News 11/27/19

Top News

Activist investor Starboard Value takes an undisclosed stake in CVS Health and enters into “amicable” talks with its management. Like Walgreens, CVS is suffering from the threat of retailers like Amazon and Walmart encroaching on its retail pharmacy and clinic space. Both Walgreens and CVS have and plan to close underperforming locations within the next year.

Starboard made news earlier this year when it took several seats on Cerner’s board. The Financial Times reported in April that though Paul Singer’s Elliott Management (of Athenahealth takeover infamy) manages more money, Starboard has become a more prolific activist investor.

Webinars

December 10 (Tuesday) 1:00 ET. “Move on from the age of the inefficient EHR.” Sponsor: Intelligent Medical Objects. Presenters: Jim Thompson, MD, physician informaticist, IMO; Obaid Baig, product manager, IMO. The EHR seems more like transactional workflow system rather than an intuitive clinical documentation tool, creating the possibility of loss of data consistency and the need for manual workarounds. The presenters will describe how to turn an EHR into a powerful tool that can help improve workflows and documentation so that clinicians can focus on care, not coding and reimbursement.

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

Acquisitions, Funding, Business, and Stock

Virtual chronic care management company Orb Health opens new headquarters in Richardson, TX.

Provider scheduling and clinical workforce management software company Qgenda will relocate 300 Atlanta-based employees to expanded office space in Buckhead.

The local paper profiles the journey of seven physicians who have broken away from CaroMont Health in North Carolina and now work for themselves as part of the newly formed Gaston Medical Partners, which will officially open for business on December 2. Brian Wysong, MD says the GMP physicians were tired of the hospital’s bureaucracy, and lack of control when it came to office management. Tryon Medical Partners, another local practice made up of physicians who’ve broken away from a major health system, will provide GMP with practice management services including IT. Wysong says the long-term goal, once legal challenges with CaroMont are resolved, are to join Tryon.

Announcements and Implementations

ISalus Healthcare integrates prescription price transparency and electronic prior authorization solutions from CoverMyMeds with its EHR and practice management software.

Nextech adds RCM capabilities from Encoda to its practice management software for specialty practices.

Volunteers in Medicine Clinic of the Cascades (OR) will use a $33,000 grant from the Coverys Community Healthcare Foundation to implement Epic.

Healthmonix integrates ChartSpan’s chronic care management services with its analytics and MIPS reporting capabilities.

People

PatientPop hires Nick Bellomo (Tastemade) as CFO.

Medicare care management and patient engagement company MD Revolution promotes Kyle Williams to CEO upon its acquisition of competitor Falcon Care.

Telemedicine

MeMD expands its line of urgent care telemedicine services to include care specific to men and women, including erectile dysfunction, menopause, hair loss, and smoking cessation.

Sponsor Updates

• Nordic staff volunteer at The River Food Pantry and donate gifts for 65 local children.

Blog Posts

• Webinar recap: Testing and training best practices for Epic quarterly upgrades (Nordic)
• We’re taking Evo on the road (AdvancedMD)
• 3 Tools That Could Keep Your Patients Engaged (EClinicalWorks)

Contacts

Jenn, Mr. H, Lorre

More news: HIStalk.

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News 11/25/19

Top News

The USDA announces $42.5 million in grants for 133 distance learning and telemedicine projects in 37 states and two territories.

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 April, VillageMD and Walgreens open their first co-located primary care practice in Houston. They plan to open four more Village Medical at Walgreens practices in the area over the next two months. VillageMD offers patients proprietary registration, care coordination, remote patient monitoring, and virtual visit technology.

Canadian primary care and software company Well Health Technologies acquires Trinity Healthcare Technologies for $5.4 million. Well has been strategically acquiring businesses that sell OSCAR EHR technology; Trinity is its fifth such purchase.

Announcements and Implementations

Patient intake software vendor Clearwave develops an interface with Modernizing Medicine’s EHR and practice management systems.

Eyefinity adds payment processing capabilities from FIS to its EHR and practice management products for optometry practices.

People

Online prescription delivery and telemedicine company Blink Health names Gene McKenna (Groupon) head of performance marketing and analytics.

Telemedicine

Jaclyn Qualter, NP launches virtual care company LogIn Clinics in North Carolina. Customers can choose from one-time visits or monthly memberships for individuals and families. Qualter, who touts telemedicine certification from the Global Health Access Institute, hopes to also set up telemedicine kiosks in retail outlets and communal spaces that will connect patients with LogIn Clinic providers.

Other

Canadian physician Arnold Tweed, MD publishes “Medical Misadventures: What I Didn’t Learn in Medical School,” a collection of short stories collected over the course of his 50-year career in medicine. Tweed says his favorite story is probably the one about “the exotic dancer who called herself Juanita and used a snake in her act.” He has so far donated over $1,000 to a scholarship fund for his alma mater from the book’s proceeds.

Contacts

Jenn, Mr. H, Lorre

More news: HIStalk.

