HEALTHCARE NEWS FLASH 1st October 2013
Table of Contents Sales & Marketing ................................................................................................................. 3 Finance ................................................................................................................................. 7 Technology .......................................................................................................................... 12 Strategy .............................................................................................................................. 17
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Sales & Marketing General Electric Advances Employer-Based Accountable Care 30 September, 2013 | Becker's Hospital Review http://www.beckershospitalreview.com/accountable-care-organizations/general-electricadvances-employer-based-accountable-care.html General Electric, one of the largest employers in the United States, is actively trying new health policies within its organization to reduce healthcare costs, according to a New York Times report. Sue Siegel, a GE executive and leader of GE's $6 billion program to "provide better health for more people by lowering costs and increasing access," told the New York Times that GE is actively looking at several areas within accountable care. This includes creating its own patient-centered medical homes and bundled payments. GE recently signed a deal with Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City to care for employees who need hip and knee replacements, similar to bundled payment deals announced by Wal-Mart and Lowe's. "If we don't take accountability ourselves for figuring this out, we're part of the problem," Ms. Siegel said in the report. "We have to be involved in the solution. We can't just wait for someone to tell us that it is going to be fixed."
Health exchanges set for uncertain opening day 30 September, 2013 | Fierce Healthcare http://www.fiercehealthcare.com/story/health-exchanges-set-uncertain-opening-day/2013-09-30 Health insurance exchanges will open for enrollment tomorrow amid confusion and intense scrutiny, NPR reported. While the government hopes uninsured consumers will check out new coverage options when the exchanges open Tuesday, healthcare researchers also will visit the online marketplaces to collect data on demographics, consumer behavior and premium prices, and analyze whether the technology works. That still remains to be seen as both federally- and state-run exchanges have been facing technical problems as they prepare to open for enrollment. For example, a pricing glitch in the software that operates the federal exchanges in 36 states isn't accurately determining how much consumers will pay for coverage. Adding to the confusion and uncertainty, about 80 million Americans still don't know anything about the healthcare law and may pay no attention to the exchanges, NPR noted. What's more, 64 percent of Americans and 74 percent of uninsured don't know the new online marketplaces open for enrollment tomorrow, according to a new poll by the Kaiser Family Foundation. And despite outreach and education efforts, the number of people who know about
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healthcare reform's subsidy assistance, Medicaid expansion and closing of the Medicare prescription drug "doughnut hole" have decreased since the law passed in 2010. In California alone, 74 percent of people eligible for federal subsidies don't know or think they will qualify for the benefits, while little more than 50 percent of respondents eligible for California's Medicaid program know they can sign up for it, found another Kaiser survey, FierceHealthPayer reported. Meanwhile, an advocacy group is spreading the word about healthcare reform and the new insurance marketplaces to homeless people in North Dakota--a group that has reached record levels and would be eligible for Medicaid under reform, the Associated Press reported. The North Dakota Coalition for Homeless People thinks the government's outreach efforts may overlook the homeless population and unintentionally prevent them from signing up for coverage options. "I don't think these navigators will be looking under bridges or along railroad tracks," Michael Carbone, the group's executive director, told the AP. "It's not going to happen if we rely on navigators alone. It's going to take cooperation from all agencies in the state to make this work."
Anthem Blue Cross Expands ACO Network in California 26 September, 2013 | Becker's Hospital Review http://www.beckershospitalreview.com/accountable-care-organizations/anthem-blue-crossexpands-aco-network-in-california.html With the addition of the UCLA Medical Group in Los Angeles and the Humboldt-Del Norte Independent Practice Association based in Eureka, Calif., Anthem Blue Cross has expanded its accountable care network to 11 members, effective Oct. 1. The program coordinates care for fully-insured PPO members with two or more chronic conditions. In addition to the two new members, Anthem Blue Cross' ACO network includes the following: •
Cedars-Sinai Medical Care Foundation (Beverly Hills, Calif.)
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HealthCare Partners Medical Group (Torrance, Calif.)
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Heritage Provider Network (Northridge, Calif.)
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Sante Community Physicians IPA Medical Group (Fresno, Calif.)
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SeaView IPA (Oxnard, Calif.)
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Sharp Community Medical Group (San Diego)
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Sharp Rees-Stealy Medical Group (San Diego)
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Torrance (Calif.) Memorial Medical Center/Torrance Memorial Integrated Physicians
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UC Davis Health System (Sacramento, Calif.)
