On New Years Eve, just as the Covid-19 outbreak in Los Angeles was at its worst, all 451 of Olympia Medical Center’s exhausted employees learned they would soon lose their jobs. After 74 years, the hospital closed for good on March 31st, leaving residents of the surrounding community — poor and mostly people of color — without a place to see a doctor. And it isn’t the only hospital closing. At least 47 hospitals have closed or filed for bankruptcy in the last year, and there will
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Primary Care | News, Analysis, Insights - HIT Consultant
Q1 2021 Health IT/Digital Health PC/VE, M&A, IPOs/ SPACs Activity
The first quarter of 2021 has been one of investor optimism as the vaccine rollout continues ahead of expectations and economic activity begins to accelerate in response. Within the Health IT industry, the already strong investment and M&A trends seen in 2020 have only accelerated. Over the course of the quarter, we observed $7 billion in private equity and venture capital investment across 158 companies. By comparison, Q1 of 2020 saw $3.2 billion and 127 investments. Health IT
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Does Telemedicine Impede or Help the Patient-Centered Medical Home?
Traditional patient care patterns have been radically altered by the COVID-19 pandemic. And after more than a year of disruption, it’s doubtful that everyone will revert to those patterns after the pandemic. New habits have been formed, and consumers are more willing to pursue the path of least resistance in obtaining care, such as opting for quick and easy telemedicine appointments. Both patients and clinicians have identified benefits from virtual care approaches. However, this and other
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Firefly Health Raises $40M to Expand Virtual Primary Care Platform
What You Should Know: - Firefly Health, a virtual-first healthcare company with a mission of delivering half-priced healthcare that’s twice as good, has announced that it has recently closed $40M in Series B financing, led by Andreesen Horowitz (a16z). a16z General Partner Julie Yoo will also join the Firefly Health board. - Led by former athenahealth CEO Jonathan Bush, Firefly cracks the primary care code through supreme convenience, proactive support, and intelligent navigation. Every
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COVID Exposed The Dire Need for Real-Time Healthcare Data Sharing
In a world where technology and Big Data can provide us with instantaneous access to our banking transactions, and our financial information and credit reports can be retrieved with a few keystrokes when applying for a mortgage -- trying to get access to our own healthcare data is exasperating. Beyond exasperating, is the frightening situation when the inability to access up-to-date and accurate information, can result in an aggravated medical condition or even death. Before the
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How the Pandemic is Accelerating the Shift to Alternative Care Delivery Models
The COVID-19 pandemic has transformed how we interact with one another, with businesses, and with the world around us. From social distancing to hand sanitation to remote working, its impact on society is immense. And among the various industries that are experiencing significant change as a result of the pandemic, healthcare tops the list. Supply chain disruptions, crowded ICUs and exhausted medical staff has taken a toll on hospitals and clinics — and they’ve had to pivot rapidly to new
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Ro Nabs $500M to Strengthen Vertically Integrated Primary Care Platform
What You Should Know: - Ro, the healthcare technology company, today announced it has raised $500 million in Series D fundraising round led by existing investors General Catalyst, FirstMark Capital and TQ Ventures, with significant participation from existing investors SignalFire, Torch and BoxGroup as well as new investors Altimeter, Baupost, Dragoneer, Shawspring, Radcliff, and 776. The Series D brings Ro’s total fundraising since its founding in 2017 to $876 million. - This news
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Grand Rounds Merges with Doctor on Demand to Create New Virtual Care Company
What You Should Know: - Grand Rounds, a leader in healthcare quality and clinical navigation, and Doctor on Demand, the nation’s leading virtual care provider, announced their merger agreement, creating a first-of-its-kind integrated virtual care company. - These two premier platforms will offer a patient and provider experience unmatched elsewhere, providing a full suite of digital and interactive solutions to help people address the $300 billion problem of uncoordinated care in the
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Why A Smart Command Center Requires A Health Cloud Platform
Aviation, military, NASA, or even utilities like the New York Power Authority—almost all high-consequence, complex organizations have one thing in common: a command center. The concept of a command center or a ‘war room,’ or ‘air traffic control’ has been around for a while. Command centers help counter logistical challenges, enable cross-collaboration and guide decision-making with state-of-the-art technology and communications. With them it seems there is absolutely nothing that cannot be
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Innovative, Non-Invasive Technologies Advanced Earlier Detection & Monitoring of Liver Disease
Leveraging technological advances to facilitate new ways of engaging patients and integrating non-invasive technology into a liver disease program not only serves to improve individual outcomes and reduce costs but also strengthens the financial performance of health systems and provider organizations that include this approach to testing. At a time when America’s hospitals and physician groups face lost revenues due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a pressing need for reducing costs while
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