News 7/27/20

Top News

The online healthcare company war heats up: Health, wellness, prescription delivery, and telemedicine company Ro raises $200 million, bringing its total raised to $376 million while achieving a $1.5 billion valuation.

The company, which offers several gender-specific healthcare products and services, plus a smoking cessation program, is working on building out its telemedicine software so that physicians can more easily see and triage waiting patients. It also plans to develop an at-home diagnostic testing service.

Competitor Hims, which is valued at $1 billion, let it be known last week that it hopes to go public through acquisition.

Webinars

August 19 (Wednesday) 1:00 ET. “A New Approach to Normalizing Data.” Sponsor: Intelligent Medical Objects. Presenters: Rajiv Haravu, senior product manager, IMO; Denise Stoermer, product manager, IMO. Healthcare organizations manage an ever-increasing abundance of information from multiple systems, but problems with quality, accuracy, and completeness can make analysis unreliable for quality improvement and population health initiatives. The presenters will describe how IMO Precision Normalize improves clinical, quality, and financial decision-making by standardizing inconsistent diagnosis, procedure, medication, and lab data from diverse systems into common, clinically validated terminology.

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

Acquisitions, Funding, Business, and Stock

Well Health Technologies forms a new subsidiary dedicated to investing in and marketing digital health apps. The Canadian company, which recently launched a cybersecurity division, also has a network of clinics and an EHR business unit.

Walmart Health will open six more clinics in the Atlanta area by the end of this year, bringing its total to at least 13 by the end of 2021. The company already has clinics or plans to open them in Georgia, Arkansas, Illinois, and Florida. Reports suggest that Walmart may incorporate its healthcare services into its forthcoming subscription service, Walmart+, or offer access to telemedicine services from partners Doctor on Demand or 98point6. The program’s annual $98 fee will include same-day grocery deliveries, fuel discounts, and other unnamed perks.

Announcements and Implementations

Birmingham Heart Clinic (AL) will implement EHR, practice management, patient engagement, and financial analytics software from TSI Healthcare.

Northeast Valley Health deploys InteliChart’s Healthy Outcomes patient engagement software across its 16 community health centers in California.

DrChrono adds ClearGage’s patient estimator and financing software to its practice management system.

Office Practicum will add telemedicine capabilities from Anytime Pediatrics to its specialty EHR.

Government and Politics

The HHS Office for Civil Rights fines Metropolitan Community Health Services $25,000 for failing to adopt a corrective action plan to settle potential HIPAA violations from a 2011 data breach. The North Carolina-based FQHC has also agreed to two years of corrective monitoring.

Other

GeekWire profiles Remmie Health, a Seattle-based startup that has developed an otoscope-like device for use at home. Biomedical engineer Jane Zhang developed the device after struggling through several years of ENT visits with her young son for ear infections. She and her team are developing symptom assessment and telemedicine capabilities to help parents cut down on office visits.

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Jenn, Mr. H, Lorre

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News 7/22/20

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Reuters reports that online prescription delivery and telemedicine company Hims is considering going public through a merger with an unnamed company that could put its value at $1 billion.

Hims launched in 2017 and now offers treatments for hair loss, erectile dysfunction, skincare, mental health, and general wellness. It launched companion site Hers a year later.

Webinars

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

Acquisitions, Funding, Business, and Stock

Walmart Health will expand into Florida next year, with an initial presence in Jacksonville. Clinics will also eventually open in Illinois.

Offshore IT and RCM vendor Medical Billing Wholesalers completes its acquisition of competitor Benchmark Billing Solutions.

Announcements and Implementations

TheraNest adds e-prescribing capabilities to its practice management and EHR software for therapists, psychologists, counselors, and social workers.

DrFirst announces GA of CareComplete, a data aggregation tool that better enables providers to make real-time care decisions using payer and treatment data.

Streamline Healthcare Solutions adds telemedicine features to its SmartCare EHR.

ReferralMD adds automated prior authorization to its care coordination software.

GoodRx expands its telemedicine service to all 50 states and Washington, DC.

Other

Florida Orthopaedic Institute notifies patients of an April ransomware attack that may have compromised PHI.

