Home » News » Recent Articles:

News 1/9/23

January 10, 2023 News No Comments

Top News

a1

Specialty EHR and practice management vendor ModMed acquires allergy testing and immunotherapy software company Xtract Solutions.


Webinars

January 19 (Thursday) 2 ET. “Supercharge Your Clinical Data Searches.” Sponsor: Particle Health. Presenter: Paul Robbins, MSMBA, VP of product, Particle. Particle’s team will preview the exciting results of Specialty Search, a new condition-specific record locator service. This webinar will review how to collect patient records from top Centers of Excellence across the entire country; how healthcare organizations of all types are benefiting from Specialty Search capabilities, using Particle’s simple API; and why a focused search of chronic condition data — in oncology, cardiology, endocrinology, orthopedics, and more — has an outsized impact on care outcomes.

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


Acquisitions, Funding, Business, and Stock

a2

Herself Health launches with $7 million in seed funding. The company offers primary care services to women 65 and older at its clinic in St. Paul, MN. CEO Kristen Helton was formerly general manager of Amazon Care.

a3

Codex IT, a healthcare IT consulting and managed services company focused on eye care practices, acquires Intranet Consulting.


People

a4

David Shelton (MedAssist) joins Aidéo Technologies as CEO.

a5

LifeMD names Jessica Friedeman (Healthgrades) CMO.

a6

UnisLink appoints David Strand (Kenwood Health) executive chairman.

a7

Former Summit Health-CityMD CEO Jeff Le Benger, MD will serve as interim president of Summit Health-CityMD, recently acquired by VillageMD for $7 billion.

a8

Louise Perkowski (PrescribeWellness) joins InStep Health as VP of client solutions and sales.


Announcements and Implementations

a9

Palmetto Counseling & Consulting Services (SC) implements EClinicalWorks.

EHR and practice management vendor Azalea Health selects RevSpring’s PersonaPay patient payments portal, merchant services, and billing software.


Research and Innovation

a10

Samsung debuts telemedicine functionality at CES that makes virtual consults available through its smart TV or Galaxy Watch. The company will also offer a special camera designed to capture heart and respiratory rates, oxygen saturation and stress levels. It hasn’t yet made details available as to who will provide the care and what payment options will be available.


Other

a11

Maternal & Family Health Services (PA) notifies patients of an April 2022 ransomware attack that may have compromised PHI.


Contacts

Jenn, Mr. H, Lorre

More news: HIStalk.

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

Jenn_125

News 1/4/23

January 6, 2023 News No Comments

Top News

a1

Allscripts rebrands to Veradigm after transitioning many of its products over the last year to the Veradigm name.

Allscripts sold off its Hospitals and Large Physician Practices business segment to Canada-based Harris for up to $700 million in cash in Q2 of last year. The company notes that all remaining EHR, practice management, and patient communication products are now part of the Veradigm Network.

Hints of the rebrand came during an early 2022 investor call, which included slides copyrighted and footnoted as Veradigm. The name first came on the scene in 2018, when Allscripts rebranded its Payer & Life Sciences Division.

For those keeping score, a HIStalk reader bet that the rebrand would happen before HIMSS23.


Webinars

January 19 (Thursday) 2 ET. “Supercharge Your Clinical Data Searches.” Sponsor: Particle Health. Presenter: Paul Robbins, MSMBA, VP of product, Particle. Particle’s team will preview the exciting results of Specialty Search, a new condition-specific record locator service. This webinar will review how to collect patient records from top Centers of Excellence across the entire country; how healthcare organizations of all types are benefiting from Specialty Search capabilities, using Particle’s simple API; and why a focused search of chronic condition data — in oncology, cardiology, endocrinology, orthopedics, and more — has an outsized impact on care outcomes.

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


Acquisitions, Funding, Business, and Stock

a2

Healthcare feedback, engagement, and relationship management software vendor Well IQ raises an undisclosed amount of Series A funding.


People

a3

Experity promotes Brian Berning to CFO.

a4

First Stop Health promotes Teira Gunlock to CEO.


