News 6/19/19

Top News

ESolutions, an RCM technology and services company based in Overland Park, KS, acquires Houston, TX-based competitor Practice Insight for an undisclosed sum.

HIStalk Practice Announcements and Requests

Mr. H is running his annual annual Summer Doldrums Special on webinars and new sponsorships. Contact Lorre, who may offer a little something extra to former sponsors who want to return to the fold.

Webinars

July 25 (Thursday) 2:00 ET. “Meeting patient needs across the continuum of care.” Sponsor: Philips Population Health Management. Presenters: Cindy Gaines, chief nursing officer, Philips Population Health Management; Cynthia Burghard, research director of value-based healthcare IT transformation strategies, IDC. Traditional care management approaches are not sufficient to deliver value-based healthcare. Supplementing EHRs with advanced PHM technology and a scalable care management approach gives health systems proactive and longitudinal insights that optimize scarce resources in meeting the needs of multiple types of patients. This webinar will address the key characteristics of a digital platform for value-based care management, cover the planning and deployment of a scalable care management strategy, and review patient experience scenarios for CHF and diabetes.

Previous webinars are on our YouTube channel. Contact Lorre for information.

Announcements and Implementations

ClinicTracker adds MIPS reporting capabilities from Health EFilings to its EHR for mental health and substance abuse providers.

Telemedicine

InTeleLabs launches a telemedicine system for at-home pharmacogenomics testing and physician consultations. The Elicity system’s initial offerings will include tests related to mental health, cardiovascular health, and pain management.

Family Practice Center in Atlanta implements telemedicine capabilities from EVisit.

In Rhode Island, Thundermist Health Center uses a CDC grant to launch telemedicine prescribing capabilities with specialists at Codac Behavioral Healthcare. The providers at both facilities will collaborate on getting patients access to medication-assisted treatment for substance use disorder.

Research and Innovation

A Definitive Healthcare survey on outpatient care trends finds investing in and implementing new technologies – especially those related to interoperability – to be the biggest challenge, followed by understanding industry consolidation trends, staffing, and attracting new patients. The field of 200 respondents also acknowledged that new technologies such as telemedicine and mobile apps, as well as streamlined patient technologies, were among the biggest drivers behind outpatient growth.

Other

Residents complain when paperwork left behind the now-shuttered Medical Professional Home Healthcare Center (IL) ends up on the ground and blowing into nearby yards. The papers, which include medical files, were originally left in a locked storage container at the same location. City sanitation crews were quick to clean up the mess after several neighbors called the local news. The center closed in 2017 after losing its state health department license and Medicare certification.

Sponsor Updates

• Aprima will exhibit at HFMA June 23-26 in Orlando.

Blog Posts

• Your practice is nothing without patients (AdvancedMD)

Contacts

Jenn, Mr. H, Lorre

More news: HIStalk.

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News 6/17/19

Top News

In Miami, a federal judge denies attempts by Kipu Systems to withdraw complaints against addiction treatment EHR vendor ZenCharts, citing a disservice to the defendants and the fact that such an action would necessitate relitigating the case in state court. Kipu sued ZenCharts in late 2017 for $30 million for allegedly stealing the intellectual property behind its EHR for behavioral health providers.

In an effort to assuage prospects and customers, ZenCharts has published a timeline comparing the release dates of each company’s product releases. Kipu has made all of the legal documents involved in the case accessible via its website.

Webinars

None scheduled in the coming weeks. Previous webinars are on our YouTube channel. Contact Lorre for information.

Acquisitions, Funding, Business, and Stock

Mental healthcare coordination and technology company Quartet Health raises $60 million in a funding round led by managed care company Centene, bringing its total raised to $153 million.

People

Michael Vasoncelles (Unum Therapeutics) joins Flatiron Health as CMO. He succeeds Amy Abernethy, MD who joined the FDA earlier this year as principal deputy commissioner.

Announcements and Implementations

New Hope Treatment Centers (SC) selects EHR and RCM software from Core Solutions.

First announced in April, CPSI subsidiary Get Real Health announces migration capabilities for Microsoft HealthVault users who want to transfer their health data to GRH’s Lydia PHR. Microsoft will shut HealthVault down in November.

Other

N.E.O. Urology in Youngstown, OH recovers from a ransomware attack last week that wound up costing the practice three days of downtime and between $90,000 and $150,000 in revenue. Reports differ as to whether or not the practice wound up paying the $75,000 bitcoin ransom, and whether or not the practice was alerted to the hack via fax.

Sponsor Updates

• Nordic will exhibit at HIUG Interact 2019 through June 19 in Orlando.
• EClinicalWorks will exhibit at the Northeast Regional Telehealth Conference June 17-18 in Portland, ME.
• Intelligent Medical Objects will exhibit at the AMDIS Annual Physician-Computer Connection Symposium June 18-21 in Ojai, CA.

Blog Posts

• Care Manager Efficiency, Part 2: Leveraging Your Data (Healthwise)

Contacts

Jenn, Mr. H, Lorre

More news: HIStalk.