Remote patient monitoring company Electronic Caregiver develops the Protector Initiative Infectious Disease Mitigation Program, which uses technology to help organizations screen people for COVID-19 before they enter a building or event.

Boston-based primary care physician Amy Wheeler, MD shares the struggles she and her colleagues face in convincing patients not to delay care because they’d prefer an in-person visit to a virtual one. Returning to pre-COVID-19 patient volumes won’t happen anytime soon: “To begin ramping back up, we are scheduling only about one-quarter of the patients we were seeing before the pandemic started so we can study our workflows and make sure we maintain safety for patients and staff. After this cautious time, we will move through Massachusetts’ four-phase reopening plan and increase in-person visits while continuing to maintain safe social distancing.”

Sponsor Updates

Blog Posts

• Important Ways COVID-19 Should Change Your Clinic Moving Forward (Part 1) (AdvancedMD)
• How to Keep Your Patients & Staff Safe During COVID-19 (EClinicalWorks)
• Things to consider when embarking on a merger or acquisition (Nordic)

Contacts

Jenn, Mr. H, Lorre

More news: HIStalk.

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News 7/20/20

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CityBlock Health raises $54 million in a Series B+ round that brings its total funding to over $120 million. The company focuses on using technology to better integrate physical and mental healthcare with social services for those living in lower-income communities. It operates several primary care clinics in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, and North Carolina.

Webinars

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

Acquisitions, Funding, Business, and Stock

In Canada, virtual medical care company CloudMD acquires digital mental health startup Snapclarity for $2.5 million.

Online prescription delivery company NowRx raises $20 million in a Series B round of financing. The company says it will use the investment to further develop its proprietary QuickFill technology so that more prescriptions in more areas can be filled and delivered within the same day.

Announcements and Implementations

Commonwealth Primary Care ACO deploys HGE Health’s app-based remote patient monitoring system for respiratory patients in Arizona.

Other

Practice management company Aledade and Blue Cross North Carolina report their primary care ACOs have received over $10 million in quality-improvement incentive payments, reduced care costs by 4.7% for commercially-insured patients, and reduced costs for Medicare Advantage patients by 6.1%.

The local paper highlights the first of Amazon’s newly announced health centers for employees and their families. Located in Las Colinas, Texas, it will be the first of 20 in the online retailer’s partnership with Crossover Health, which provides tech-enabled care for employers. Amazon anticipates eventually serving 115,000 patients across five cities.

Sponsor Updates

• Healthwise names Cydni Waldner (Hawley Troxell Ennis & Hawley) general counsel.

Blog Posts

• Comprehensive Clinical Communication to Support Mother-Baby Care Delivery (PerfectServe)
• The Key to Improving Coaching Efficiency and Member Outcomes (Healthwise)
• Information Blocking: To Block or Not to Block (Nordic)

Contacts

Mr. H, Lorre, Jenn, Dr. Jayne.
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News 7/15/20

Top News

Care coordination, management, and remote monitoring vendor Noteworth raises $5 million in seed funding.

Webinars

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

Acquisitions, Funding, Business, and Stock

First announced in March, AristaMD closes its $24 million Series B funding round, adding $6 million from Ascension Ventures and .406 Ventures. The San Diego-based company offers e-consult and referral software for primary care physicians.

People

VSP Global names Chris Enslin (Visionworks) president of its practice management and EHR subsidiary Eyefinity.

Announcements and Implementations

Ohio Gastroenterology Group implements AlertMD’s QSimple digital queueing and Margie automated patient messaging software to assist patients in resuming in-office visits.

App-based house call company Heal launches a yearly membership program, giving patients up to eight house calls or virtual visits plus an annual physical.

Athenahealth rebrands its Centricity products, acquired from GE Healthcare through a series of acquisitions and mergers, to AthenaIDX in homage to original developer IDX Systems.

MHMR Services for the Concho Valley (TX) will implement the SmartCare EHR from Streamline Healthcare Solutions.

HealtheConnect Alaska selects electronic consent software from Leap Orbit to better coordinate care between medical and behavioral health providers.

The Idaho Health Data Exchange rolls out real-time analytics capabilities using KPI Ninja’s Ninja Universe technology.

Desert Oasis Healthcare (CA) implements Rimidi’s patient-reported outcomes tool to assist with COVID-19 screening and symptom management.

