Welcome to our Healthcare IT Today Weekly Roundup. Each week, we’ll be providing a look back at the articles we posted and why they’re important to the healthcare IT community. We hope this gives you a chance to catch up on anything you may have missed during the week.
5 Lessons from the Conifer Health Solutions Data Breach. Earlier this month, the RCM vendor reported a data breach that may have impacted patients at five Texas-based providers. The incident shows that providers are only as secure as their third-party vendors. John offered some suggestions for shoring up security in light of the breach announcement. Read more…
OIG Highlights the VA’s Challenges in Boosting Telehealth Use. Last year, the VA issues 41,000 free iPads to veterans. But free devices aren’t enough to overcome the digital divide: Only half of patients scheduled a telehealth visit, and about half of those patients skipped their appointments. Given these findings, John has some advice for anyone looking to bridge the digital divide. Read more…
Catching Up With the CIO of the Community Health Network. The latest CIO Podcast featured Patrick McGill, MD, EVP and Chief Transformation Officer at Community Health Network (Indiana). Dr. McGill talked to John about whether data sharing and interoperability are still priorities for health systems, along with what emerging technology has him excited. Read more…
What Sports Tryouts Can Teach Us About Health and IT Literacy. As John’s son tried out for flag football, a sport he’s never played, John saw some parallels with healthcare. Patients don’t always know what’s happening, and doctors don’t always know how to use the technology in front of them. How do we give everyone the time to learn? Read more…
How Do You Make Interoperability Data Useful? John shared some thought about a noteworthy comment from a recent conversation with Gurpreet (GP) Singh from Ellkay: “Standards are just a language. You still have to know how to talk.” Without context, organizations don’t get much use out of the data that others share with them. Read more…
Fintech’s Role in Addressing Healthcare’s Affordability Crisis. More than 60% of Americans can’t afford an unexpected expense of $1,000, yet most hospital payment plans offer little relief to cash-strapped patients. PayZen’s Chiranjib Gupta discussed how a more personalized approach to payment plans works better for patients as well as hospitals. Read more…
The Pandemic Has Made the Health Tech Market Even More Competitive. Alexander Group’s Tray Chamberlain provided several tips for health tech companies competing for customers and talent at a time when commercial models in the space are changing rapidly. Read more…
New Operating Models Will Strengthen Home-Based Care. With 90% of seniors preferring to age in place, home care is destined to boom. Unfortunately, staff shortages and high turnover rates could derail the home health market. Two executives from Reverence explained the importance of realigning home care’s operating models for this reality. Read more…
Featured Health IT Job: Clinical Business Analyst – Lab with remote an onsite work for Ontario-based TransForm Shared Service Organization, posted on Healthcare IT Central.
Funding and M&A Activity:
- Health information network Availity will acquire clinical data quality and interoperability company Diameter Health.
- Healthcare worker marketplace Incredible Health raised $80 million in Series B funding and reached a valuation of $1.65 billion.
- Epic-integrated virtual care platform KeyCare received $24 million in Series A funding.
- Interoperability vendor Lyniate has merged with CareCom, which makes software for healthcare terminology management.
Thanks for reading and be sure to check out our latest Healthcare IT Today Weekly Roundups.