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News 11/20/19

Top News

Kareo decides to sell its RCM services business to Health Prime International, an EHR, practice management, and billing vendor based in National Harbor, MD.

Kareo CEO Dan Rodrigues says the company will focus its efforts on its practice management and EHR products, and will offer outsourced billing services through its network of 1,500 partners. “We believe this shift in strategy will also help Kareo build stronger relationships with medical billing companies, who in the past were concerned about competing with their software supplier.”

The company’s first (and possibly last) report on medical billing industry trends from earlier this year projected a 12% growth in revenue this year for medical billing companies. The report also found that 28% of surveyed physicians plan to outsource their billing within the next two years.

HIStalk Practice Musings

In the latest installment of Hyland’s “What Our Execs are Reading” series, EVP and CCO Ed McQuiston praises “The Challenger Sale” and its sequel, “The Challenger Customer,” by Matthew Dixon and Brent Adamson. McQuiston believes that, “As drivers of change, we need to talk about our audience. Because we might be focusing on the wrong people. Turns out, whether you’re selling into an organization, or trying to lead change within it, it’s not the people who are early adopters we need to embrace. It’s the skeptics.”

Holiday downtime will soon be upon us. If you’re looking for something to read, check out the titles included in these lists:

• The 20 Best Works of Nonfiction of the Decade
• 24 Books for Anyone Who Wants to Get Ahead in Life
• The 50 Best Nonfiction Books of the Past 25 Years

Literary lists should be in ample supply as the year winds down. Please email me with any that you come across – the wackier, the better.

Acquisitions, Funding, Business, and Stock

Home-based chronic care management startup Presidium Health raises $3.5 million in a Series A funding round led by Alethea Capital Management. The San Diego-based company’s capabilities include Secure Text Activated Triage, a medical alert device home-bound patients can use to communicate with their care team and transmit vitals in real time.

Wellframe, a digital health management company based in Boston, announces a $20 million Series C funding round. The company has developed a patient-facing app that offers secure messaging and an interactive daily healthcare checklist for patients that can also generate intervention alerts.

People

Canadian health IT firm Premier Health Group names David Ostrow, MD (University of British Columbia) CMO.

Announcements and Implementations

New Jersey Urology will implement ISalus Healthcare’s HealthWatch chronic care management program across its 40 locations. The program includes access to HealthWatch’s MyMedicalLocker patient portal. The service is now available in 40 states.

Retail clinic and telemedicine company CarePortMD implements AI-powered diabetic retinopathy eye exam technology from IDx at Albertsons grocery stores in Delaware and Pennsylvania.

Telemedicine

CVS Health expands its Minute Clinic virtual care program with the addition of Teladoc-powered services at locations in Colorado, Illinois, and New Jersey.

Research and Innovation

Convenience trumps loyalty when it comes to patient access and engagement, according to a DocASAP survey of 1,000 patients. A few key findings:

• Eighty-four percent of patients say the ability to schedule an appointment outside of office hours is somewhat to very important.
• Ninety would choose the more convenient care option, such as a video visit, even if their PCP was available at their preferred time.
• Just over half reported missing or delaying an appointment because scheduling was too difficult.
• Top barriers to appointment scheduling included lengthy wait times for the actual appointment, a lack of options for scheduling outside off a practice’s office hours, and unavailability of preferred providers.

Sponsor Updates

• EClinicalWorks posts a podcast titled “Telluride Medical Center: On the Primary Care Frontier.”
• A five-year study finds that a health literacy incentive program using health education content from Healthwise lowered healthcare costs.

Blog Posts

• Making Telemedicine Seamless (AdvancedMD)
• How Choosing the Right EHR Helped Our Practice (EClinicalWorks)

Contacts

Jenn, Mr. H, Lorre

More news: HIStalk.

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News 11/18/19

Top News

The US Attorney’s office in Chicago has charged three former Outcome Health employees with wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud, all of which are related to a scheme to defraud customers and investors that led to several executive exits, a tarnished reputation, and a $70 million settlement with the DoJ.

The charges are the first to result from the uncovering two years ago of the company’s attempts to falsify the size and effectiveness of its digital advertising efforts in waiting and exam rooms. Former co-founders Rishi Shah and Shradha Agarwal have not been charged.

HIStalk Practice Musings

I love this: Jean-Jacques Megel-Nuber has constructed a mobile, used bookstore that he drives around to villages in eastern France. The tiny house holds 3,000 books and is equipped with special shelving that can handle the bumpy back roads of Alsace. He takes the house out twice a month to seasonal festivals and literary events.

Michael Young, MD wins a Best of Los Angeles Award – Best Novel with Medical Theme for “The Illness of Medicine: Experiences of Clinical Practice.” Young is a surgeon and director of the Division of Urology Innovation and Technology at the University of Illinois – Chicago, which makes me wonder how he’s eligible for an LA-based award.

