On Tuesday, Judy Faulkner, founder and CEO of Verona, Wis.-based Epic Systems announced plans to give away 99% of her wealth to philanthropy, Forbes report. Faulkner joins 136 other individuals and families in the Giving Pledge led by Warren Buffett and Bill and Melinda Gates to commit to giving more than half of their wealth to philanthropy or charitable causes either during their lifetime or in their will.
In her formal pledge letter Faulkner wrote, "Epic needs to be strong, successful, and
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Senate Health Committee Announce Health IT Bipartisan Hearings
Senate health committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-Wash.) announced the start of a series of bipartisan hearings on possible solutions to achieve the promise of health IT. The senators announced that Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) will chair, and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) will serve as ranking member, for the committee’s next hearing in the series, and Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) will chair a subsequent hearing.
“Today’s hearing sets the table for
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PwC: Healthcare Spending Growth Rate to Dip 6.5% in 2016
Spending growth in the $2.9 trillion US health economy is expected to slow in 2016 as compared to 2015; however, it will still outpace overall economic inflation. Stock prices, earnings reports and the customer base have increased and that means the industry is financially healthy. Sadly, affordable healthcare remains out-of-reach for many consumers.
PwC’s Health Research Institute (HRI) projects the U.S. healthcare spending growth rate will dip to 6.5 percent in 2016, capping a
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Ochsner Health Launches Healthgrades-powered Appt Scheduling for Epic EHR
Healthgrades and Ochsner Health System has announced the availability of online appointment scheduling, enabling consumers to book real-time, online appointments with Ochsner doctors who utilize the Epic EHR. Today, more than one million people a day use the Healthgrades websites to search, compare and connect with hospitals and physicians based on the most important measures when selecting a healthcare provider: experience, hospital quality and patient satisfaction.
Online Scheduling
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Steven J. Stack, M.D., Inaugurated as New President of AMA
Steven J. Stack, M.D., an emergency physician practicing in Lexington, Ky., has been sworn in as the 170th president of the American Medical Association (AMA). Stack is the first emergency physician to serve in the role and the organization’s youngest president in the last 160 years.
The newest president will focus his tenure on advancing the AMA’s three strategic areas: improving health outcomes for the 86 million Americans living with pre-diabetes and the 70 million with hypertension;
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Seed Accelerator Health Wildcatters Startups Raise $10M
Health Wildcatters, a Dallas-based mentorship-driven healthcare seed accelerator, announced cumulative fundraising results from its two startup classes today, reporting that the 22 companies collectively raised more than $10 million in the two years since the program began.
The announcement comes just ahead of the June 15 deadline for startups to apply to the 2015 accelerator program and become a part of Health Wildcatters’ third startup class. Last month Health Wildcatters announced results
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AbilTo Raises $12M for Evidence-based Behavior Change Programs
AbilTo, Inc., a provider of evidence-based behavioral change programs proven to improve medical health and lower cost for high-cost medical populations has closed a $12 million Series C round of financing. The round was led by HLM Venture Partners (HLM) and Yumin Choi, Partner along with previous investors BlueCross BlueShield Venture Partners, .406 Ventures and Sandbox Industries. The New-York based digital health startup will utilize the capital to fuel the deployment of engagement, care
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AMA Policy Supports Medical Student Access to EHRs
Building on the AMA’s current efforts to transform medical education and ensure medical students are trained and prepared to practice in the evolving health care environment, the American Medical Association (AMA) adopted policy today to ensure medical students receive necessary hands-on clinical experience using EHRs.
The new policy calls on the AMA to work with medical school accrediting bodies to encourage the nation’s medical schools, along with residency and fellowship training programs,
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Medtronic, Samsung Partner to Enhance Diabetes Management
Medtronic and Samsung Electronics has announced a partnership to improve diabetes management for the millions of people at risk and currently living with the disease. Together, Medtronic and Samsung will combine Samsung’s deep understanding of consumer mobile technology to deliver secure and convenient access to Medtronic’s integrated diabetes management systems that provide clinically-proven outcomes.
Managing diabetes effectively requires daily ongoing management to keep blood sugar levels
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FDA Approval of Digital Health Solutions Expected to Triple by 2018
FDA-regulated digital health solutions are expected to save the U.S. healthcare system more than $100 billion over the next four years, according to new research from Accenture. Accenture also predicts that FDA approvals of digital health solutions will triple by the end of 2018, to 100, from 33 last year.
The Accenture study assessed the number of digital health solutions that received FDA 510(k) clearance from 2010 through 2014. The analysis focused on devices and software created for
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