HEALTHCARE NEWS FLASH October 01, 2014
Table of Contents Sales & Marketing ................................................................................................................. 3 Finance ................................................................................................................................. 8 Technology .......................................................................................................................... 11 Strategy .............................................................................................................................. 17
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Sales & Marketing Allscripts Healthcare Solutions Partners with Citra Health September 29, 2014 | Zacks http://www.zacks.com/stock/news/148780/allscripts-healthcare-solutions-partners-with-citrahealth Healthcare information technology solutions provider Allscripts Healthcare Solutions, Inc. and provider of consulting services and technologies Citra Health Solutions recently announced a commercial partnership to make their respective solutions and services available to the other’s client base. However, since the announcement of the partnership, shares of Chicago-based Allscripts Healthcare dropped nearly 4.3% to close at $13.54 in the last trading session. The venture between Allscripts Healthcare and Citra Health aims to help practices, provider organizations and payers succeed with emerging value-based care and reimbursement models, while also allowing Citra Health to help its customers gain access to clinical information and data exchange. Jacksonville, FL-based Citra Health (formerly known as Orange/MZI) offers strategic services to support payers and providers who seek to capitalize on opportunities presented by risk-sharing and other value-based models. Its offerings include executive-level advisory services, practice management-surrounding infrastructure and workflow, patient outreach, medical cost reduction, and quality improvement programs. In addition, Citra Health’s web-based software solutions supply benefits administration and claims adjudication capabilities, supported by care coordination and claims-based analytics, to better manage healthcare spending of patient populations. Meanwhile, Allscripts Healthcare’s offerings include electronic health record (EHR) systems such as Allscripts Professional EHR, Allscripts TouchWorks EHR and Allscripts Sunrise, along with mobility, practice management and revenue cycle solutions. Allscripts Healthcare’s Population Health Management offerings include the Allscripts dbMotion health information platform and Allscripts FollowMyHealth patient engagement platform. The partnership will equip Citra Health’s customers with Allscripts Healthcare solutions, which collectively supply real-time clinical information that impacts decisions made at the point of care. This would provide them with expert strategic support, efficient infrastructure, and the clinical and business intelligence needed to respond to the demands of risk-sharing and quality-based initiatives. At Allscripts Healthcare’s end, the partnership would support the integration of Citra Health’s highgrade service offerings into it proven technology solutions.
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Though the partnership, both the companies ultimately aim to help clients increasingly participate and succeed with risk-sharing and accountable-care programs, thus improving the health and wellbeing of patients.
Texas Health Resources to oversee care at Target clinics September 29, 2014 | Star-Telegram http://www.star-telegram.com/2014/09/29/6160211/texas-health-resources-to-oversee.html Arlington-based Texas Health Resources said Monday that it has reached an agreement with Target to provide healthcare services at new clinics in eight of the discounter’s North Texas stores. “In a rapidly changing healthcare environment, Texas Health Physicians Group continues to pursue creative and innovative ways to reach patients and improve patient care,” Shawn Parsley, the group’s president, said in a statement. “This collaboration advances Texas Health’s strategy to expand access to convenient, quality primary care close to where people live and work.” Texas Health-affiliated emergency medicine physicians will supervise the nurse practitioners providing care at the Target Clinics. In July, Texas Health Resources entered into a clinical agreement with CVS Caremark to supervise and consult on healthcare at 34 CVS MinuteClinics in Dallas-Fort Worth. In Tarrant County, Target has clinics at 1400 Precinct Line Road in Hurst and 8000 Denton Highway in Watauga. The others locations are in Allen, Denton, Frisco, Flower Mound and Plano. Texas Health Resources said the Target locations are the first clinics in Texas for the retailer. It has about 70 clinics in stores throughout Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, North Carolina and Virginia. The clinics offer walk-in care for minor illnesses and injuries, skin treatment, vaccinations, and tests and screening for patients 18 months and older. Texas Health Physicians Group has about 900 providers in its network.
Children’s Healthcare joins statewide information exchange September 27, 2014 | MDJOnline.com http://mdjonline.com/view/full_story/25845807/article-Children-s-Healthcare-joins-statewideinformation-exchange-?instance=secondary_story_left_column Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, which has a location at 625 Big Shanty Road NW in Kennesaw, has joined the Georgia Health Information Network, the statewide health information exchange network that electronically connects Georgia hospitals, physicians and clinicians to safely and securely exchange patient health information. Connecting to GaHIN allows Children’s to further augment its continuity of care while improving access to a patient’s information for diagnosis and treatment.