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Columbus Regional Healthcare System Launches New Brand 19 September, 2013 | Becker's Hospital Review http://www.beckershospitalreview.com/strategic-planning/columbus-regional-healthcaresystem-launches-new-brand.html Columbus (Ga.) Regional Healthcare System has launched a new brand, including a new name, logo and tagline, according to a Ledger-Enquirer report. The organization is changing its name to Columbus Regional Health and its tagline from "Your Health. Our Mission." to "Pursue Your Healthy" to emphasize the system's role in helping people live healthy lives in addition to treating the sick. The system is also changing the names of three of its four Columbus hospitals, its physician group and its foundation: •
The Medical Center will become Midtown Medical Center.
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Hughston Hospital will become Northside Medical Center.
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Doctors Hospital will become Doctors Specialty Hospital.
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Columbus Regional Physician Group will become Columbus Regional Medical Group.
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Columbus Regional Medical Foundation will become Columbus Regional Health Foundation.
The John B. Amos Cancer Center will retain its current name. Columbus Regional decided to change the name of Hughston Hospital to alleviate confusion around ownership of the hospital and other area medical facilities containing the name "Hughston," such as The Hughston Clinic in Columbus and Jack Hughston Memorial Hospital in Phenix City, Ala., according to the report. The new name, "Northside," reflects the location of the hospital. The logo — a multicolored, five-point star — represents the five values that comprise the system's vision: attitude, commitment, enthusiasm, innovation and teamwork, according to the report. While the new brand is effective Sept. 16, a public information campaign on the new brand will begin in October, and new signage is expected to be completed by the end of the year or the beginning of 2014, according to the Ledger-Enquirer.
7 Northeast Hospital Systems Form Clinical Quality Alliance 19 September, 2013 | Becker's Hospital Review http://www.beckershospitalreview.com/quality/7-northeast-hospital-systems-form-clinicalquality-alliance.html Twenty-five hospitals from seven Northeast health systems have formed AllSpire Health Partners, an alliance to address healthcare quality, best practices, population health management and medical research.
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The consortium hopes to transform healthcare delivery by conforming to the Institute for Healthcare Improvement's triple aim: improving patient experience, improving population health and creating affordable care. To that end, the health systems will work through economies of scale to develop quality shared services at lower costs. Participating health systems are: •
Atlantic Health System (Morristown, N.J.)
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Hackensack (N.J.) University Health Network
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Lancaster (Pa.) General Health
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Lehigh Valley Health Network (Allentown, Pa.)
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Meridian Health (Neptune, N.J.)
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Reading (Pa.) Health System
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WellSpan Health (York, Pa.)
The health systems serve upwards of 6 million people and have combined revenue of more than $10 billion, making AllSpire Health the largest healthcare consortium in the U.S., according to a news release.
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Finance Capella Healthcare Working With Private Equity Firm to "Evaluate" Options 26 September, 2013 | Becker's Hospital Review http://www.beckershospitalreview.com/hospital-transactions-and-valuation/capella-healthcareworking-with-private-equity-firm-to-evaluate-options.html Reports have surfaced that GTCR, a Chicago-based private equity firm that currently manages $8 billion in assets, is looking to sell Franklin, Tenn.-based Capella Healthcare. Two unnamed sources "familiar with the matter" told Reuters that GTCR executives have hired Bank of America Merrill Lynch to search for potential buyers for the publicly traded Capella. The early short list allegedly includes three other for-profit hospital operators: Brentwood, Tenn.-based LifePoint Hospitals, Franklin, Tenn.-based IASIS Healthcare and Brentwood, Tenn.-based RegionalCare Hospital Partners. Reuters originally reported that Scottsbluff, Neb.-based Regional Care Inc., a third-party healthcare plan administrator, was one of the potential buyers. However, in an email, Regional Care Inc. Vice President of Operations Carol Kuhn said she does not "believe we are in the market for hospital systems." In a phone call, Jeff Atwood, vice president of communications for RegionalCare Hospital Partners, a system with eight hospitals, confirmed that Reuters most likely meant to report their company as a potential buyer, but he said they could not comment or speculate on the Capella situation. As of 3 p.m. CDT, Reuters still listed Regional Care Inc. as the potential buyer. Diane Huggins, vice president of corporate communications at LifePoint, said in an email that LifePoint is unable to provide any information regarding the Reuters article, and LifePoint does not comment on "development activities." Officials at GTCR and IASIS did not respond to requests for comment. In an emailed statement, Capella Co-Founder, Chairman and CEO Dan Slipkovich neither confirmed nor denied if Capella was up for sale. The statement read: "We are constantly evaluating opportunities — like all smart healthcare systems across the country — to strengthen our company and our hospitals for the coming years. Healthcare is changing significantly, so we continue to work closely with GTCR, our equity sponsor, on how we best position Capella for that new environment." The statement went on to read: "Our focus at the hospital level is no different, as we evaluate opportunities in every community. The future of healthcare is about collaboration and innovation. That's what we're doing wherever we serve — building the strongest possible regional networks for our communities to fulfill our primary focus: delivering the highest quality of care and preparing for the changes of reform." In August, Capella reported it lost $6.5 million in the second quarter of this year, the fifth consecutive quarter in which the hospital operator posted a loss. Admissions across Capella's 13 acute-care hospitals and one behavioral health center were down 2.6 percent in the second quarter. Inpatient surgeries fell 3.9 percent. In 2012, Capella reported $105.2 million in adjusted EBITDA. The sources from the Reuters report said any sale of Capella could be worth between $800 million and $1 billion, or about 8x EBITDA.