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News 6/12/19

Top News

ChartSpan Medical Technologies raises $15 million in a Series A round led by Blue Heron Capital. The company, which has raised $37 million since opening seven years ago, specializes in chronic care management programs and CMS compliance services.

HIStalk Practice Musings

Don’t miss Mr. H’s review of “The 10 Principles of a Love Based Culture” by health IT heavyweights Ivo Nelson and Dana Sellers. He’s not fond of the title, but I imagine it might sell well in the business world around Valentine’s Day.

Y’all know I love a good library story: The town of Bhilar in India has become a tourist destination for book-lovers thanks to the 25 families who have turned their homes into libraries. Thirty thousand books provided by the government and villager donations have been spread among the homes according to subject and genre. Visitors, which have jumped from a few hundred to several thousand since the project launched two years ago, are welcome to come in and read to their hearts’ content.

Webinars

None scheduled in the coming weeks. Previous webinars are on our YouTube channel. Contact Lorre for more information.

People

David Justus (Avetta) joins Kareo as CFO.

Announcements and Implementations

Ob/Gyn practice management company Unified Physician Management will offer its providers Suki’s digital assistant to help with clinical documentation and EHR integration.

CureMD adds chemotherapy order templates from the National Comprehensive Cancer Network to its EHR for oncologists.

Sweetgrass Pediatrics in South Carolina implements patient-to-practice text messaging capabilities from Rhinogram.

Government and Politics

The New Jersey Innovation Institute will spearhead the state’s Promoting Interoperability for New Jersey Substance Use Disorder Providers initiative, which will use a $6 million grant to help substance use disorder providers transition to EHRs.

Telemedicine

Workplace clinic company Concentra expands use of its telemedicine software to Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, and Vermont.

A Michigan Medicine study of 48 adults determines that cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia delivered by telemedicine is just as effective as in-person care for improving sleep outcomes.

Other

Patients in the Cornish village of Megavissey are no doubt breathing a sigh of relief after a #WillYouBeMyGP social media campaign goes viral and helps to save their local clinic from closing. Lone provider Katherine James was going to call it quits after deciding she could no longer handle the practice’s 5,300 patients on her own. The campaign helped raise awareness of her plight, catching the attention of local government officials, NHS England, and other local practitioners, some of whom have agreed to sign on as staff.

In other physician recruitment news, HSHS Medical Group in Illinois has taken the unusual (I assume) step of offering patients a $10,000 referral fee if they recommend a physician who ends up becoming employed at the practice.

USA Today profiles Level Ex, a video game company that has developed a series of games for healthcare professionals. The company has created four free games so far – Airway Ex for anesthesiologists, Gastro Ex for gastroenterologists, Pulm Ex for pulmonologists, and Cardio Ex for cardiologists. The games are based on real cases submitted by physicians, and can help players earn CMEs. Star Wars fans might find it fun to learn that Level Ex founder and CEO Sam Glassenberg got his start at LucasArts developing Star Wars video games.

Sponsor Updates

Blog Posts

• Inspire, engage, and activate patients with patient education (AdvancedMD)
• 3 Ways That Telehealth is Improving Healthcare (EClinicalWorks)
• Accessing Epic Data in 3rd Party Business Intelligence Programs – New Features & Benefits (Culbert Healthcare Solutions)

Contacts

Jenn, Mr. H, Lorre

More news: HIStalk.

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Contact us online.
Become a sponsor.

News 6/10/19

Top News

Barbara McAneny, MD (right) hands over AMA’s presidential duties to Patrice Harris, MD (center) at the association’s annual meeting in Chicago. Members voted allergist and immunologist Susan Bailey, MD president-elect.

HIStalk Practice Musings

Highly recommended reading: I flew through “Kingdom of Copper,” wrapping up the second book of the Daevabad trilogy by S.A. Chakraborty on the same day that I saw the new Aladdin movie. (Pure coincidence, I assure you.) If you’re a fan of Ottoman and Arabian mythology and folk tales, and magical suspense that doesn’t let up, this book is for you. A word of warning, though: The book is deep in details, so reading the first novel, “City of Brass,” is required. I found myself flipping to the glossary several times to make sure I was keeping the various tribes of magical beings straight. The third book in the series has yet to be released.

Check out this article if you need scientific evidence on the benefits of reading to compel you to visit your local library. Highlights include:

• Book-lovers live two years longer than everyone else, irrespective of other factors like gender and wealth. Researchers have determined that “[d]eep reading promotes empathy and emotional intelligence – cognitive processes that can lead to greater chance of survival.” This statistic makes me wonder if social determinants of health should include metrics beyond traditional literacy levels, such as access to public libraries.
• Information is more easily absorbed when read from print rather than a digital screen. I am apparently among the 39% of US adults who read only print books.
• Building a book collection “boosts adult literacy, numeracy, and technological problem solving.”
• Reading wards off brain deterioration.

Feel free to share additional reading statistics and book recommendations with me via email.

