News 12/11/19

Top News

Mt. Laurel, NJ-based Insight Telepsychiatry merges with Chicago-based Regroup Telehealth to become the largest telepsychiatry vendor in the country. Regroup founder and CEO Robert Cohn will become the newly merged entity’s chief growth officer.

Webinars

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

Acquisitions, Funding, Business, and Stock

Bridge Connector, which integrates CRM systems with EHRs and other health IT, raises $25 million, which it will use to help launch its new integration platform-as-a-service that connects health data systems without the need for code.

People

American Family Care (AL) promotes Claudius Moore to CIO.

Summit CityMD names Robert Scoskie (Northwell Health) chief business development officer and Matt Gove (Piedmont Healthcare) chief marketing officer. With locations in New Jersey and New York, the 200-clinic company is the result of the merger earlier this year of multispecialty Summit Medical Group and urgent care provider CityMD.

Announcements and Implementations

Practice Builders announces GA of online reputation management and patient acquisition software.

CHC Strategies, a network of FQHCs in Missouri, implements NextGen Population Health.

Telemedicine

MTBC adds telemedicine capabilities to its TalkEHR.

Research and Innovation

Primary care physicians in the US lag behind their international counterparts when it comes to the digital exchange of health information, according to a new Commonwealth Fund study. The survey of 13,000 PCPs in 11 countries found just about half of US physicians receive alerts when their patients are seen in the ER or admitted to the hospital, while between 79% and 85% of physicians in the Netherlands and New Zealand receive such notifications. US physicians also lag behind when it comes to their ability to exchange data with physicians outside of their practice. American patients, however, have better access to patient engagement technologies that enable them to schedule appointments and refill medications online, and access health histories and lab test results through portals.

Other

Remember when consumer DNA tests were the hot Christmas gift? Who knew Fido was feeling left out? A dozen companies now offer direct-to-consumer genetic testing kits for canines so that owners can better understand their dog’s breeding background. Experts say consumers should take these results with a grain of salt, as the companies don’t typically publish their methodologies, the tests aren’t regulated by the FDA, and results can be inaccurate. As with humans, privacy concerns are a consideration, especially when it comes to certain breeds: “Once you have given away your dog’s DNA and some company has the results, you may not have control over what happens to that information.”

Contacts

Jenn, Mr. H, Lorre

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News 12/9/19

Top News

Legal proceedings for former Outcome Health employees get under way in Chicago: Analysts Kathryn Choi and Oliver Han have pled not guilty to charges of felony conspiracy to commit wire fraud, while former executive Brad Purdy has also pled not guilty. Former EVP Ashik Desai pled guilty: “When I was at Outcome Health, there were practices going on there that were wrong. I participated in those practices that ended up defrauding Outcome’s customers.”

Purdy, Desai, and former CEO Rishi Shah and former president Shradha Agarwal face a combined 26 counts of fraud totaling nearly $1 billion. Shah and Agarwal will make their court appearances next week.

HIStalk Practice Announcements and Requests

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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

The local Gastonia, NC paper looks at the opening week of Gaston Medical Partners, an independent practice founded by physicians who broke away from CaroMont Health System to offer patients less bureaucratic care. GMP has seen an average of 100 patients daily, the majority of which were previous CaroMont patients. All have been understanding of opening-week hiccups, which have included getting a new EHR up and running. “The patients have been really gracious and understanding,” says Brian Wysong, MD. “They understand it’s a brand-new thing. Once we get fully going, I’d say (we’ll see) maybe 150, 160 patients a day.”

Announcements and Implementations

Hudson Headwaters Health Network in New York will implement Tabula Rasa Healthcare’s MedWise medication risk software across its 19 FQHCs.

HealthSnap adds remote patient monitoring to its Lifestyle Data Analytics software, enabling physicians to receive, aggregate, and analyze patient-generated data from wearables and apps.

People

Behavioral health technology company NView Health names Maurice Rosenbaum (HealthSystems) chief product officer.

Telemedicine

Skin care startup Apostrophe raises $6 million in a seed funding round. The company contracts with its telemedicine doctors, and also offers mail-order pharmacy services. In terms of diagnostic technology, co-founder Ben Holber says Apostrophe is eschewing machine learning and sticking to text-based messaging and video visits for now: “In a world of a million offerings online, when you have real personalization and a real personal interaction, there is a huge premium on that. There is a ton of value in knowing someone is on the other side really looking at your stuff, and who’s there to answer a question.”

A retrospective analysis of 101 telemedicine studies finds virtual visits may be just as effective as in-person visits for several neurological conditions, including concussion and traumatic brain injury, dementia, epilepsy, headache, multiple sclerosis, movement disorders, neuromuscular conditions, and general neurology. Analyses found patient satisfaction and diagnosis accuracy to be the same for both types of visits, with improved health outcomes seen in some telemedicine cases.

Other

I wonder what badge they earned: Girl Scouts in Philadelphia pose as patients for students at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. A PCOM spokesperson says the students benefitted from interacting with pediatric patients, something they rarely get to do; while the scouts gained experience in how to talk with doctors about their health.

Sponsor Updates

• EClinicalWorks publishes a new customer success story, “Compass Medical: Growing a Practice, Saving Lives.”

