lifeIMAGE, a medical image exchange platform that enables imaging data interoperability across healthcare networks, providers, patients and technology systems, has received a $5 million strategic investment from Zaffre Investments, LLC, the investment arm of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts (BCBSMA). As part of the investment, Zaffre Vice President, Steven J. Fox, will serve as board observer at lifeIMAGE, and will help identify opportunities to connect providers and patients in the
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Study: Veterans Prefer Telehealth Visits Post Surgery
69 percent of veterans preferred telehealth visits over in-person followup visits for post surgery, according to a study published in JAMA Surgery, Reuters reports (Seaman, Reuters, 9/23). The project conducted by researchers from Tennessee Valley Healthcare System, Vanderbilt University and the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Nashville evaluated data collected between May 2014 and June 2014 from 23 veterans examines preferences of veterans with regard to telephone, video, and
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Pfizer Launches Mobile App to Help Smokers Quit
The American Lung Association and Pfizer is launching a new mobile app and online community called the Quitter’s Circle designed to help smokers face common obstacles associated with quitting through educational, social and financial support. Within a few clicks, smokers can start a quit team with friends and family, find resources to connect with a healthcare provider and crowdsource funds to support the cost of a quit attempt.
A recent survey explored barriers that prevent people from
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5 Best Practices for Healthcare Organizations’ Working on UDI Compliance
Today, the healthcare industry crosses another Unique Device Identifier (UDI) milestone: the deadline requiring all implantable, life-supporting and life-sustaining devices to be labeled with a UDI. Two years ago, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued its UDI Rule. Since then, Global Healthcare Exchange, LLC (GHX) has worked closely with healthcare suppliers to help them navigate the complexities of becoming UDI compliant and to leverage the rule to improve how they manage product
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Leidos Donates $40k to Fund Pilot Healthcare Data Analytics Platform
Leidos, a national security, health, and engineering solutions company, has donated $40,000 to the Georgia Institute of Technology to fund a pilot program in healthcare data analytics. The funding will help support the development of a pilot data analytics platform in the I3L designed to improve the quality and efficiency of healthcare through data transparency. The donation marks Leidos’ third to Tech’s Interoperability & Integration Innovation Lab (I3L) since 2013.
Healthcare Data
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Portea Medical Raises $37.5M to Expand Home Healthcare in India
India-based home healthcare startup Portea Medical has received $37.5 million in Series B funding led by Accel. International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group; Qualcomm Ventures and Ventureast also participated in this round. Portea works with leading hospitals, experienced doctors, nurses, diagnostic centers and others to provide in-home healthcare for patients in India & Malaysia.
The company will utilize the capital to scale the company’s expansion in India
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Accenture Acquires Sagacious Consultants to Expand Epic Consulting Capabilities
Global management consultant firm Accenture, today announced that it has finalized its agreement to acquire Sagacious Consultants, an Epic-focused EHR consulting firm to expand its capabilities for helping clients to better manage healthcare quality, efficiency and costs. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Founded in 2009 by former Epic consultant Shane Adams, approximately 250 employees from Sagacious Consultants will bring to Accenture their specialized skills in
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Solutionreach, Uber Integrate to Improve Patient Accessibility
Solutionreach, a Utah-based provider of patient relationship management solutions, announced that they have integrated with Uber, the on demand service that connects riders to local drivers through a mobile app. The integration will be used to improve healthcare by making it easier and more convenient for patients to connect to their providers.
The combination of the Solutionreach intelligence, which identifies when a patient needs to be seen by their doctor, and Uber's ability to precisely
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FDA Launches First-Ever Patient Engagement Advisory Committee
On Friday, the FDA announced its first-ever Patient Engagement Advisory Committee (PEAC) that will provide advisory support to the FDA Commissioner on a range of complex issues relating to medical devices, the regulation of devices, and their use by patients. These ultimate goal of the PEAC is to helping to drive more patient-centered medical product development and assessment process.
Other topics the committee may consider include:
- Agency guidance and policies
- clinical trial or
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GLNeuroTech Secures $1.9M for Wearables & Apps For Parkinson’s Disease
Great Lakes NeuroTechnologies (GLNT) has received $1.9 million from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to improve the efficacy of deep brain stimulation (DBS) programming for Parkinson’s disease (PD) and minimize time required by a clinician to optimize settings. The technology development and commercialization will combine wearable motor symptom sensing and a DBS platform into a single integrated system. Intelligent algorithms for searching settings and selecting optimal
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