Cold and flu relief provider Vicks is finally entering the connected health space with the launch of its new Bluetooth-enabled digital Vicks® SmartTemp™ wireless smartphone thermometer now available at pharmacy and baby retailers nationwide this September for $24.99. The Vicks SmartTemp makes tracking multiple kids' temperatures easier than ever before this cold and flu season with a companion App available for Android or Apple devices. Tracking and communicating symptoms and temperature history
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Verisk Analytics to Sell Its Healthcare Business, Could Sell for $1B
Verisk Analytics (Nasdaq:VRSK), a data analytics provider serving customers in insurance, energy, healthcare, financial services, government, and risk management has hired Morgan Stanley to sell Verisk Health, its healthcare division, according to three industry bankers, The Deal reports. Bankers estimate that Verisk Health sale could pull in between $900 million to $1.08 billion. The sales process is reportedly in the early stages and bankers have noted that the company's breadth of offerings
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CareFirst BCBS to Award $3M in Telehealth Grants
CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield (CareFirst) plans to award up to $3 million in telehealth grants over the next three years to programs aimed at increasing patients' access to quality health care services through the use of telemedicine in Maryland, Northern Virginia and Washington, D.C.
In an effort to remove barriers to care and address existing health outcome disparities in its service area, CareFirst has issued a request for proposals from qualified nonprofit 501(c)3 organizations, or
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In-Person Visit vs. Telehealth Visit? Time Is Money
A recent study released by Harvard Medical School (HMS) published in The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) found that the average total visit time for typical in-person medical visits was 121 minutes. This total time spent includes 37 minutes in travel time and 84 minutes in the clinic waiting and filing in paperwork.
Of the 84 minutes, only 20 minutes were spent face-to-face with a doctor. HMS estimates that the average opportunity cost per visit was $43 (not including cost
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ONC Unveils Final Nationwide Interoperability Roadmap
On Tuesday, the ONC issued the final Shared Nationwide Interoperability Roadmap version 1.0 that outlines a clear path to catalyze the collaboration of stakeholders who are going to build and use the health IT infrastructure. The initial draft was released in January 2015 and received over 250 comments including input 25 federal partners, 90 individuals from 38 states from across the nation and the ONC Federal Advisory Committees (FACAs), which were incorporated into the finalized roadmap. The
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CareSync Pulls In $18M for Medicare-based Chronic Care Management
CareSync, a chronic disease management platform for Medicare has raised $18 million in Series B funding led by Merck Global Health Innovation Fund (Merck GHI), Greycroft Partners and Harbert Venture Partners, as well as existing investors Tullis Health Investors, Clearwell Group, CDH Solutions and Travis Bond. The capital will be used to help expand its workforce and continue to advance its best-in-class technology. Over the next 18 months, the company plans to hire an additional 500
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Orion Health Awarded Subcontract for $4.3B DoD EHR Modernization Project
Orion Health, a company that develops modern and creative solutions for healthcare has announced that the company was a part of the Leidos Partnership for Defense Health team awarded a contract by the Department of Defense (DoD) to provide an electronic health record (EHR) for the U.S. Military. The team solution will include an off-the-shelf EHR with the associated services needed to deploy the EHR across the Military Health System.
DHMSM Contract Details
As part of the
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NIH Awards UCSF $9.75M to Launch Mobile Health Research Platform for Heart Disease
The National Institutes of Health has awarded $9.75 million to UCSF over the next five years to launch a mobile health research platform called Health ePeople that will enable investigators to conduct mobile and wireless health research in a less costly, more streamlined manner. The platform builds off the previous success of Health eHeart Study, which harnesses the power of online and mobile technology to gather cardiovascular data from study participants through devices such as smartphone
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Congressional Leaders Urge Admin to Delay Meaningful Use Stage 3 Rulemaking
On Tuesday, congressional leaders continued to urge the Obama administration to immediately adopt Meaningful Use Stage 2 modifications and delay final rulemaking for Meaningful Use Stage 3 no sooner than January 1, 2017. The call from U.S. Sens. John Thune (R-S.D.) and Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) comes as a bipartisan group of 96 Republicans and 20 Democrats in the House of Representatives in a separate letter to the administration urged it to “pause” the process of making stage three
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Kurbo Health, Humana Partner to Offer Mobile Weight Loss Coaching for Kids as Employee Perk
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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