Webinars

None scheduled in the coming weeks. Previous webinars are on our YouTube channel. Contact Lorre for information.

People

Dana Fields (Ardent Health Services) joins Privia Health as SVP and chief compliance officer.

Announcements and Implementations

The Oregon Council for Behavioral Health will offer member organizations EnSoftek’s DrCloudEHR.

Research and Innovation

A survey of 550 consumers finds that 57% have physicians who offer mobile apps. The same percentage say they prefer to communicate with their physicians via app rather than phone. Their top app functions include scheduling appointments, viewing lab results, and requesting prescriptions. Patients may love apps, but nearly 70% still prefer in-person visits to video consults.

Other

It’s time for your yearly Glammogram: The New York Times looks at the lengths clinics will go to to get women in for their annual mammograms. Perks like VIP nights with chair massages and goody bags, beverage bars, and warm robes in different designs and sizes are just a few things providers are trying out to entice new patients, retain current ones, and make sure their mammography services remain profitable. Practices have also added night and weekend appointments, and online scheduling and follow-up to make sure women can access convenient care. New York City-based Pure Mammography has even opened up a clinic in a local mall and rented out a mall kiosk to attract shoppers. 

In Australia, industry experts question the predatory-like lending practices of Afterpay, a “buy now, pay later” company that recently began offering short-term payment plans for medical and dental treatments. Late fees make up a fifth of the company’s revenue. “We’re not quite the US, where if something goes wrong you can be completely ruined,“ says associate professor Dan Woodman, “but we are getting to that point where we speculate a little bit in the future and hope for the best. Paying off your medication or radiology didn’t used to be a thing. Now it is.”

The AMA’s meeting is in full swing in Chicago. Aside from the normal presentations, elections, and networking – plus a “Medicare for All” protest rally outside of the venue and tweet-worthy bacon doughnuts – not much else seems to be going on. CMS Administrator Seema Verma is set to make an appearance later today. 

Primary care physician Audrey Provenzano, MD compares the EHR-less days of the “Country Doctor” with her average patient encounter, which is typically short on time and personal interaction. While admitting that EHRs are indispensable, she says:

“I cannot look at “Country Doctor“ without a searing sense of loss for our profession. In each image I see that ineffable moment of connection in which a caregiver is wholly focused on a patient’s concern. I long to establish that connection with each of my patients, whether we are discussing a new tumor or a fleeting rash. But so often, I am running late, the patient needs orders placed, and the screen pulls me away.”

Sponsor Updates

• Intelligent Medical Objects holds a grand opening ceremony for its new headquarters in Rosemont, IL.

Blog Posts

• EHR Flaws and Fixes (Medicomp Systems)
• We Need Your Help! #eCWNC19 Call for Presenters (EClinicalWorks)
• Website Taxonomy Can Predict What Your Patients Want to Read (Healthwise)
• Your guide to selecting a quality D&A partner (Nordic)

Contacts

Jenn, Mr. H, Lorre

More news: HIStalk.

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

News 6/5/19

Top News

San Francisco-based primary and urgent care company Carbon Health raises $30 million in a Series B funding round led by Brookline Growth Partners. The company will use the financing to expand its clinics into retail spaces beyond California, and to embark on more ambulatory care partnerships with health systems.

The company, which has raised nearly $37 million since launching in 2015, has developed an app that lets patients schedule appointments, pay for services, chat with providers, and conduct virtual video visits.

Webinars

None scheduled soon. Previous webinars are on our YouTube channel. Contact Lorre for information.

Acquisitions, Funding, Business, and Stock

Atlanta-based startup Medxoom raises $3 million, which it will use to hire additional staff, and further scale marketing and sales for its healthcare pricing app.

Feedtrail raises $1 million for its real-time patient feedback app.

People

Noel Marsden (Brightstar) joins CareCloud as CFO.

OneOncology names David Stewart (Tennessee Oncology) CIO and Garrick Bernstein (One Medical) CFO.

Announcements and Implementations

The Louisiana Physicians Accountable Care Organization enlists Aledade to help its six independent primary care practices implement and use population health management and care coordination technology.

Dallas-based IPA Genesis Physicians Group selects patient referral and analytics software from Fibroblast.

Practice management and RCM vendor PracticeSuite leverages Payment Data Systems technology to offer customers new electronic payment capabilities.

Family Healthcare of Siouxland implements scheduling software from MyHealthDirect at its six clinics located across Iowa, South Dakota, and Nebraska.

NextGen announces GA of an integrated physical and behavioral health EHR.

Government and Politics

The State of Maryland goes live on NIC’s RxGov PDMP. NIC signed a five-year contract with the Chesapeake Regional Information System for our Patients, which will manage the program.

Sponsor Updates

Blog Posts

• 5 Overlooked Systems & Processes to Boost Your Bottom Line (AdvancedMD)
• Epic Reporting – New Features and Benefits for your Organization (Culbert Healthcare Solutions)

Contacts

Jenn, Mr. H, Lorre

More news: HIStalk.

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