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 and Studies
More than 90% of patients prefer providers who offer telemedicine, and 62% of patients prefer to consult with physicians remotely when possible, according to a poll of 1,002 patients from Software Advice. At the same time, though, 52% of patients said they have some concerns about the quality of care in telemedicine consultations, with the lack of a physical exam or other in-person interactions cited as the most common drawbacks to a virtual care appointment.
The Sequoia Project released several resources to help organizations comply with the information blocking requirements of the 21st Century CURES Act. The resources include a primer on the expanded definition of electronic health information, which goes into effect October 6, and its operational implications for vendors and healthcare providers.
Research from digital therapeutic Hello Health published in the American Heart Association’s Hypertension journal concluded that digital tools for self-management of hypertension improve clinical outcomes throughout the patient population across gender, age, race, and additional factors. Study results point to the potential for digital health apps to bridge health inequity gaps.
The American Diabetes Association launched the Amputation Prevention Alliance, a three-year effort to improve care for patients with diabetes and reduce the number of unnecessary amputations that occur each year. (Of the 154,000 amputation procedures performed annually, the majority are preventable.) The initiative’s five founding members are Abbott, Advanced Oxygen Therapy, Cardiovascular Systems, CLI Global Society, and Podimetrics.
Partnerships
- Madaket Health has collaborated with Licentiam to add state medical licensing and credentialing services to its data management platform.
- Handheld ultrasound device maker Butterfly Networks deployed 500 devices at Kenya’s Kenyatta University through a $5 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
- PointClickCare is partnering with the Michigan Health Information Network to help post-acute providers and case managers exchange data with MiHIN.
Products
- Surgical training platform Osso VR announced that orthopedic residents trained using virtual reality completed exercises 25% faster and with fewer errors and higher scores than those using traditional guided instruction.
- Compliance and certification service provider Schellman released HIPAA Express, a risk assessment tool aimed at HIPAA compliance and OCR audit workflows.
- Connected device security company Ordr released Ordr 8.1, which enables broader insight into IT infrastructure through integrations with more than 80 third-party solutions.
- IoT hardware and software provider Kajeet launched its IoT Module Initiative to provide cellular connectivity for RPM device makers.
Sales
- The University of Maryland School of Pharmacy tapped Komodo Health to incorporate real-world evidence into its population health research initiatives.
- Provider-to-patient communication solution CardMedic launched a pilot with two health systems – New Mexico’s Nor-Lea Hospital District and Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
People
- Conversational AI company mPulse Mobile made two appointments to its executive leadership team: Lara Stell as Chief Financial Officer and Sanjeev Sawai as Chief Product and Technology Officer.
- Conversational AI company LifeLink Systems named co-founder Justin Mardjuki as COO. Mardjuki led product marketing, operations, and finance functions for LifeLink; previously, he held similar roles at Box and American Express.
- Global Healthcare Exchange appointed Tina Vatanka Murphy as CEO effective January 1, 2023. Vatanka Murphy, currently the supply chain solution provider’s division president for value based care, will replace Bruce Johnson, who will become Executive Chairman of the Board.
- Civitas Networks for Health announced its 2023 Board of Directors, with its 12 members representing Regional Health Improvement Collaboratives as well as regional and statewide HIE organizations.
- Identity-driven cybersecurity firm Semperis added Atrium Health CISO Todd Greene to its Strategic Advisory Board.
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.