Blog Posts

• Key Benchmarks for Process Improvement & Success (EClinicalWorks)
• 6 signs of a quality EHR optimization partner (Nordic)
• Value sets: Supporting the goals of outcomes-based care (Intelligent Medical Objects)

Contacts

Jenn, Mr. H, Lorre

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News 12/4/19

Top News

ENT and Allergy Associates (NY) launch QMMS USA, a practice support company that will provide its 46 clinics and other practices with billing, practice management, and health IT, among other back-office services. ENT and Allergy Associates CEO Robert Glazer will also head up the new company.

HIStalk Practice Musings

Health IT and books again collide in “Scenes from an Early Morning Run,” a new coffee table book from former HIStalk contributor, health IT fixture, and athlete Ed Marx. He says the book contains “the best pics taken while running from around the world. You are holding the first edition. All proceeds go directly to help a Dreamer realize her dreams.”

It wasn’t long after I came across the book above that I ran across the story of family physician Maria Loerzel, MD who’ll run her first marathon this Sunday while pushing her friend Chris Douglas, who has ALS, in a wheelchair. Loerzel got into running several years ago after losing a bet to her husband.

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

Atlanta-based Motivo raises $2.2 million in a seed funding round led by Cox Enterprises. Motivo has developed an app that helps connect mental health providers with clinical supervisors who can oversee continuing education related to licensure.

The OneFifteen addiction center in begins seeing patients in Dayton, OH. The center is part of an addiction services campus backed by Verily that will eventually include a workforce development site. Plans are already in the works for a 5,000 square-foot addition.

Senior-focused primary care, management, and technology company ChenMed will open 20 new practices in five new cities, bringing the number of its centers to 80 in 10 states.

Announcements and Implementations

Clearwater develops a cyber risk management and HIPAA compliance implementation and management program for business associates of healthcare providers.

The American Oncology Network of 58 physicians selects patient and provider engagement software from PatientPoint.

People

Digital prescription savings company RxSense names Vishal Arora (EF Educational Tours) CTO of its enterprise division and Nitin Shingate (Raise) as CTO of its consumer division.

MGMA hires Ron Holder (Baylor Scott & White Healthcare) as COO and Albert Hwang (Prestige Consumer Healthcare) as CMO.

Telemedicine

Foley & Lardner publishes a state-by-state look at telehealth payment parity laws in a new 150-page report. Only 10 states have true parity – meaning providers are reimbursed at the same rate for virtual care as for in-person care.

Other

Could this be the start of a trend? Rahul Khare, MD expands his practice’s services to include cannabis-focused primary care and cannabis consulting. Khare and his staff will guide patients on the appropriate use of cannabis for symptom relief, including the most effective strains and dosing.

Contacts

Jenn, Mr. H, Lorre

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News 12/2/19

Top News

AWS unveils a healthcare-focused version of its transcription service for cloud customers that converts dictated medical notes or multi-party conversations to text in real time.

HIStalk Practice Musings

It’s hard to believe Thanksgiving is over and Christmas and a new year are just around the corner. I’m hoping a few books will find their way under my tree this year. I’d love to know what’s on your reading wish list. Email me with titles you’re hoping Santa will bring, assuming you’re on the “nice” list!

Not sure what to ask for? CNBC reporter Chrissy Farr has compiled a list of the 40 books she read over the last year. Perhaps it will inspire you to cut down on social media time. Farr says she stopped using Instagram for six months and cut back on Netflix, which gave her back eight to 10 hours each week.

Finally, my love of health IT and Hallmark Channel collide: Hallmark Movies & Mysteries has created a movie based on the true love story of Jack and Alice Totah (which was included in the book “God Wink Christmas Stories.”). The Texas couple met through a series of coincidences that included their uncles meeting on a boat to America 50 years before Jack and Alice married. Jack works for health IT vendor ScImage.

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

Announcements and Implementations

EvoHealth adds ScriptSender’s automated communication software for referring providers to its RIS solution.

ClearData announces GA of its Healthcare Security and Compliance Platform, which includes software, managed services, and professional services for public cloud-based uses across multiple healthcare verticals.

Telemedicine

Telepsychiatry is booming in Missouri, according to data from the University of Missouri and the Missouri Telehealth Network, which shows that tele-visits by Medicaid beneficiaries have increase tenfold since 2010. Mental and behavioral healthcare made up 65% of visits in 2016 – a trend that has continued. Telemedicine’s growing popularity is helping to address the state’s physician shortage: “A lot of our counties,” says Compass Health Network’s Cathy Grigg, “obviously, in the middle of the state are very rural,” she said. “Our providers don’t want to live there; they want to live in St. Louis, Kansas City, Columbia.”

Other

CNBC digs into increasing presence of physicians on TikTok, a short video app that is becoming increasingly popular with tweens and teens. Doctors like Rose Marie Leslie, MD (@DrLeslie) has amassed 300,000 followers with videos devoted to combating health misinformation. Her anti-vaping videos have been especially effective, largely because they’re meeting users where they’re at and educating them on vaping’s dangers. “I may not be the perfect health guru on social media,” she says. “I don’t meditate or do yoga, I rarely get enough sleep, I’m not vegan and I don’t post inspirational quotes. But let me tell you, I have never and will never try to convince you that drinking celery juice cures cancer.”

White Plains, NY-based Ivy Rehab Network notifies patients of a data breach that occurred in May after an employee fell victim to an email phishing attack.

Contacts

Jenn, Mr. H, Lorre

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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.

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