Announcements and Implementations

The Minnesota Department of Health selects Cue Health’s Cue Care diagnostic platform to power its new COVID-19 telehealth to treatment program. Minnesota residents who self-test positive for the illness will be able to access virtual consults and prescriptions free of charge through the program.

a5

Alpine Ear Nose and Throat implements RCM software and services from CareCloud’s Meridian division across its three offices in Colorado.

Community oncology provider network OPN Healthcare selects Kaid Health’s Whole Chart Analysis and Natural Language Insight & Term Extraction (NLITE) technologies.


Research and Innovation

A survey of 7,246 clinicians who use telemedicine to care for seniors finds that nearly 60% believe it’s “dangerous” to provide virtual visits to older adults with medical complexities, and that a similar percentage think the technology is an unrealistic option for seniors with cognitive or physical challenges. Researchers say the findings point to a need for clinician support, education, and specialized guidelines on providing effective care to older patients via telehealth.


Other

a6

A presumably disgruntled patient trashes the waiting room at Wilson Street Surgery in England. Physician Shehla Imtiaz-Umer attributes the incident to “negative media narrative, anti-GP rhetoric, unrelenting demand, and unrealistic expectations.” No details seem to be available as to what specifically caused the patient’s violent outburst.

a7

PeaceHealth staff open the “Eugene Clinic 1992 Time Capsule” to commemorate the clinic’s 100th anniversary. The clinic merged with PeaceHealth Medical Group in 1995 in an effort to keep up with escalating technological demands, according to retired Eugene Clinic doctor Dick Loescher. The capsule included “vintage” medical gear, a globe, newspaper articles, a shirt, and a banner with signatures of former staff.


Sponsor Updates

a8

  • AdvancedMD employees deliver gifts to three local schools and help 14 families and 35 children this holiday season as part of the Sub for Santa program.
  • EClinicalWorks releases a new podcast, “Clinical Testing Hackathon for V12 Release.”
  • Nordic publishes a technical paper titled “Healthcare Modernization Through Cloud-Enhanced Application Accessibility.”

Blog Posts


Contacts

Jenn, Mr. H, Lorre

More news: HIStalk.

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

a9

News 1/2/23

January 2, 2023 News No Comments

Top News

f1

Online allergy care company Nectar raises an additional $16. million, bringing its Series A round to $24 million. It plans to open its first physical location this year.

Founder and CEO Ken Chahine was formerly a founding executive at AncestryDNA and Ancestry Health.


Webinars

January 19 (Thursday) 2 ET. “Supercharge Your Clinical Data Searches.” Sponsor: Particle Health. Presenter: Paul Robbins, MSMBA, VP of product, Particle. Particle’s team will preview the exciting results of Specialty Search, a new condition-specific record locator service. This webinar will review how to collect patient records from top Centers of Excellence across the entire country; how healthcare organizations of all types are benefiting from Specialty Search capabilities, using Particle’s simple API; and why a focused search of chronic condition data — in oncology, cardiology, endocrinology, orthopedics, and more — has an outsized impact on care outcomes.

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


Acquisitions, Funding, Business, and Stock

f2

Behavioral health IT vendor Telemynd raises $6 million. The Massachusetts-based startup offers virtual care with tailored patient-provider matching and predictive diagnostic services.


People

f3

Aptihealth hires Tim Koehler (Bluestone Physician Services) as president and COO.

f4

Ananya Banerjee (ChenMed) joins Aledade as chief commercial officer.


Announcements and Implementations

f5

Mental Health Resources implements Cantata Health’s Arize EHR at its five offices in New Mexico.

f6

Family Health Center (MS) selects the EClinicalWorks V12 EHR.


Government and Politics

f7

The Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Service, the Virginia Telehealth Network, and the Virginia Association of Free and Charitable Clinics partner to launch the Virginia Telemental Health Initiative, which will offer free, virtual mental health services to eligible patients. The initiative will be staffed by volunteer mental healthcare providers.

Primary care provider Health Specialists of Central Florida will pay $20,000 to settle a potential HIPAA violation concerning the privacy rule’s right of access provision. The practice failed in 2019 to make a patient’s medical records available in the mandated 30-day timeframe, finally providing them five months after the initial request.


