hospitals and outpatient clinics, announced earlier this year that it would pursue carving out Concentra as a separate entity.

People

CirrusMD promotes Sara Herstad, MD to VP of operations and clinical care.

Douglas Newton, MD (SonderMind) joins Rula Health as CMO.

Raintree Systems names Chris Farrell (Nextech Systems) chief marketing officer.

Announcements and Implementations

Coastal Spine and Pain Institute (TX) implements AI-powered medical scribe technology from Sunoh.ai.

Sponsor Updates

Blog Posts

• 3 ways automation and AI advance patient-centered care (Nordic)
• Reduce Time to Treatment with Care Team Alerts (PerfectServe)

Contacts

Jenn, Mr. H, Lorre

More news: HIStalk.

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