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
The Biden Administration announced the latest initiatives in the reignited Cancer Moonshot program. One initiative of interest to the healthcare IT community is CancerX, a public-private innovation partnership to develop tools such as cancer care coordination systems, support services for community-based organizations, and platforms for engaging patients post-treatment. Several stakeholders also announced plans to increase access to cancer screenings.
KLAS Research released its global and United States Best in KLAS reports. Epic won top honors in the U.S. for the thirteenth consecutive year and was also the top EHR in Canada and Europe. Veradigm (formerly Allscripts) was recognized for improving customer satisfaction by 16% in the last year. Meanwhile, KLAS noted that digital pathology, interoperability, and recovering from the pandemic have been driving health systems’ technology investment strategies.
Despite the current financial climate, 89% of healthcare finance leaders are confident in their ability to adjust to changing market conditions, according to a survey from Syntellis Performance Solutions. Workforce optimization and productivity are top priorities for 98% of organizations, and the top goals for addressing these concerns are reducing costs, managing improvement initiatives, and better measuring and managing productivity.
Surveys
- A survey from Dr. First found that 35% of Americans aren’t taking their medication as prescribed due to economics hardship. Twenty percent are taking less than the prescribed dose, while 15% are quitting their medications altogether.
- An analysis of nearly 500,000 deliveries in the Truveta Research database found that Black women with preeclampsia are two times more likely to experience heart failure than white women.
- Eighty percent of home care providers said their primary motivation is ensuring the health and well-being of their patients, and 78% said positive patient relationships increase their job satisfaction, according to survey results from HHAeXchange.
- AdvancedMD found that patient-centric payment processes and process automation are two of the top priorities for independent physicians. The company aggregated anonymous user data from 40,000 practitioners in 13,000 practices.
- The Workgroup for Electronic Data Interchange (WEDI) is conducting a survey on CMS rules related to prior authorization and attachments and electronic signatures.
Partnerships
- CareCloud integrated Medicomp Systems’ Quippe Clinical Data Engine into its EHR system.
- Higher education virtual care platform TimelyMD has partnered with Violet to provide cultural competence for providers caring for BIPOC, LGBTQ, and TGNC patients.
- Medica device manufacturer OMRON Healthcare selected Intertrust as its data management technology partner.
- Management service organization Zane Networks is partnering with Smart Meter to build an RPM network on the U.S. Virgin Islands.
- Community care technology provider WellSky joined the Alloantibody Exchange, a nonprofit working to improve blood transfusion safety.
Products
- Disinfection technology company UV Angel demonstrated that its Clean Air units reduce bacteria in the air by 70% through a study with Trinity Health Senior Communities.
- IllumiCare showed that its Smart Ribbon platform helped collect data on care gaps at the point of care, leading to a 25% increase in recapture rate for one health plan. Overall, 31% of users achieved a Medicare Advantage Star rating of 4 or more.
- Vascular disease tech company Imperative Care launched Kandu Health, a startup focused on stroke recovery.
Sales
- WellSpan Health selected KeyCare for virtual care; the health system, based in Maryland and Pennsylvania, also contributed to the company’s Series A fundraising round.
- Southern Illinois Healthcare selected Xealth for automated delivery of digital health services.
- Central Florida-based multidisciplinary practice Complete Care implemented eClinicalWorks.
- Intermountain is implementing Qualtrics to collect patient and caregiver feedback.
- Indiana-based Beacon Health System chose Biofourmis for post-discharge remote patient monitoring.
- Wellstar Health System expanded its use of Moth+Flame VR training technology.
- Montreal Heart Institute expanded its use of SeamlessMD to support digital care journeys for four types of heart procedures.
People
- Emids named Sean Narayanan as CEO and appointed added him to the company’s Board of Directors. Current CEO Saurabh Sinha will transition to the role of Chairman.
- Patient experience company DexCare appointed Jamie Gier as chief marketing officer.
- Oracle Health Chairman Dr. David Feinberg has joined the Board of Directors for Intus Care, which has developed a predictive analytics platform for geriatric health.
- Health Information network eHealth Exchange named Lisa Bari to its Board of Directors; Bari is CEO of Civitas Networks for Health.
- Staffing company CHG Healthcare announced three promotions: Lisa Grabl as CHG Healthcare group president, Brooke Bowers as CompHealth’s locum tenens division president, and Kerry Norman as executive vice president of operations.
If you have news that you’d like us to consider for a future edition of Healthcare IT Today Bonus Features, please submit them on this page. Please include any relevant links and let us know if news is under embargo.