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Mr. Slipkovich and Tom Anderson, vice chairman of the board, co-founded Capella in May 2005. The company partnered with GTCR, which invested $200 million initially and has since invested another $200 million. Capella acquired its first four hospitals from Nashville, Tenn.-based Hospital Corp. of America in November 2005.
CharterCare, Prospect Medical Holdings Sign Definitive Asset Purchase Deal 25 September, 2013 | Becker's Hospital Review http://www.beckershospitalreview.com/hospital-transactions-and-valuation/chartercareprospect-medical-holdings-sign-definitive-asset-purchase-deal.html Providence, R.I.-based CharterCare Health Partners and Santa Ana, Calif.-based Prospect Medical Holdings have signed a definitive asset purchase agreement to form a joint venture. CharterCare, a nonprofit that operates Roger Williams Medical Center in Providence and Our Lady of Fatima Hospital in North Providence, and the private, for-profit PMH signed a letter of intent in March. Under the joint venture, PMH will manage the hospitals and receive equal representation on the CharterCare's boards. PMH also will invest $95 million into CharterCare over the next four years. Once the transaction receives regulatory approval, PMH will hand over $45 million for debt reduction and short-term working capital. The remaining $50 million will be allocated over the next four years to help with physician recruiting, facility improvements and technology upgrades. The deal now moves to the Rhode Island Department of Health and Attorney General Peter Kilmartin for approval. Religious officials also must OK the deal. PMH, supported by Los Angeles-based private equity firm Leonard Green & Partners, currently manages two health systems: Alta Hospitals System, a five-hospital system based in Los Angeles, and Nix Hospitals System, a one-hospital system based in San Antonio. In June, the company signed a nonbinding letter of intent to acquire two-hospital Raritan Bay Medical Center, based in Perth Amboy, N.J.
Walgreens, Home Depot shift employees to insurance exchanges 20 September, 2013 | Fierce Health Payer http://www.fiercehealthpayer.com/story/walgreens-home-depot-shifts-employees-healthinsurance-exchanges/2013-09-20 Two large companies--Walgreens and Home Depot--recently announced they're shifting some employees to health insurance exchanges, citing escalating health costs as the primary driver. "You're completely moving away from a paternalistic employer deciding what's best for employees," Paul Fronstin, an economist for the Employee Benefit Research Institute, told the Wall Street Journal. "Workers don't need their employer anymore for health coverage. They just need the employers' money."
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Walgreens, the country's largest drugstore chain, said Wednesday that it will pay a fixed amount for its 160,000 employees to shop and buy health coverage through a private exchange operated by consultant firm Aon Hewitt. "We will continue to invest in the health of our employees and their dependents while using a marketplace solution that offers a wide variety of plan options that meet the affordability standard of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act," Kathleen Wilson-Thompson, Walgreens senior vice president and chief human resources officer, said in a statement. Among the plans offered on the Walgreens exchange are HMO-style plans with no deductibles and low out-of-pocket costs as well as high-deductible plans with less coverage. Some premiums could be as low as $5 a month. Just one day later, Home Depot, announced it will shift about 20,000 part-time employees to public exchanges. Those employees, who make up about 5 percent of Home Depot's 340,000 workers, previously were covered through a limited liability medical plan, Bloomberg reported. The world's largest home improvement retailer said it will still offer health coverage for full-time workers, but their costs will likely increase next year. Home Depot also will continue providing dental, vision, disability and other supplemental coverage for part-time employees.
Telehealth reduces healthcare use, but produces too many alerts 20 September, 2013 | Fierce Health IT http://www.fiercehealthit.com/story/telehealth-reduces-healthcare-use-one-study-produces-toomany-alerts-anothe/2013-09-20 Self-monitoring along with nurse oversight helped reduce care costs by $2,931 per person among patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in an Australian study published in Telemedicine and e-Health. Participants were taught to measure their blood pressure, weight, temperature, pulse, and oxygen saturation levels daily and transmit that information by telephone to a secure website, monitored by a nurse. There were fewer emergency room visits and hospital admissions among the telehealth group--nearly half as many--vs. a control group, though not at a statistically significant level. However, the cost savings added up from the use of fewer resources, according to the paper. In addition, the telehealth participants reported increased confidence in their ability to manage their condition and less anxiety. However, a review of health failure patients treated by a Massachusetts home health agency monitoring similar data found only three percent of alerts were associated with ED visits and hospitalizations. Because the nurses had to follow up on every alert, that meant they spent a lot of time trying not to miss the few meaningful alerts, according to a second study at Telemedicine and e-Health. Many of the false alarms were generated when patients did a poor job of taking their vitals. Meanwhile, 22 percent of cardiac-related ED visits and hospitalizations had no alerts associated with them. The study points to anxiety as a key predictor of ED visits and hospitalizations among heartfailure patients, a factor that must be addressed, the authors said.