Other

f8

NasonCare owner and Medical Director Baron Nason, MD will provide free healthcare services for three months to the employees of 10 local small businesses in an effort to help combat the rising cost of care, which has forced some of his patients to have to choose between paying mortgages or seeking treatment. The North Charleston, SC-based practice offers primary, urgent, and employee-based care.

f9

Maine State Library’s Libraries Health Connect rural telemedicine program will soon expand with additional sites and/or more advanced technology. The program launched at 10 pilot libraries in the spring to offer patrons private areas equipped with hardware and software for virtual appointments.

f10

Authorities charge the former office manager of a dermatology practice in Rhode Island and her son, a former data clerk at the practice after they discover the pair swindled nearly $500,000 from the practice by giving themselves unauthorized pay increases, adding friends and family to the pay roll, failing to deposit patient payments, issuing and cashing checks made out to themselves and others, and using practice funds and credit cards to pay for personal expenses, among other allegations.


Sponsor Updates

  • Medicomp Systems features National Coordinator Micky Tripathi, PhD, MPP in its “Tell Me Where IT Hurts” podcast.

Blog Posts


Contacts

Jenn, Mr. H, Lorre

More news: HIStalk.

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

f11

News 12/14/22

December 14, 2022 News No Comments

Top News

image

Researchers find that primary care telehealth patients enrolled in a telehealth patient navigator pilot program were more likely to attend their virtual consults than patients not in the program. Navigators were tasked with calling patients the day before appointments to remind them of their consult, offer technical assistance, and answer questions. The 12-week program saw a return on investment of $11,387.


HIStalk Practice Musings

image image

While Dr. Jayne contemplates her 2023 conference travel schedule, I am looking ahead to what the new year will offer in terms of must-read books. BookBub.com, my favorite recommendation site, has plenty of lists based on a reader’s selected preferences. While not necessarily new year releases, I’m looking forward to checking out Jim Gaffigan’s “Food: A Love Story,” “The Darling Girl: A Novel of Peter Pan” by Liz Michalski, and “Tolkien and the Great War: The Threshold of Middle-Earth” by John Garth. (I’m still on a Tolkien kick, deep in the second book of the Fionavar Tapestry trilogy, a mid-80s fantasy series written by Tolkien editor Guy Gavriel Kay.)

image

Tufts Medical Director Peter Neumann’s list of best books read in 2022 also has me looking back to some of my favorite reads from the past year. His include “Breath from Salt” Bijal P. Trivedi: “The next time I am asked my views on how health technology assessments might consider ‘patient-centered’ metrics,” he writes, ‘I will suggest that the inquirer read Bijal Trivedi’s book about the development of therapies for cystic fibrosis.’

Mine include “Burning Bright” by Tracey Chevalier, “Katherine” by Anya Seton, and “Russian Winter” by Daphne Kalotay. I’d love to hear what readers have loved and are looking forward to reading. Email me with your suggestions. Happy holidays and see you next year!


Webinars

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


Announcements and Implementations

image

Leyden Family Service & Mental Health Center (IL) selects EnSoftek’s DrCloudEHR.

American Endovascular & Amputation Prevention implements EClinicalWorks across its facilities in Ohio, New York, and New Jersey.


Research and Innovation

image

After analyzing 35 million specialty telemedicine visits conducted over a two-year period, Epic researchers determine that the majority did not require an in-person follow-up visit within the next three months. Of those that did, the appointments typically focused on additional, rather than duplicative, care.


Other

image

A cow smashes through the glass doors of Orange Family Physicians (VA) after jumping (escaping?) off a trailer en route to a local cattle company. Local cow catchers were able to lasso the animal inside the office and bring it safely outside.

Pediatrics West and Allergy West notify patients of an October 17 data breach that impacted some of their IT systems and may have exposed patient data.


Contacts

Jenn, Mr. H, Lorre

More news: HIStalk.

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

News 12/12/22

December 12, 2022 News No Comments

Top News

image

Tech-enabled healthcare provider Juno Medical raises $12 million in a Series A round, enabling it to expand beyond New York City into Atlanta, Tulsa, and Los Angeles. The round was co-led by Next Ventures and Serena [Williams] Ventures.

Juno offers, through its in-person and virtual services, primary and urgent care, pediatrics, and women’s healthcare. It offers membership plans, in addition to accepting various forms of insurance.


