HIT Consultant sat down with Mike McSherry, CEO, and co-founder of Seattle-based digital prescription platform Xealth to discuss digital health lessons learned in 2020 and what we can expect in 2021. As Xealth’s CEO, Mike also works with Duke Health, UPMC, Atrium Health, and The Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin health network where he uses his background in digital health to connect patients and care teams outside of traditional care settings. HITC: In 2021, How can digital
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Walmart
2020’s Top 20 Digital Health M&A Deals Totaled $50B
Teladoc Health and Livongo Merge The combination of Teladoc Health and Livongo creates a global leader in consumer-centered virtual care. The combined company is positioned to execute quantified opportunities to drive revenue synergies of $100 million by the end of the second year following the close, reaching $500 million on a run-rate basis by 2025. Price: $18.5B in value based on each share of Livongo will be exchanged for 0.5920x shares of Teladoc Health plus cash consideration of
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Walmart to Offer Medicare Insurance Plans During 2020 Open Enrollment
What You Should Know: - Walmart announced it will begin selling Medicare insurance plans during this year’s annual enrollment period, Oct. 15 through Dec. 7. Today, Walmart announced the launch of Walmart Insurance Services, LLC, a licensed insurance brokerage, which will assist people with enrolling in insurance plans—and simplify what’s historically been a cumbersome, confusing process. Walmart Insurance Services will begin selling Medicare insurance plans during this year’s Annual
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Walmart, Oak Street Health to Launch 3 Health Clinics in Dallas-Fort Worth Area
What You Should Know: - Walmart and Oak Street Health ink a partnership to launch three joint health clinics in the Dallas-Forth Worth, TX area this year. - Each clinic will offer value-based primary care and urgent care services with a focus on adults on Medicare. Retail leader Walmart announced a partnership with Oak Street Health, a value-based primary care network for adults on Medicare to launch three joint health clinics the Dallas-Forth Worth, TX area. The new Oak Street
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BioIQ Appoints Former Walmart Health Exec, Sean Slovenski CEO
What You Should Know: - Sean Slovenski, former Humana and Walmart Health exec was recently announced as CEO of testing company, BioIQ. Sean turned to testing when he noticed a massive failure of the industry to adapt during the COVID crisis. - The company has the capacity to test 500,000 per day without ever owning a lab. Instead, they have a national network of labs that enables them to be more agile and scalable bypassing the challenges others are facing, including supply chain
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Doctor On Demand Raises $75M to Expand Comprehensive Virtual Care Platform
What You Should Know - Doctor On Demand raises $75M in Series D funding led by General Atlantic to expand comprehensive virtual care. - Doctor On Demand is seeing record usage this year – up 139% - for COVID-19 screenings, routine health issues, chronic conditions and behavioral health. San Francisco, CA-based Doctor On Demand, today announced it has raised $75 million in Series D funding led by General Atlantic, a leading global growth equity firm,
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Walmart Acquires Medication Management Platform CareZone for $200M to Enhance Digital Health & Wellness Capabilities
What You Should Know: - Walmart acquires app-based patient medication management platform CareZone for reportedly $200M to enhance its digital health and wellness capabilities. - CareZone’s technology and team members will join Walmart to augment their current Health & Wellness capabilities and support its focus on digital health care solutions. CareZone will remain a separate company unrelated to Walmart. Walmart announced it has acquired CareZone, a San Francisco,
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COVID-19 Crisis Makes Complying with Data Interoperability a Priority
With healthcare organizations focused on battling COVID-19, the recent federal healthcare regulation requiring data interoperability may have become an afterthought. However, compliance with this rule will create a powerful tool for fighting COVID-19 recurrences and future pandemics. If interoperability had gone into effect earlier this year as originally scheduled, many insurance companies and the federal government would now be able to securely share the data they have for most of the
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Hospital Execs Believe Their EMRs Will Fail to Meet Their Future Needs, Report Finds
What You Need to Know: - New Sage Growth Partners report reveals more than a quarter (27 percent) of respondents believe their EMR will fail to meet their future needs. COOs are the most pessimistic (67 percent) followed by CEOs (37 percent), and CFOs (34 percent). - Hospital Technology Forecast 2020 market survey report reveals hospital leaders’ top health IT investment priorities, challenges, and opportunities. - 35 percent of hospital executives say if they could go back in time,
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Beyond Healthcare Data; Shifting the Focus to Non-Healthcare Data
The recently proposed information blocking rule from the ONC and CMS has thrust interoperability into the spotlight like nothing has in recent years, making it a hot topic for media fodder, and a major concern for organizations — necessitating renewed attention to data-sharing practices. The conversation surrounding this new rule has implied that information blocking is the result of healthcare organizations intentionally withholding data. However, more often than not, information blocking is a
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