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While telehealth offers the opportunity to reinforce self-management and observe patient health trends, the sea of alerts generated can result in "alert fatigue," the authors wrote. They suggest a decision-support system could help filter out false alarms and help nurses spend their time more constructively. As the Affordable Care Act takes hold, telemedicine could be the key to caring for more patients while keeping costs stable, Mario Gutierrez, executive director for the Center for Connected Health Policy recently told Time magazine. Clearly there are issues still to be worked out, though. The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) recently handed out grants totaling more than more than $114 million for comparative clinical effectiveness research projects including telehealth. The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services also recently awarded $300,000 each to Maine, Montana, and Alaska to improve remote care for veterans in rural areas.
Metro Health in Michigan Considers Partnership With CHS, Cleveland Clinic 19 September, 2013 | Becker's Hospital Review http://www.beckershospitalreview.com/hospital-transactions-and-valuation/metro-health-inmichigan-considers-partnership-with-chs-cleveland-clinic.html The board of directors at Metro Health, based in Wyoming, Mich., has decided to "explore a strategic equity partnership" with Franklin, Tenn.-based Community Health Systems and Cleveland Clinic. The board plans to sign a letter of intent to negotiate exclusively with CHS and Cleveland Clinic, followed by due diligence and additional negotiations for a definitive agreement. Any transaction would be subject to regulatory review. Details of any potential transaction were sparse, and financial details were not disclosed. However, CHS and Cleveland Clinic announced a similar equity partnership with Akron (Ohio) General Health System in August. In that transaction, CHS and Cleveland Clinic agreed to purchase most assets of Akron General in a joint venture operation. The deal is currently undergoing due diligence. Metro Health President and CEO Mike Faas said Metro Health, which includes a 208-bed hospital, has been considering an affiliation for a while. Officials ultimately decided to partner with CHS and Cleveland Clinic due to the organizations' quality of care and Cleveland Clinic's world-renowned clinical programs and medical experts. "This process is an important part of the work we are doing to ready our organization for the changes occurring under the Affordable Care Act and to position Metro Health for long-term success and growth," Mr. Faas said in a news release. "Metro Health is a strong and progressive healthcare organization, and like many other community hospitals and health systems aligning with partners, we can see the potential advantages of scale, access to national resources and the sharing of best practices."
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In March, Cleveland Clinic and CHS formed a strategic alliance that kept both entities independent but allowed them to collaborate on quality initiatives and new community hospital partnerships. CHS is also in the middle of acquiring the troubled Naples, Fla.-based Health Management Associates in a deal valued at $7.6 billion. The merger would make CHS the largest for-profit hospital company in the country in terms of hospitals owned.
Blue Cross, HMA dispute threatens insurance networks 18 September, 2013 | Fierce Health Payer http://www.fiercehealthpayer.com/story/blue-cross-hma-dispute-could-end-insurancenetworks/2013-09-18 The contract dispute between Blue Cross Blue Shield of Mississippi and Hospital Management Associates may require legislative action, including a bill preventing insurance networks for hospitals. HMA, which owns 10 hospitals throughout Mississippi, sued the insurer for $13 million for allegedly improperly reducing inpatient payments for services and breaching contracts by unilaterally changing terms. A few weeks later, Blue Cross ended its contracts with HMA, the second largest hospital company in Mississippi. Speaking before a state House and Senate committee meeting, HMA's Paul Hurst, senior vice president of government affairs, said Blue Cross's decision to remove some hospitals from its network could lead to hospital closings, particularly in rural areas, reported Mississippi News Now. "The ultimate result is going to be that those hospitals close. It's not a threat. It's just a reality," he said. Doctors and an executive from the University of Mississippi Medical Center also testified at the hearing, saying Blue Cross has a monopoly in the state insurance market, which threatens patient care and access to care, the Jackson Clarion Ledger reported. But Charles Pace, Blue Cross's director of governmental affairs, responded saying, "any closure is not the result of Blue Cross. ... The people that own these hospitals are the ones that make those decisions, not Blue Cross." Adding that HMA hospitals' rates are too high, Pace said, "we are trying to reduce the cost of healthcare and manage those costs." Plus, "no one, no one, no one has been denied access to care." Because of this ongoing dispute, House Insurance Committee Chairman Gary Chism (R-Columbus) said lawmakers will consider a bill that alters or eliminates insurance networks for hospitals, which would limit insurers' ability to exclude whole groups of hospitals from their networks, reported the Associated Press. "BCBS is nearly a monopoly, and somebody needs to be regulating them," Chism said. "I know it's going to defeat the purpose of some of the networks," he said, but "if this was a power company, asking for permission to raise rates or shut down 10 hospitals, it wouldn't be allowed."
