News 8/19/22

Top News

KeyCare, which offers an virtual-first care platform that gives Epic-using health systems access to a network of independent virtual care providers, raises $24 million in a Series A funding round.

KeyCare’s founder and CEO is industry long-timer Lyle Berkowitz, MD.

The company’s website says that patients can use the service directly to connect with clinicians starting later this year

Reader Comments

From Quiet Cacaphony: “Re: Epic. Posted a job for a medical biller who will work on RCM activities for clients. Is this the start of a tentative or aggressive entry into rev cycle outsourcing, which Epic has eschewed? The job is based at headquarters with full benefits, so the strategy certainly doesn’t involve leveraging squeezed labor costs.” The job listing is nearly identical from one from mid-2017, when Epic was first launching billing services for Resolute Professional Billing customers, so this doesn’t seem like something new.

HIStalk Announcements and Requests

UGM 2022 attendees: connect with HIStalk sponsors while you’re in Verona.

I dislike using “reimbursement” to refer to provider payments since the word means being repaid for expenses you incurred.  The correct but obsolete term is “imburse,” which simply means getting paid. It’s odd that hospitals and doctors try to hide the fact that they send bills, get paid, and make a profit from income that exceeds expense by calling it something else.

Webinars

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

Acquisitions, Funding, Business, and Stock

Patient engagement and access platform vendor Upfront acquires PatientBond, which offers patient relationship solutions. Upfront has raised $20 million through a Series B funding round.

Nurse job-matching website Incredible Health raises $80 million in a Series B funding round that values the company at $1.7 billion. Co-founder and CEO Iman Abuzeid, MBBS, MBA went directly from medical school into health consulting, worked in project management for AliveCor, and then started a healthcare customer retention software company with a colleague that they shut down to start their current venture.

ASG, which buys and runs vertical SaaS companies, acquires MediMatrix, which sells a solution for portable radiology imaging services.

HIPAA-compliant email vendor Paubox raises $10 million in funding.

Impact Advisors acquires business intelligence consulting firm C2 Healthcare.

Sales

• Warren General Hospital will implement Meditech Expanse in a $2.3 million project.
• British Columbia’s Fraser Health Authority chooses Picis Preop Manager, Anesthesia Manager, and PACU Manager for 11 acute care hospitals, integrated with Meditech as the health system replaces Client / Server with Expanse in an agreement signed in April 2022.
• Santa Cruz Health Information Organization chooses Verato’s master patient index and identity management platform.

People

Vyne promotes Steve Roberts to CEO. He replaces Lindy Benton, MS, who will serve as executive chair of the company’s board.

McLaren Health Care hires Derek Morkel, MHA (HealthTechS3) as SVP/CIO after serving as interim since late 2021.

Adam Tallinger, RPh, MHA takes a new position with Divurgent as VP of delivery.

Announcements and Implementations

Nuance and diagnostic intelligence company Covera Health launch the Quality Care Collaborative, which brings together payers, providers, and self-insured employers to support radiology quality improvement initiatives. Walmart has already joined the AHRQ-certified Patient Safety Organization as its first large-employer member.

Medical software vendor Parker Health will integrate First Databank’s FDB Vela, a cloud-native e-prescribing network, with its EHR.

Government and Politics

The Wall Street Journal reports that HHS is formulating how to shift the cost of COVID-19 vaccines and treatments to the commercial market instead of the federal government paying for everything.

Other

A study finds that higher-level EHR use is associated with a reduction in operating costs of urban hospitals – driven mostly by general / ancillary and outpatient costs – but rural hospitals don’t see any cost savings from their use. The authors note that rural hospitals more often choose vendors such as CPSI, Healthland, Evident, and Medhost than their urban counterparts, making the effect of vendor support uncertain when comparing urban versus rural hospitals.

Sponsor Updates

• CloudWave sponsors The Foundations for Firelands “Caddyshack” Open Golf Outing in support of cancer patients treated at Firelands Health.
• Get Well adds a new monkeypox digital care management plan to its library of over 250 digital care management plans.
• HIMSS Oregon appoints Pivot Point Consulting SVP Laura Kreofsky secretary and VP Joe Clemons sponsorship chair.
• Everbridge integrates its Travel Risk Management and Critical Event Management solutions into Everbridge Travel Protector for healthcare, businesses, and government organizations.
• Fivos Health will exhibit at AMP 2022 through August 20 in Chicago.
• Nordic posts a new episode in its “DocTalk” video series.
• Intelligent Medical Objects will exhibit at the Civitas Networks for Health 2022 Annual Conference August 21-24 in San Antonio.
• Lyniate releases the latest version of its Enterprise Master Patient Index by NextGate.
• Medicomp Systems releases a new Tell Me Where It Hurts Podcast featuring MedAllies CEO John Blair, MD.
• Meditech releases a new podcast, “Sparking Passion and Resilience: True Stories from Nurse Leaders.”
• NTT Data Senior Director of Statewide Consulting Patti Garofalo receives a Medicaid Enterprise Systems Conference Collaboration Award at MESC 2022.

Blog Posts

• Stay Compliant: Coding Updates Effective 10/1/22 (Experity)
• Eye-opening Facts Increase Urgency to Automate Bill-only Implant Orders (GHX)
• Eliminating Barriers to Digital Transformation in Healthcare: Practical Tips (Healthcare Triangle)
• Understanding the Evaluation and Management (E/M) Level Coding Changes for 2023 (Impact Advisors)
• Coevolving with the Evolution of Healthcare Management (InterSystems)
• What’s next for the CMIO? Ten leaders weigh in. (Intelligent Medical Objects)
• Diameter Health & Availity: Building the Premier Healthcare Data and Engagement Platform for Better Health and a More Efficient Healthcare System (Diameter Health)
• Know Your Cybercriminals: Using physical and digital identity attributes to identify bad actors (LexisNexis Risk Solutions)
• How Pre-Payment Billing Procedures Reduce Denials (Medhost)
• Prior Authorization and Benefits Verification Automation for Diagnostic Labs (Myndshft)
• Confessions of an EHR CEO (Net Health)
• What is “cognitive load” – and how can we help clinicians manage it? (Nuance)
• Location Matters: The Importance of Meeting Clients Where They Are (Netsmart)

Contacts

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