Heart disease is the leading cause of death for people of most racial and ethnic groups in the United States. Cardiovascular disease-related deaths—which occur every 36 seconds—cost our country about $219 billion each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). People with poor cardiovascular health are also at increased risk of severe illness from COVID-19, so the time to act is now. There’s no time like the present to look at major risk factors—from obesity and
Read More
Evaluating COVID-19’s Behavioral Health Impact on the Economy
We’re now in a new year and new presidential administration. At least three companies are producing effective COVID-19 vaccines, which are being administered to healthcare workers, teachers, and the elderly. By summer, hopefully a large majority of the population in most countries will be vaccinated. From where the world now stands, we can see an end to prolonged isolation, trauma, fear, grief, and economic torpor. But out of the woods, we are not. The virus mutates, perhaps
Read More
FCC Unveils 14 Initial Projects Selected for $100M Connected Care Pilot Program
What You Should Know: - FCC announces initial 14 pilot project selected for $100M Connected Care Pilot Program that will support connected care service across the country and focus on low-income and veteran patients. The Federal Communications
Commission (FCC) today announced an initial set of 14 pilot projects with
over 150 treatment sites in 11 states that have been selected for the Connected
Care Pilot Program. A total of $26.6 million will be awarded to these
applicants for
Read More
SPAC Merges with 2 Telehealth Companies to Form Public Digital Health Company in $1.35B Deal
What You Should Know: - GigCapital2 Inc has agreed to merge with UpHealth Holdings Inc and Cloudbreak Health LLC to create a public digital healthcare company valued at $1.35 billion, including debt, the blankcheck acquisition company said on Monday. - The combined company will be named UpHealth, Inc. and
will continue to be listed on the NYSE under the new ticker symbol “UPH”. Blank check acquisition
company GigCapital2 agreed to merge
with Cloudbreak Health, LLC, a unified
Read More
VA Taps Appriss for Drug Monitoring to Curb Substance Abuse
What You Should Know: - The Department of Veteran Affairs is working with
Appriss Health to tackle the veteran opioid epidemic via drug monitoring. - The tool will give VHA prescribers more complete clinical information, including controlled substance prescription histories, for patients, helping clinicians identify and prevent prescription drug misuse, resulting in better-informed care decision-making and improving patient safety. Appriss
Health, a provider delivering
Read More
Ontrak Acquires Science-Backed, Behavior Change Platform LifeDojo
What You Should Know: - Ontrak acquires LifeDojo Inc, a San Francisco, CA-based
comprehensive, science-backed behavior change platform. - The acquisition broadens Ontrak’s addressable market
and footprint to lower acuity populations enabling new interventions and remote
patient monitoring. Ontrak, Inc., a
leading AI-powered
and telehealth-enabled,
virtualized healthcare company, today announced that it has acquired
LifeDojo Inc, a comprehensive, science-backed behavior change
Read More
Were We Mentally Ready for COVID-19? Why It’s Time to Take Behavioral Health Seriously
As you read this, over 200,000 American deaths have been attributed to the virus. The influx of cases continues, while state and local economies are experiencing hardship, children are shuttered in their homes learning remotely, grown children are moving back home and the “new normal” disrupts nearly all of life’s plans. Yet, these issues don’t reveal all the traumas that Americans are experiencing 10 months into the pandemic. The pandemic's impact continues to be swift and brutal,
Read More
Virtual Behavioral Health Could Reduce Costs, Improve Patient Outcomes, Report Finds
What You Should Know: - A new Accenture report called “Breakthrough Behavioral
Health Access: Think Virtual” finds that the use of virtual behavioral health could
expand care for more than 53 million Americans facing these conditions. - Demand for behavioral health specialists significantly outweighs current availability; in addition to severe wait times of 25 days for first clinical appointments, we are projected to have a shortage of 250,000 behavioral health and mental health
Read More
Unite Us Acquires SDoH Data Analytics Company Staple Health to Expand Capabilities
What You Should Know: - Unite Us acquires social determinants of health (SDoH)
analytics company Staple Health to greatly expand its valuable predictive data
analytics capabilities. - Predictive analytics and outcome data are essential as
Unite Us supports local communities, addressing needs and providing proactive
social care infrastructure where it is lacking. - The acquisition of Staple Health brings 10 years of
data experience and a database of 270M individuals, with notable
Read More
FCC Surpasses $100M in Approved COVID-19 Telehealth Program Applications
What You Should Know: - FCC’s COVID-19 Telehealth Program, which was authorized by the CARES Act, has approved funding for 305 healthcare providers in 42 states plus Washington, D.C. for a total of $105M in funding. The Federal Communications
Commission’s Wireline Competition Bureau today approved an additional 67 funding applications
for the COVID-19 Telehealth Program. Healthcare
providers in both urban and rural areas of the country will use this $16.87M in
funding to
Read More