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Technology Looking for a few good mHealth entrepreneurs 30 September, 2013 | Fierce Mobile Healthcare http://www.fiercemobilehealthcare.com/story/looking-few-good-mhealth-entrepreneurs/201309-30 Wireless provider Sprint is seeking startups with "big ideas for improving health care using mobile technology." Early-stage mobile technology companies from across the United States are urged to apply to be part of the inaugural class of a 3-month intensive mentorship program starting in March 2014. Those entrepreneurs selected for the program will receive up to $120,000 in funding. The Kansas City-based Sprint Mobile Health Accelerator, powered by startup accelerator Techstars, is accepting applications now through Dec. 6. Finalists will be notified in early January 2014. "Techstars is highly selective and invests $120K in each company funded through $20K in seed funding and an optional $100K convertible debt note," states an announcement. "Techstars is backed by over 75 different venture capital firms and angel investors. After leaving Techstars, participating companies average more than $1.5M in outside venture capital raised."
mHealth evidence database goes live 27 September, 2013 | Fierce Mobile Healthcare http://www.fiercemobilehealthcare.com/story/mhealth-evidence-database-goes-live/2013-09-27 An online mHealth evidence database designed to serve as a global resource for the worldwide mobile healthcare community has gone live, according to an announcement. A U.S. Agency for International Development-funded Knowledge for Health (K4Health) project, mHealthEvidence.org was developed to catalog, categorize and grade all of the known peer-reviewed and grey literature on mHealth in high-, middle- and low-income countries. The goal of the database is to "bring together the world's literature on mHealth to make it easier for program managers, researchers, funders, Ministry staff, and other key decision-makers to design and implement effective and efficient programs and remain current with the state-of-the-art," states the announcement. In May, FierceMobileHealthcare spoke with James BonTempo, Director of ICT & Innovation at the Center for Communication Programs at Johns Hopkins University's Bloomberg School of Public Health, who helped drive the database initiative. BonTempo believes the inability to access highquality mHealth evidence quickly and easily limits the ability of ministries of health, multilateral institutions and donors to make well-informed decisions about which mHealth interventions merit additional investment. It also creates uncertainty on the part of innovators, implementers and researchers regarding which mHealth interventions to include in their field-based programs.
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mHealthEvidence.org "houses information on peer-reviewed evidence from low-, middle- and highresource settings and will be expanded in the coming months to include grey literature," states the announcement. Grey literature, including evaluations, project reports, white papers, blog posts and discussion boards, is a heretofore untapped resource in mHealth. While some of the current mHealth evidence resides in the peer-reviewed literature, as BonTempo argues, much of it (in many cases, the most timely and relevant aspects) resides in the grey literature. The taxonomy for categorizing the evidence database and the criteria for assessing it were developed in collaboration with a World Health Organization-sponsored mHealth Technical and Evidence Review Group. "Material is classified using the new mHealth Evidence Taxonomy, developed in coordination with the WHO, and is easily filtered and searched to facilitate the identification of evidence-based, highimpact mHealth practices," states the announcement.
Hospitals align to push for device interoperability 25 September, 2013 | Fierce Health IT http://www.fiercehealthit.com/story/hospitals-align-push-device-interoperability/2013-09-25 A coalition of hospitals and health systems formed this month will push for increased medical device interoperability as a means for improving patient care and lowering costs. The nonprofit organization--known as the Center for Medical Interoperability--will be financially backed by the Gary and Mary West Foundation, according to an announcement. Founding Board Chairman Michael Johns called medical device interoperability key to "unlocking healthcare communications" in hospitals. "By bringing hospital systems together, we can align all stakeholder interests in a neutral forum to include technology vendors, standards organizations, certification bodies, government agencies and healthcare associations under a common goal to improve healthcare," Johns said in a statement. In a recent interview with InformationWeek Healthcare, Ed Cantwell, executive director of the new center, said the healthcare industry doesn't so much lack device interoperability standards as it does "reference architecture" embracing such standards. What's more, he said, procurement power is necessary for driving device interoperability, something such a group could ensure deliver. "The only thing that gets the attention of vendors is procurement," Cantwell said. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, last month, announced that voluntary medical device standards for interoperability now will be recognized. In particular, Bakul Patel, senior policy advisor to the director of the Center for Devices and Radiological Health at FDA, called those standards a "first step" toward helping manufacturers to create medical devices that can "work well" with each other. "As medical devices become increasingly connected to other medical devices, hospital information systems and electronic health records, there is a growing expectation that they will be interoperable--and that the data they transmit will be secure," Patel said in an FDA Voice blog post. "Making sure devices are interoperable requires the creation, validation and recognition standards that help manufacturers develop products that are harmonious and can't plug."