Webinars

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


Acquisitions, Funding, Business, and Stock

image

Commons Clinic raises $11 million in seed funding. The company is building a network of specialty physician practices that it will equip with integrated virtual care services. It is initially focusing on musculoskeletal care. CEO Nick Aubin plans to expand into cardiology, urology, gastroenterology, and surgical gynecology as the company builds out an ambulatory network in five to eight markets within the next 10 years.


People

image

Scan Group names Emily Cook (Alternate Solutions Health Network) CEO of Welcome Health, its virtual and in-home primary care practice for seniors.

image

Rob Posner (Pediatric Associates) joins AbsoluteCare as CTO.

image image image

Kidney care provider Panoramic Health names Sampath Narayanan (Everside Health) CIO, Michael Holland (InnovaCare Health) chief development officer, and Kimberly Shreve (Collective Health) chief compliance and privacy officer.


Government and Politics

In Canada, the Newfoundland and Labrador Medical Association seeks an explanation from government officials as to why private telemedicine company Fonemed is being paid more than double what it pays family physicians for in-person appointments. The association says that the current five-year contract between Fonemed and the province pays the company between $82 and $92 for virtual consults with nurse practitioners. Family physicians are typically paid $37 for in-person visits and $47 for a virtual care visits, with virtual consults capped at 40 per day. Nearly 25% of the province’s 525,000 residents are without a family doctor. Provincial officials have said Fonemed’s rates/payments reflect overall costs that include overhead, infrastructure and technology costs, staff education, and other services including a 24-hour mental health crisis line and a virtual dietary service.

A judge sentences Shawna Edwards to one year in prison and restitution of $16,000 for embezzling $35,000 in patient co-pays and cash payments from her medical practice employer over a two-year period.


Research and Innovation

image

A survey of just over 1,000 patients finds that – surprise, surprise – the top complaint of patients seen in person is the amount of time spent waiting to be seen. Getting to and scheduling appointments weren’t far behind. Sixty-four percent of patients say they’ve put off going to the doctor just to avoid the above hassles. In light of these statistics, opting for a telemedicine appointment might seem like the easier route to take, and yet they have their own sets of challenges: Patients have also felt frustrated when trying to schedule virtual consults and when attempting to meet their technological requirements.


Other

image

Watson Family Medicine (KY) exceeds expectations with its first Toys for Tots toy drive, collecting more than three bins full of items. Andrea Watson, MD started the practice eight months ago: “The patients, the community, the Marine Corps, we’ve all joined forces to make this happen. I couldn’t be happier.”

image

A local website profiles the ways in which senior-focused primary care provider Oak Street Health ensures its tech team sees first-hand how the company’s homegrown Canopy practice management software impacts patients. “The expectation is that the engineering team’s job is to sit and look at code,” says Director of Engineering Geoff Niehaus. “That’s how you lose touch with the mission, so I appreciate that we make opportunities — even with remote workers — to visit clinics and see the impact our software has on folks using it.”

The Rhode Island Department of Health announces that a data breach may have exposed the PHI of 9,000 people. The breach occurred when a staff member accidentally included a link to a spreadsheet in emails sent between July 28 and October 30.


Sponsor Updates

  • TigerConnect publishes a new e-book, “When Every Second Matters: Guide to Speeding Critical Response Workflows.”
  • Healthwise wins seven digital health awards from the Health Information Resource Center for its medical illustrations and health education videos.

Blog Posts


Contacts

Jenn, Mr. H, Lorre

More news: HIStalk.

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

Platinum Sponsors


  

  

  

Gold Sponsors


 

Subscribe to Updates




Search All HIStalk Sites



Recent Comments

  1. Re: Walmart Health: Just had a great dental visit this morning, which was preceded by helpful reminders from Epic, and…

  2. NextGen announcement on Rusty makes me wonder why he was asked to leave abruptly. Knowing him, I can think of…

  3. "New Haven, CT-based medical billing and patient communications startup Inbox Health..." What you're literally saying here is that the firm…

  4. RE: Josephine County Public Health department in Oregon administer COVID-19 vaccines to fellow stranded motorists. "Hey, you guys over there…

  5. United is regularly referred to as "The Evil Empire" in the independent pediatric space (where I live). They are the…