Other

GeekWire profiles Reperio Health, an Oregon–based startup that aims to disrupt the at-home testing market with a subscription-based, app-enabled service that offers consumers testing once, twice, or four times a year using their proprietary kit. The company hopes to eventually add telemedicine capabilities.

In Cincinnati, medical assistant Heather Kouns forges a life-long bond with Dry Ridge Family Medicine co-worker Dirk Hines, MD when she donates a kidney to him. Hines’ wife, Amy, says the surgery earlier this week went well: “Heather is a reminder of people that still care.”

Sponsor Updates

• Modern Healthcare includes Nordic in its list of “Best Places to Work 2020.”

Blog Posts

• Telehealth Challenges & How to Overcome Them in Your Practice (Part 1) (AdvancedMD)
• It’s Time for a Better Check-In Solution (EClinicalWorks)
• Overview of Nordic’s Patient Access Solution (Nordic)

Contacts

Mr. H, Lorre, Jenn, Dr. Jayne.
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News 7/13/20

Top News

Renaissance Capital reveals that primary care company Oak Street Health confidentially filed for a $100 million IPO at the end of last year. The Chicago-based company serves Medicare patients in eight states.

While it may be a bit like comparing apples to oranges given their slightly different business models, it’s worth noting that primary care company One Medical raised $245 million during its IPO at the beginning of this year, and has seen its stock surge from $14 to over $40 a share in the ensuing months.

Webinars

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

Acquisitions, Funding, Business, and Stock

In Canada, clinic operator and EHR vendor Well Health Technologies will acquire the cybersecurity services of Cycura for $1.9 million.

Mental healthcare startup Ahead raises $9 million in a funding round led by online B2B pharmacy company Truepill. The company operates its own clinics and offers virtual visits with its employed psychiatrists. It also offers prescriptions filled and delivered by Truepill through its patient portal.

Technology-enabled women’s care company Kindbody raises $32 million in a Series B round led by Perceptive Advisors. The business, which has raised $63 million so far, will use its latest investment to continue its national expansion and establish an international presence.

Announcements and Implementations

Puerto Rico-based consulting firm Bienestar Health Group will offer its ambulatory customers MTBC’s TalkEHR as a white-labeled solution.

Government and Politics

HHS awards $21 million to health centers across the country, with the majority going to expanding COVID-19 testing efforts.

Research and Innovation

A survey of nearly 2,000 consumers finds that half have avoided seeking care in recent months, a circumstance no doubt related to the fact that most report not knowing the cost of treatment until months later and that every step of the care process is a chore. Not one survey-taker gave any of the survey’s 29 tasks a score of “effortless.” Findings like these, while not surprising, make me glad Walmart Health is right down the road. Up-front pricing and easy scheduling of same-day appointments, coupled with the fact that the medical director was poached from a well-known health system, make it an almost effortless choice for my basic healthcare needs.

Prescription delivery company MedMinder develops a telemedicine-enabled pill dispenser that enables users to connect with members of their healthcare team via touchscreen, connect with other devices via Bluetooth, and view information about their medications.

A Black Book survey of 4,400 providers finds that just 26% of primary care physicians have been satisfied with telemedicine visits during the pandemic, compared with their more-pleased colleagues in behavioral health and other specialties. Top concerns with virtual visits include a lack of interoperability and enough data for care continuity, reimbursement parity, and the generation of useless data. Respondents feel that less than 10% of visits will be conducted virtually once the COVID-19 crisis is over.

Other

STAT offers a thoughtful glimpse into the ways primary care physicians in New York kept caring for patients during the early days of the pandemic, often resorting to technological workarounds like setting up WiFi hotspots in their parking lots so that patients could park and engage in virtual visits.

Physicians across the country are still dealing with PPE shortages, as local news reports in Virginia and Maine attest. “Practices are still reusing the same N95 mask that they’ve had for the last month, two months,” says pediatrician Sandy Chung, MD. “The places that do sell us PPE, it’s at three to five times the normal cost. So at the same time that practices have reduced revenue because of all the reduced visits, we’re being asked to pay extra.”

Contacts

Mr. H, Lorre, Jenn, Dr. Jayne.
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