Welcome to the weekly edition of Healthcare IT Today Bonus Features. This article will be a weekly roundup of interesting stories, product announcements, new hires, partnerships, research studies, awards, sales, and more. Because there’s so much happening out there in healthcare IT we aren’t able to cover in our full articles, we still want to make sure you’re informed of all the latest news, announcements, and stories happening to help you better do your job.
News
On Dec. 29, 2022, President Biden signed the omnibus spending bill. The biggest news for healthcare IT was the extension of telehealth expansion under Medicare through the end of 2024. This includes expansion of originating sites and eligible providers; coverage of audio-only telehealth; extended capabilities for FQHCs and rural health clinics to offer telehealth; extension of the Acute Hospital Care at Home program, and a delay for the in-person requirement for mental health services.
Urine was the talk of CES 2023, with at-home urine testing company Vivoo and smart device maker Withings both releasing smart toilets. Vivoo promises to provide users with results in 90 seconds and is targeting the senior and residential care markets, according to Engadget. Meanwhile, Withings is initially launching its product in Europe as it awaits FDA approval, TechCrunch said.
DirectTrust and the Electronic Healthcare Network Accreditation Commission completed their merger, which was first announced in November 2022. In addition, EHNAC announced the criteria for its 2023 accreditation programs, with updates focused on capacity planning, utilization monitoring, and alignment with the NIST Cybersecurity Framework.
Studies
- The third annual Becoming a Health Care Business Partner of Choice report from the American Hospital Association found that 70% of healthcare IT vendors are investing in in-person conferences again – and 60% are allocating their entire event budget to in-person events.
- Research from ONC concluded that Black and Hispanic patients were less likely to be offered access to patient portals, and less likely to actually access their portal, than White patients. This points to the value of building equity into design, both when it comes to how portals are used and how practices encourage patients to use portals, ONC said.
- Philips and Executives for Health Innovation released a report describing stark inequities in cancer care and highlighting three global examples of success: Mobile screenings in Australia, awareness campaigns for immigrants in Germany, and new cancer care pathways in the United States.
- The first quarterly Healthcare IT Market Report from Pivot Point Consulting hinted at a continued need for providers to develop long-term strategies around virtual care, customer relationship management, and RCM optimization.
Partnerships
- Direct primary care platform Hint Health is expanding its partnership with Colorado-based DPC provider Nextera Healthcare to better support large employers and health plans.
- Patient engagement and communication provider CipherHealth partnered with technology consultancy SADA to embed Google Cloud’s Looker in its platform to collect socioeconomic data.
- Imagimob implemented its tinyML fall detection application on the Syntiant NDP120 (Neural Decision Processor).
Products
- NextGen announced that clients using NextGen Population Health achieved an average of $9 million in savings in 2021 in the Medicare Shared Savings Program MSSP.
- Independence Health Group and Comcast joint venture Quil launched Quil Assure, its platform to support seniors aging in place, and announced its participation in the AgeTech Collaborative from AARP.
- Clinical and financial engagement company RevSpring added a Care Navigation module to OmniBrain, its omnichannel patient journey analytics platform.
- ScribeEMR received SOC Type 2 compliance certification for its charting, coding, and support products.
- AdvancedMD announced 21st Century Cures Act Certification, which emphasizes new industry standards for interoperability, usability, and security.
- Digital therapeutic Medisafe announced new software as a medical device technology following the achievement of ISO certification for quality management and IT security management.
- Vivante Health added cognitive behavioral therapy to GIThrive, its digital digestive health platform for employers and health plans.
- Healthcare risk management solution provider CORL released Third-Party Incident Response for vendor data breach response.
- Home health assessment provider Reperio Health received a patent for the technology powering its Bluetooth-integrated biometric screening service.
- NuraLogix updated its contactless blood pressure measure app, Anura, to achieve a standard deviation of error of less than 8mmHg.
- Telehealth platform Hydreight Technologies updates its Wellness App, enabling healthcare users to better manage product inventory and payments while also improving patient booking.
Sales
- Ardent Health Services chose Cadence for remote monitoring and virtual care for patients with hypertension, congestive heart failure, diabetes, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
- East Tennessee Health Information Network chose 4medica to improve patient matching and health data quality and reduce duplicate patient records.
- Grady Memorial Hospital installed a Jamba by Blendid autonomous kiosk in its cafeteria to offer staff, patients, and visitors 24/7 access to smoothies. It’s the first kiosk to open in a healthcare setting.
Awards
- Cloud-based medical practice platform CharmHealth announced the winners of its second annual Innovation Challenge and Showcase. First-place winners were medical device maker Atapir and pain assessment tool CereVu Medical.
- The LG Electronics North American Innovation Center (LG NOVA) announced the companies in its second annual Mission for the Future program. Twelve digital health companies are among the 39 companies chosen from nearly 2,200 global submissions.
- Enabled Healthcare, a provider of home monitoring services for Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries, received a $50,000 grant from the Metlife Foundation’s ADAPT accelerator program.
People
- The EHR Association elected its executive leadership for 2023, with new members from Foothold Technology-Radicle Health, CPSI, Altera Digital Health, and Oracle Cerner joining continuing members representing Experity, MEDITECH, NextGen, and Greenway Health.
- Carenet Health expanded its leadership team, hiring Skip Hanson as Executive Vice President of Service Delivery and Lisa Taylor as Vice President of Market Development to oversee the strategic transition related to Carenet’s recent acquisition of Stericycle Communication Solutions.
- Urgent care software provider Experity appointed Brian Berning as its Chief Financial Officer.
- Nursing-centered primary care provider Greater Good Health appointed Carol DeVol to its board of directors.
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