California-based Kurbo Health and Humana Inc., have partnered to offer qualified employers with a Humana health plan will have the option to purchase a twelve-month subscription to Kurbo Health’s mobile health coaching and weight loss program as a wellness benefit for employees’ children starting this month. Previously, insurers provided access to weight loss programs to companies for adult employees, this is the first time a wellness program specifically designed to help an employee’s children
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Physicians Reveal Lack of Time As Greatest Challenge in Caring for Chronic Care Patients
As healthcare shifts to value-based care, there is growing emphasis on helping patients with chronic conditions better manage their health. Patients with two or more chronic conditions – such as heart failure, diabetes and asthma – make up more than two-thirds of the entire Medicare population. And caring for these patients requires extra time – something most physicians don’t have. Physicians looking to bring more personalized care to their practices report difficulties implementing the
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Virtual Town Hall Meeting Examines Reframing Meaningful Use Regulations
After sending letters to Secretary of Health and Human Services Sylvia Burwell and Office of Management and Budget Director Shaun Donovan last week, the American Medical Association (AMA) and the Massachusetts Medical Society (MMS) will hold a virtual town hall meeting to give physicians and others a chance to discuss concerns with poorly designed EHRs and the impact these systems have on patient care.
The U.S. government has spent $25 billion under the Meaningful Use program to promote a
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98% of Med Students Prefer Face-to-Face Visits Over Telehealth Visits
98 percent of medical students would prefer to see their future patients face-to-face for the initial visit as opposed to telehealth visits, according to results from the 10th annual Epocrates Future Physicians of America survey. Even for follow-ups, 89 percent of students favor the traditional face-to-face exam over virtual visits. The survey of more than 1,000 medical students who use Epocrates, finds 41 percent of students turn to a medical app first for clinical answers while
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Modernizing Medicine Raises $38M for Mobile Specialty EMR
Cloud based, specialty-specific EMR provider, Modernizing Medicine announced that it has closed $38 million in Series E funding led by Pentland Group and funds affiliated with Summit Partners and Sands Capital Ventures. Many of the company’s investors are medical specialists who use EMA bringing its total funding to $87M.
The EMR provider currently serving eight different medical specialties, more than 9,000 providers have adopted Modernizing Medicine’s EMA in their practices. Available as
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Fitbit Wearables Becomes HIPAA-Compliant, Target to Offer Fitbits to Employees
This week, Fitbit, Inc. announced that it now supports HIPAA compliance, enabling Fitbit Wellness to more effectively integrate with HIPAA-covered entities, including corporate wellness partners, health plans and self-insured employers.The added HIPAA compliance is a big step for Fitbit Wellness, the company’s business-to-business offering that provides turnkey software and services to help organizations drive engaging, effective and motivating wellness programs. These benefits include:
- The
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Kyruus Raises $25M To Redefine How Patients Get Matched to Providers
Kyruus, a SaaS-based referral coordination platform that helps hospitals optimize patient access and referral management, has raised $25 million in funding to accelerate adoption of its ProviderMatch technology. The funding round was led by New Leaf Venture Partners, with participation from Providence Health & Services, Leerink Capital Partners, andMcKesson Ventures. They were also joined by existing investors Venrock, Highland Capital Partners, Lux Capital, and Fidelity
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Report: 5 Ways to Create A Culture of Innovation in Healthcare
Is healthcare innovation broken? According to a recent global survey of seniors executives conducted by PA Consulting Group, much of the healthcare industry's problem with innovation comes down to internal, structural resistance to change. Despite these obstacles, the healthcare leaders assert there is no shortage of good ideas in their organizations.
Barriers/Challenges to Healthcare Innovation
Healthcare senior executives identified the following four biggest challenges to healthcare
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Healthcare M&A: 5 Step Guide to Thinking Like A Successful Portfolio Manager
Healthcare M&A in the US reached $241B by May 2015, the highest year-to-date volume ever recorded. Healthcare providers are making these acquisitions to gain economies of scale; shift from volume-based to value-based care; address local market characteristics to remain competitive; better appeal to consumer wants and needs; and expand their digital health and ehealth capabilities, according to a new report from Accenture.
While this new wave of M&A growth expands a set of strategic
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American Well vs Teladoc Telehealth Trademark Battle Leaning Teladoc’s Way
This week, the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (PTO) has agreed to move forward with Teladoc’s case to invalidate a patent held by rival American Well Corporation. The PTO’s order to proceed with the case, issued September 14, noted that Teladoc has a “likelihood” of prevailing.
“As the pioneer and leader in telehealth, Teladoc has the responsibility to protect consumers’ access to health innovations like telehealth,” said Jason Gorevic, chief executive officer of Teladoc in an official
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