On Wednesday, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker joined members of the Massachusetts Digital Health Council to announce a new program to drive the growth of innovative startups in the state, helping them access unique R&D facilities in the state. The announcement was made at Worcester Polytechnic Institute’s PracticePoint research, development and commercialization alliance, the first R&D ‘sandbox’ selected to host startups as part of the program. That facility was the recipient of a
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ATA 2019 Show Report – Don’t Be Fooled by First Impressions
2019 will be a big year for telehealth, but for those attending ATA 2019 in New Orleans last week, it may not have seemed so on the surface. Particularly given that attendee numbers peaked several years ago and one-or-two high-profile regulars, such as Philips and Vidyo, were also missing from the exhibition floor this year.With telehealth enjoying center-stage coverage at HIMSS (only two months ago) and being a key theme at consumer electronics/telecoms shows such as CES and MWC, the annual ATA
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Y Combinator Startup Meru Health Raises $4.2M to Advance Digital Clinic for Mental Health
Meru Health, a Y Combinator company currently participating in the Texas Medical Center TMCx Accelerator in Houston has raised $4.2 million in seed funding from Freestyle Capital, Bonit Capital, Y Combinator, Lifeline Ventures, and IT-Farm. The seed funding will be used to advance its mobile phone-based digital clinic for depression and anxiety and support additional clinical validation. Peer-reviewed data of this intervention found a significant reduction in depression symptoms as well as close
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Wolters Kluwer Harnesses AI to Bridge Data in EHRs to Speed Accuracy of HAIs
With healthcare M&A at an all-time high, many hospitals and health systems are feeling interoperability pains following mergers. Wolters Kluwer is now harnessing AI to bridge data in electronic health records (EHRs) and disparate systems, such as lab results, to improve how organizations identify and report hospital-acquired infections.Real World Data Integration Challenges for ProvidersIntegrating data from disparate EHRs across health systems continues to be a largely manual process. But
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Plum Healthcare, Netsmart Partner to Develop Integrated Care Solutions for Senior Living
Plum Healthcare Group, a skilled nursing provider has inked a 10-year strategic partnership with health IT company Netsmart to develop integrated care solutions to enhance care delivery for senior living. This joint innovation-based partnership between a technology partner and a senior living provider will be a key component to support Plum as it expands into new service lines and offerings across more than 50 facilities throughout California and Nevada.Plum Healthcare/Netsmart Partnership
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CMS Primary Cares Initiative With 2 New Payment Models Launches
On Monday, CMS Secretary Alex M. Azar II announced the launch of CMS Primary Cares—an initiative with two sets of new payment models that will enroll a quarter or more of traditional Medicare beneficiaries and a quarter of providers in arrangements that pay for keeping patients healthy, rather than ordering procedures.New Primary Care Payment Models1. The Primary Care First path will allow smaller primary care practices to be paid a simple, flat stream of revenue for each patient. When a patient
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DrFirst Structures a New $17M Commercial Financing Facility with SunTrust
DrFirst, a provider of e-prescribing, price transparency, and medication management solutions, announced today that it has structured a new $17 million commercial financing facility with SunTrust Banks, Inc. The financing extends DrFirst’s strategic relationship with SunTrust Banks, a partnership which initially began in 2015.New Funds Will Support Expansion Initiatives in Pharma and Consumer SectorsAs part of an extending financing deal with SunTrust, DrFirst will work to further expand its
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Onera Health Raises $9.3M to Pilot Medical Grade Sleep Diagnostics Patch
Onera Health Inc., a Palo Alto, CA-based sleep diagnostic solutions and services provider announced it raised $9.3 million in Series A funding led by Jazz Pharmaceuticals, imec.xpand, as well as other investors including imec and BOM. The digital health startup’s vision is to transform sleep diagnostics with the development of the world’s first at-home medical grade sleep diagnostics patch system.1 Out of 5 People Suffer From A Sleep DisorderThe need for better sleep testing is great. One in
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Innovaccer Launches AI-Powered Pediatric Care Management Solution
Innovaccer Inc., a San Francisco-based data activation company, today announced the launch of its Pediatrics Care Management solution specifically designed to bring the entire care network together to fulfill every child’s needs. The solution will assist pediatric care organizations in bringing together information that spans across multiple venues, clinicians, and stages of life.Pediatric-Specific Measures Are Not Widely AvailableValue-based payment reforms have made quite an impact on US
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1 in 10 Americans Have Offered Unused Opioids to Family and Friends
One in 10 Americans admits they’ve offered or given their unused prescription drugs to a friend or family member for either medical or recreational use, according to findings from a new consumer study conducted by Stericycle, a provider of highly specialized compliance-based healthcare and waste solutions. Despite that, a majority of Americans (75%) believe that people sharing or selling their unused prescriptions, including opioids (e.g., oxycodone, hydrocodone, morphine) is contributing to the
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