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West Health's financial commitment comes just six months after publishing an analysis concluding that improved medical device interoperability--combined with the adoption of commonly accepted standards for that interoperability--could save the U.S. more than $30 billion annually in healthcare costs.
Google jumps back into healthcare space with Calico 23 September, 2013 | Fierce Health IT http://www.fiercehealthit.com/story/google-jumps-back-healthcare-space-calico/2013-09-23 Search on Google for the phrase "how to live longer" and soon you may have an answer from Google itself. The Mountain View, Calif.-based company recently announced plans to launch Calico, a new firm that will try to solve healthcare's problems and extend human life, according to Google co-founder and CEO, Larry Page, who made an official announcement about the initiative on his Google+ page on Sept. 18. "In some industries, it takes 10 or 20 years to go from an idea to something being real. Healthcare is certainly one of those ares," Page told Time. "Maybe we should shoot for the things that are really, really important so 10 or 20 years from now we have those things done." Google is keeping most of Calico's major details a secret for now, such as its funding and employee headcount, according to Time. However, the company does predict that it likely will use its own data-processing capabilities to shed new light on "age-related maladies." Calico likely will start small and research new technologies. John Nosta of Forbes wrote in a recent article that while he's been wary about the neverending onslaught of wearable fitness devices, Calico sparks his interest and has the possibility to change how we think about life extension. "The marriage of great thinking, guts, with technology, big data and genomics just may reboot the entire digital health movement," Nosta said. This isn't Google's first jaunt into healthcare. Google Glass has proved both useful and challenging to surgeons. In early August, it was reported that in the eyes of some healthcare professionals, Glass holds promise as an innovative and effective tool in the operating room, but to others, its privacy disaster potential looms large. Meanwhile, In late June, surgeons in Spain successfully put Google Glass to the test in a chondrocyte transplant operation while U.S. experts live-consulted the procedure in real-time and it was streamed on the Internet. However, Google failed when it attempted a personal health record portal, Google Health, just a few years ago. The platform shut down in 2011 due to a lack of "scalability," according to Google Health Senior Product Manager Aaron Brown.
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Arizona REC 'cuts through the clutter' to aid EHR adoption 19 September, 2013 | Fierce EMR http://www.fierceemr.com/special-reports/arizona-rec-cuts-through-clutter-aid-ehr-adoption Many providers in Arizona use some form of an electronic health record, but the Meaningful Use incentive program is just one of several initiatives vying for their attention, according to Melissa Rutala, CEO of Arizona Health-e Connection (AzHec). Arizona's regional extension center (REC) is officially a part of AzHec. "It's a challenge just keeping up with the flurry of programs going on these days," Rutala told FierceEMR in an exclusive interview. "There's still Meaningful Use but practices also have to prioritize with other programs." Rutala also talked about some of the obstacles Arizona practices have faced, what new legislation is affecting EHR use, and how her REC will sustain itself after grant funding ends.
New iPhone 5s provides options for mHealth 16 September, 2013 | Fierce Mobile Healthcare http://www.fiercemobilehealthcare.com/story/new-iphone-5s-provides-options-mhealth/201309-16 Last week, Apple unveiled its new iPhone 5 with a "motion coprocessor" chip that should get the attention of health and fitness app developers, according to an article in Medical Device and Diagnostic Industry. Called the M7, the chip is designed to continuously measure data from the phone's accelerometer, gyroscope, and compass. The iPhone 5s, which Apple touts as the world's first 64-bit smartphone, will "be able to tell if you're stationary, walking, or even driving," states the article. In addition, Apple has created an application programming interface (API) for developers called CoreMotion API to develop health tracking apps. As the article points out, Nike has already created an app called Nike+ Move that uses the M7 and the iPhone's GPS to track user movements. Nike has dubbed the app an introductory experience to Nike Fuel, "creating speculation that the company hopes to use the 5s as a means of turning consumers onto its other health tracking products like the Fuel Band--a smart move as it seems the M7 is designed, in part, to attack products like the Fuel Band directly," argues the article. Apple's iPhone 5s announcement comes just a week after Samsung made its own splash with a new Galaxy Note 3 smartphone and made a play into the health tracking and wearable devices market with its Galaxy Gear smart watch. Coupled with similar products already announced by Sony and expected soon from Apple and Qualcomm, the Galaxy Gear smart watch might have a major impact on the mobile health app market, depending on how the technology evolves, observers say.
