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 HHS Office for Civil Rights resolved 11 investigations as part of its HIPAA Right of Access Initiative, issuing fines ranging from $3,500 for a Massachusetts psychiatric consultant to $240,000 for the 17-hospital Memorial Hermann Health System. “It should not take a federal investigation before a HIPAA covered entity provides patients, or their personal representatives, with access to their medical records,” OCR Director Lisa J. Pino said in a statement. OCR has resolved 38 investigations since launching the Right of Access Initiative in 2019.
ONC released the United States Core Data for Interoperability Version 3 (USCDI v3). As described in the latest ONC Standards Bulletin, v3 expands the USCDI from 52 data elements in 16 classes to 94 elements in 19 classes, with additions focusing on equity, public health, and documenting health insurance coverage.
In other interoperability news, the Sequoia Project published a TEFCA “flow-down” resource that lays out how Qualified Health Information Networks must comply with their contractual obligations supports trusted exchange through all levels of TEFCA participation.
Studies
Malicious attacks remain the No. 1 cause of healthcare data breaches, according to the latest report from Fortified Health Security. The report also indicated that 337 breaches impacting 500 or more people were reported to OCR in the first half of 2022.
A survey from Software Advice found that nearly two-thirds of nursing homes report poor health outcomes from staff shortage, with a demanding workload and inadequate pay the most common reasons for high turnover. If staff shortages can’t be filled, nearly 60% of nursing homes will have no choice but to turn residents away.
Research from Teladoc Health indicated that an integrated approach to managing multiple chronic conditions can lead to improved patient outcomes such as reduced blood pressure or blood sugar levels. Providing an integrated experience also improves patient engagement and satisfaction metrics, namely Net Promoter Score.
Partnerships
- Medable has partnered with Withings to integrate Withings sensors and devices with Medable’s decentralized clinical trial platform.
- Insurance enrollment platform HealthSherpa has seen 10x growth in its pipeline for ICHRAs, or individual coverage health reimbursement arrangements, since partnering with payment provider Alegeus in 2020.
Sales
- Maryland-based Frederick Health implemented MEDITECH’s Expanse Genomics to incorporate discrete genetic data into clinical decision making and decrease ordering and resulting times by 50%.
- Women’s health provider Organon is working with Cognizant to support its global pharmaceutical manufacturing supply chain.
- Senior and chronic care provider Bedrock Management Services Organization tapped CareCloud to support its home-based exercise physiology program.
- Senior care provider Curana Health is using the Innovaccer Health Cloud to build a value-based care platform to manage high-risk populations in senior living communities.
- Single sign-on vendor OpenAthens has renewed its contract with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, the procurement arm of England’s National Health Service.
- New Jersey-based CarePoint Health is using technology from facility management vendor Sodexo that lets patients scan a QR code instead of calling a nurse to request non-clinical services such as bathroom cleanings.
- Patient relationship management platform Solve.Care is the payment currency of choice for the Metaverse Doctors Alliance (MDA), which is building South Korea’s first health clinic in the metaverse.
Funding
- Robotic eye surgery company ForSight Robotics raised $55 million in Series A funding with plans to build a platform for fully robotic cataract surgery.
- Fold Health has emerged from stealth mode with $6 million in funding. The company is building a platform to house the disparate applications used to run a primary care office.
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