Webinars

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

Announcements and Implementations

EHR and practice management software vendor EMDs adds DrFirst’s consumer-facing medication adherence tools to its e-prescribing technology.

Plantation, FL-based CascadeMD launches with AI-powered, voice-dictation software that populates a patient’s EHR.

Government and Politics

Providers may want to give this a try: HHS hires Living Security to offer 72 employees a cybersecurity-focused Escape Room experience. Challenges included how to identify and use two-factor authentication, recognize phishing emails and personally identifiable information, find unsecure WiFi access points, and assess physical computer security.

Telemedicine

Hope Family Health in rural Tennessee will use a $21,000 donation from The AT&T Foundation to expand its telemedicine program for behavioral health.

Other

In case you were wondering … (TikTok, fka Musical.ly, is an app that features short, user-generated video content. I’ve never been on it, probably because it appeals to the youngest member of my family.)

Sponsor Updates

• Intelligent Medical Objects will exhibit at the AMIA 2019 Annual Symposium through November 20 in Washington, DC.

Blog Posts

• Elevating the Role of the Nurse to Support Value-Based Care (PerfectServe)
• Health IT leaders answer: What makes a successful Community Connect program? (Nordic)
• How to Improve Your Ob/Gyn with Your EHR (EClinicalWorks)

Contacts

Jenn, Mr. H, Lorre

More news: HIStalk.

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

News 11/13/19

Top News

NextGen will acquire patient intake, scheduling, and payment software company Medfusion for $43 million. Medfusion will spin off its data services business into a separate entity named Greenlight Health.

Medfusion’s owner, Steven Malik, sold the company in 2010 to Intuit for $91 million, then reacquired it in 2013. Malik, who owns the North Carolina FC of United Soccer League and North Carolina Courage of National Women’s Soccer League, is working to build a $2 billion entertainment complex in Raleigh.

HIStalk Practice Musings

Mr. HIStalk (not me) did a great job reviewing David Shulkin’s new book, “It Shouldn’t Be This Hard to Serve Your Country.” He did such a good job, in fact, that I now feel like I don’t need to read it. Die-hard politicos may still want to pick up a copy.

I’m in the middle of “The Island of Sea Women” by Lisa See, which aims to be a tale of decades-long friendship. I am, however, more enjoying the interwoven Korean history lessons, especially as they relate to Japanese occupation, transitional American government, and eventual independence. The glimpses it gives into the birth of North Korea are fascinating.

Next up: “Mayflower” by Nathaniel Philbrick. The history book caught my eye as my local library’s book club selection of the month.

I wrapped up my HIMSS travel arrangements yesterday. I was happy that my favorite hotel still had rooms available. While not the poshest of places, it’s affordable and a short walk from the convention center and Pointe Orlando, where all of the after-hours networking seems to happen.

When applying for a press pass, I listed the “consumerization of healthcare as it relates to digital health, telemedicine, and big retail’s impact on traditional healthcare business models” as my top three story angles. All are a bit broad, so if you’d like me to keep my eyes and ears open for more specific trends, please let me know.

Webinars

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

Acquisitions, Funding, Business, and Stock

Atlanta-based clinical data integration and analytics vendor Clinigence will merge with Accountable Healthcare America, an ACO management company headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, FL. Once the merger is complete, the new entity will work on acquiring and operating medical groups, independent practice associations, and ACOs.

Announcements and Implementations

The North Carolina Medical Society Foundation will use data integration services from NetDirector for its virtual recovery and treatment program for opioid users. Data will be pooled from from LabCorp, NCCARE360, the state HIE, and various EHRs.

Advanced Sleep Medicine Services (SC) implements patient self-scheduling software from Bridge Patient Portal.

DrFirst customers in Washington can now connect to the state’s PDMP through the statewide OneHealthPort HIE.

Tidewater Physicians Multispecialty Group (VA) will integrate patient engagement technology from InteliChart with its NextGen EHR.

Telemedicine

Virtual care company Medek partners with the United Way to offer a free telemedicine visit to those in need each time a Medek customer pays for their visit with an American Express credit card.

ClearHealth Quality Institute adds outcomes measurement validation to its Telemedicine Accreditation Program. The new outcomes supplement looks at an organization’s access to care, clinical effectiveness, clinical experience/satisfaction, financial impact, and operations.

Research and Innovation

A Medici survey of 800 consumers finds that the inconvenience of making an appointment has led a third of respondents to seek care in the ER rather than wait to see their physician, and some to forego care altogether. Nearly 75% of respondents wish they could text their physician and take advantage of virtual visits from their mobile devices.

Other

First Cerner, now NextGen: Puppy cuddling at conferences is becoming a thing. I wonder if we’ll see it at HIMSS.

Sponsor Updates

Blog Posts

• Give your practice the financial breathing room it needs (AdvancedMD)
• Basic Principles That Could Transform Your Practice (EClinicalWorks)

Contacts

Jenn, Mr. H, Lorre

More news: HIStalk.

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