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"It seems Apple is hoping the iPhone 5s's new sensor technology will give it a one-up on Samsung and help it regain some of the traction Apple has lost to Samsung in the smartphone market," the Medical Device and Diagnostic Industry article argues. "With the Galaxy Gear only compatible with Samsung smartphones (for now) it could do well on Apple's part if app and hardware developers who have already created iPhone compatible products look at this as an opportunity to expand and upgrade on the platform. With the iPhone so popular among mobile health app developers, the M7 could be the move Apple needs to undercut the competition in the mobile health space." Last month, Samsung launched a health app designed for its Android-based Galaxy S4 smartphone that features an avatar that grows fatter or thinner with the user. Called the S Health Buddy app, it allows users to choose from five different characters--two female, two male and one animal--that act as avatars of the user as he or she eats and exercises. The app, which is free on the Google Play Store and currently only available in Samsung's home market of Korea, calculates how the user is doing in terms of calories based on recorded food intake, hours of exercise, and the user's initial input of height and weight. Samsung's Galaxy S4 smartphone, designed to compete with Apple's iPhone 5, has gotten the attention of research firm Frost & Sullivan for "transforming the mobile device into a health monitoring tool" with an updated version of the S Health app and its built-in pedometer to track steps and deliver food nutrition information.
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Strategy New York City's New Behemoth: Mount Sinai, Continuum Close Merger Deal 30 September, 2013 | Becker's Hospital Review http://www.beckershospitalreview.com/hospital-transactions-and-valuation/new-york-city-snew-behemoth-mount-sinai-continuum-close-merger-deal.html The Mount Sinai Medical Center and Continuum Health Partners, both based in New York City, have completed their merger and formed a new integrated health system called the Mount Sinai Health System. Mount Sinai Health System, comprised of seven hospital campuses and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, is the largest private health system in New York City. The New York City Health and Hospitals Corp. holds the title as the largest overall health system in the city. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Mount Sinai and Continuum signed a definitive merger agreement in July and initiated formal merger talks in February. Continuum had planned to merge with NYU Langone Medical Center, also in New York City, but talks broke down after Mount Sinai made a competing offer. Mount Sinai Health System has more than 3,500 certified, licensed beds, 138 operating rooms, 12 freestanding ambulatory surgery centers, 6,600 physicians and 35,000 employees. Icahn School of Medicine will be the lone affiliated medical school for the system. "The new, integrated health care system…will improve quality outcomes, increase efficiencies and create economies of scale by expanding access to primary and specialty care across a citywide network," said Kenneth Davis, MD, president and CEO of the Mount Sinai Health System, in a news release. Dr. Davis has been president and CEO of The Mount Sinai Medical Center since 2003.
BAMC, Aurora negotiate 28 September, 2013 | EagleHerald http://ehextra.com/main.asp?SectionID=12&SubSectionID=35&ArticleID=15049 Bay Area Medical Center has begun negotiations with Aurora Health Care as a potential strategic minority partner. The BAMC Board of Directors unanimously agreed Thursday to authorize negotiation of Letter of Intent with Aurora, who was one of nine health systems to show interest in partnering with BAMC. "Our board began this process in mid-2012 by first determining that a minority partnership was in BAMC's best interest," said Ed Harding, BAMC president and CEO. The board established its key requirements for a partner and identified access to capital to support expansion; access to managerial and clinical expertise; a future growth strategy; and access to an established Accountable Care Organization, a key provision of the Affordable Care Act.
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The board also made it clear that BAMC was not interested in pursuing a full-asset merger or sale and that it intended to continue with a local board with local control. "Aurora has agreed to that critical requirement," Harding said. "From the beginning, the board said it wanted a minority partner. Even though if was a challenging financial year ... we are in a strong financial position. We don't have to do this - we want to do this." Harding said that the requirements of the Affordable Health Act made it "wise for individual hospitals to seek a strong financial organization to partner with." Partnering with Aurora will help both entities, which already have a working relationship, to continue to provide health care locally. "They, too, recognized we would be stronger together," Harding said. "We were definitely interested from the beginning," said Brad Hahn, executive vice president of the north region with Aurora Health Care. "We have a strong presence in the Marinette community and a number of physicians and patients." Hahn said Aurora has always been supportive of the local hospital, where Aurora's physicians have admitting privileges. There are many opportunities both Aurora and BAMC can explore in partnership, he said, including electronically shared medical records. "It's best if care can be provided close to home," Hahn said. While both BAMC and Aurora offer many providers and services to the community, this opportunity would open the door to more possibilities, he said. "We put on the table the advantages we saw in a relationship," Hahn said of Aurora's initial proposals. There still are steps to be taken before a deal would be reached, Harding said. It is expected that negotiating the Letter of Intent will take three to four weeks. That will outline the broad intents of both parties in the agreement. Then, each organization will go through a period of due diligence and negotiate a final definitive agreement which would require board approval. "There could be make-or-break issues (in hammering out a definitive agreement), but both (BAMC and Aurora) will go into it for about a three-month period. At the end of that phase, it will up to the board - (where they decide) go or no go," he said. "There's a challenge to converting (the Letter of Intent) to a working agreement," said Hahn, who added that he was confident of the two health care organizations' abilities to move forward. He called both BAMC and Aurora trusted providers and said it is time to "set aside the differences in the community from the past" and move forward. The process will include regulatory review and approval. In the meantime, it will be "business as usual" at BAMC, Harding said.
