President Obama is planning to ask Congress for $755M in mandatory funds for new cancer-related research activities at both NIH and the Food and Drug Administration part of its National Cancer ‘Moonshot’ imitative. The Moonshot initiative will begin immediately with $195M in new cancer activities at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Fiscal Year 2016.
Over time, other agencies will make new investments in this effort, beginning with the Departments of Defense (DOD) and Veterans
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Doctor on Demand Adds Nationwide Psychiatric Telehealth Visits
San Francisco, CA-based Doctor On Demand has expanded its behavioral health services to include psychiatrists telehealth video visits now available nationwide. The company began offering mental health care services in December 2014 with the addition of psychologists to its provider network.
The new addition of psychiatrists video visits represents a significant expansion of access to mental health care through Doctor On Demand. Now, patients can receive both therapy from a doctorate-level
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Only 27% of Heart Patients Use Activity Trackers to Manage Their Heart Condition
Only 27% of consumers with known heart disease and/or risk are using an activity trackers with 16% say they are using their tracker to specifically manage their heart condition/risk. Yet 74% of those who do use an activity tracker report the device is helping them cope with their heart condition, according to January HealthMine survey of 501 consumers with known heart disease and/or risk.
Overall, HealthMine found that 31% of those with a heart condition/risk are using some type of mobile
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Cambia Shutters Its Mobile Health Payment Startup, Wellero
Cambia Health Solutions has decided to shutter its mobile health payment-focused startup, Wellero just a little more than 2 years after launching in fall 2013. The company offered consumers a mobile app that allows them to pay for their health care services before they leave their provider’s office. Consumers using the app could pay at the time of service based on their health insurance benefits or cash prices for the uninsured.
Jared Ishkanian, Cambia spokesman confirmed Cambia’s decision to
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Texas Medical Center Accelerator Unveils Second Class of Digital Health Startups
This week, the Texas Medical Center’s accelerator, TMCx, unveiled its second class of 13 digital health startups. Startups selected in the five month program starting from January to June 2016 will focus on digital health followed by a third class focused on medical devices running from July through December 2016.
“We believe the potential synergy of bringing 13 companies together, each of them focused on different aspects of digital health care innovation, will lead to unpredictable
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VitreosHealth Nabs $5M for Population Health Management Analytics
Plano, TX-based VitreosHealth has raised $5M led by private equity firm Kinderhook Industries for its predictive and prescriptive health insights for population health management platform. The financing will help fuel the company’s ability to deliver insights as a service to healthcare providers and insurers for better health outcomes. The latest round brings the company’s total funding raised to more than $6.2M.
With VitreosHealth's closed-loop performance management process, providers can
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Nextech Acquires Plastic Surgery EHR SupraMed
Nextech Systems, a provider of specialty-focused healthcare technology solutions for physician practices has acquired plastic surgery EHR and office management provider SupraMed. The acquisition further cements Nextech's dominance in the plastic surgery market and demonstrates its commitment to delivering top-tier specialty-specific EHR and practice management solutions. Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.
SupraMed's web-based practice management technology complements
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New York Digital Health Accelerator Showcases 6 Startups at Demo Day
On Friday, the New York Digital Health Accelerator (NYDHA) – a five month program showcased six early and growth-stage digital health startups for healthcare providers and patients in the areas of care coordination, patient engagement, and workflow improvement. Each startup received $100k in up-front funding per company from a syndicate of leading venture capital and strategic investors.
14 New Pilot Programs Anticipated to Result from Program
Since entering the accelerator program, the
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HealthTap Launches SOS to Become the Uber of Disaster Response
Imagine what's possible to do with 85,000 top doctors deployed in real-time to a disaster area well before the relief forces arrive. Starting today, population managers can now deploy world-class, compassionate healthcare via any mobile device or web connection in minutes during natural disasters, war, or terrorist attacks through HealthTap’s new SOS disaster relief platform.
By virtually deploying doctor knowledge and expertise to jumpstart the relief process, including before local first
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Medical Device Excise Tax Suspension Could Rejuvenate Market
The suspension of the medical device excise tax, which was implemented in 2013 as part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA, also known as Obamacare), will have positive consequences for the US medical device market over the next few years, says an analyst with research and consulting firm GlobalData.
The tax, which imposed a 2.3% tax on the domestic sales of medical devices in the US, to be paid by manufacturers or importers, was suspended on December 18, 2015,
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