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"A lot of people automatically think we are going to change our name," he said, adding this is not a merger or a sale. "We are not going to become Aurora Bay Care." But the partnership will allow BAMC to explore its plans for expansion and renovation, which were shelved during the recession, but are a strong part of the future of the organization. "In our master facility plan, the first thing is (deciding) the best transformation of our facility whether it is making it larger or building a brand-new facility at a new location," Harding said.
Winchester Hospital, Lahey sign formal deal 27 September, 2013 | The Boston Globe http://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2013/09/27/winchester-hospital-signs-formalagreement-become-part-lahey-health-system/Mh1UsTWIcD4MdXPUFnVpGP/story.html The parent of 229-bed Winchester Hospital said Friday it has struck a formal affiliation agreement to become part of Lahey Health, which operates Lahey Hospital & Medical Center in Burlington, Beverly Hospital, and Addison Gilbert Hospital in Gloucester. Lahey Health and Winchester Healthcare Management signed a letter of intent in June to affiliate. The formal agreement disclosed Friday is subject to state and federal regulatory approval. The parties said Winchester Hospital patients would maintain access to their hospital-affiliated doctors but be referred to Lahey specialists for more complex clinical procedures. The acquisition is part of the continuing consolidation in the Massachusetts hospital sector. Lahey executives have also been talking to their counterparts at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston and Newton-based physicians group alliance Atrius Health about a potential three-way merger.
Tampa General, Florida Hospital Strike Partnership 25 September, 2013 | Becker's Hospital Review http://www.beckershospitalreview.com/hospital-transactions-and-valuation/tampa-generalflorida-hospital-strike-partnership.html Tampa (Fla.) General Hospital and the Florida Hospital Tampa Bay Network, a system of five Tampaarea acute-care hospitals, have signed an agreement to develop new clinical programs and services together. Officials at Tampa General and Florida Hospital said the partnership is neither a merger nor a sale. Instead, the two groups will look to create joint ventures, including an ambulatory care center, rehabilitation services, home health care services, wellness programs, post-acute care facilities, health insurance products and an expanded network of primary care services. A new operating board comprised of Tampa General and Tampa Bay Network officials will be created to determine what ventures will be pursued. That board will not have authority over operations at Tampa General or Tampa Bay Network.
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Tampa General, an independent, 1,018-bed academic medical center, is one of the largest providers in the Tampa area. The hospitals within Florida Hospital Tampa Bay Network cumulatively have 1,035 beds. Florida Hospital is part of Adventist Health System, based in Altamonte Springs, Fla.
Adventist Health to Buy, Restructure Corcoran District Hospital 20 September, 2013 | Becker's Hospital Review http://www.beckershospitalreview.com/hospital-transactions-and-valuation/adventist-health-tobuy-restructure-corcoran-district-hospital.html The board of directors at Corcoran (Calif.) District Hospital has unanimously voted to sell the hospital's rural health clinic to Roseville, Calif.-based Adventist Health, though the hospital itself no longer provides inpatient or emergency department services, according to a Hanford Sentinel report. In March, Corcoran District Hospital shut down its ED and inpatient unit, effectively ending the hospital's run as an acute-care provider. Corcoran District Hospital CEO Vonnie Nunes told the Hanford Sentinel the sale of the hospital's rural clinic will allow the community to keep some access to healthcare services. Adventist may also purchase the hospital building and convert it into a clinic. The hospital's two remaining operating rooms will close at the end of the month, and the hospital will officially lose its Medicare certification Oct. 1, the beginning of the federal government's new fiscal year. "We will not be operating as a hospital anymore," Ms. Nunes said in the report. "We actually haven't been a hospital since March." Adventist and Corcoran District Hospital had previously considered an affiliation or merger in 2011 but decided against it later.
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