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Children’s has integrated GaHIN’s Georgia ConnectedCare product into its Health Information Exchange application Care Everywhere to help improve patient safety and reduce potential medication and medical errors. “Up until recently, patient health information has been difficult to share and access across varying care settings in disparate locations,” said Denise Hines, executive director of GaHIN. “As one of the state’s leading health systems, Children’s is a valued member and further expands the Network’s reach throughout Georgia.” Children’s launched its Care Everywhere application in early 2014 to support its Children’s Care Management and information-sharing goals, using the Epic platform, which enables Children’s providers to access patient records from health care facilities that also use Epic. Now, through GaHIN’s Georgia ConnectedCare integration, providers at Children’s can obtain patients’ medical records from other health care facilities, throughout the state and nation, no matter the technology platform. Through GaHIN, providers at Children’s can improve both direct care delivery and coordination by having ever-present access to clinical information, such as medical history, previous diagnoses, lab tests, medications, allergies and physicians’ notes. Additionally, access is available to Medicaid health, dental and pharmacy information, as well as immunization updates and reporting from the Georgia Registry of Immunization Transactions and Services, managed by the Georgia Department of Public Health. Children’s is a not-for-profit health care system that includes three hospitals with 561 licensed beds; 24 neighborhood locations; 43 statewide telemedicine locations; and more than 40 pediatric cardiologists at 20 statewide locations. The largest pediatric hospital in the state, Children’s provides access to more than 1,800 pediatric physicians and practitioners representing more than 60 pediatric specialties and programs.
Intermountain, Cerner collaborate on Defense health IT bid September 24, 2014 | Modern Healthcare http://www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20140924/NEWS/309249945 Cerner Corp., one of several major electronic health-record system vendors competing for a multibillion-dollar contract to replace the Military Health System’s EHR, has entered what it terms a “strategic agreement” on its bid with Intermountain Healthcare. Intermountain, a Salt Lake City-based integrated delivery system that offers “decades of clinical experience and research,” will work with Kansas City, Mo.-based Cerner “to meet the military’s specific research requirements to modernize its electronic health-record process,” according to a Cerner statement. In June, Cerner announced it was joining with defense and national security contractor Leidos, and consultant and systems integrator Accenture to bid on the contract to replace a hodgepodge of existing health information technology systems used by the Military Health System. The 10-year contract is estimated to be worth $11 billion.
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Leidos is a Reston, Va., spinoff from defense and national intelligence service contractor Science Applications International Corp. SAIC has a long history with the Military Health System. It developed the military’s first comprehensive EHR called the Composite Health Care System, a clone of the Veterans Affairs Department’s EHR, at an initial cost of $1 billion. CHCS is still being used in military hospitals. At least four groups of IT companies are bidding on the project. “Intermountain’s extensive history and expertise with military health partnerships, as well as its unparalleled reputation for excellence in research, education and collaboration, are invaluable as we work to deliver a world-class solution for our active duty military, veterans and their families,” said Jeff Townsend, Cerner executive vice president. With 22 hospitals and 185 clinics throughout Utah and southeastern Idaho, Intermountain is roughly half the size of the Military Health System, which operates 59 hospitals and 360 health clinics. Last September, Intermountain, a pioneer in health IT, announced it would replace its current EHR and financial systems with Cerner products. Cerner Vice President Travis Dalton, in an exchange of emails, said they expect Intermountain “to work with us and advise on design elements and provide ongoing consultation and thought leadership. Intermountain also has developed “world-class” clinical content, said Dalton, who oversees activities organizations in the investor-owned and federal market segments, but the Defense Department’s specifications for its own EHR system are “very detailed.” Any content or tools from Intermountain “would have to also conform to those (DoD) requirements,” he said. Dalton declined to discuss any potential remuneration Intermountain might receive from the collaboration. “We can’t speak to financial terms,” Dalton said. An Intermountain spokesperson was unavailable at deadline. Intermountain is not the first, nor even the largest provider organization to announce it would be participating in the Military Health System bidding. That distinction goes to the VA, whose former secretary, Eric Shinseki, said in March the VA wanted to be “in the competition.” The VA’s Veterans Health Administration operates 151 hospitals and 827 clinics. A consortium of PricewaterhouseCoopers, General Dynamics, DSS and Medsphere has announced it intends to use an open-source version of the VA’s VistA EHR system in its bid for the military contract. In May 2013, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel announced his department would seek bids from developers to replace the Military Health System’s multiple EHRs, ending a plan to work with the VA on a joint project to develop one replacement EHR for both of their healthcare systems.
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Hagel said he was “convinced that a competitive process is the optimal way to ensure we select the best value solutions for DoD.”
Mountain View Healthcare Center Joins Health Gorilla Marketplace September 24, 2014 | HealthTECHZONE http://www.healthtechzone.com/topics/healthcare/articles/2014/09/24/389729-mounta-viewhealthcare-center-joins-health-gorilla-marketplace.htm Health Gorilla is an online marketplace that connects medical care centers with diagnostic labs and radiology centers. The latest addition to this network is the Mountain View Healthcare Center in Mountain View, Calif. that has operated in the Bay Area for the past 50 years. Health Gorilla announced this past week that it has added Mountain View to its list of participants and makes note that the skilled nursing facility is the first of its kind to join the network. Mountain View operates a 122-bed facility that houses both Medicare and Medicaid patients, and it will reportedly be using this network to expand its ability to complete diagnostic services that occur as a matter of its normal operations. Steven Yaskin, the CEO of Health Gorilla commented on the newest addition to his company’s ranks. “Our marketplace now enables partners such as Mountain View Healthcare Center to place orders for diagnostic lab and radiology center services electronically,” Yaskin said. “Test results can be shared immediately with both Mountain View Healthcare Center and their ambulatory physicians. Results and related communications are delivered directly to physician’s desktop computer, iPhone, or iPad mini instead of paper and fax transmission. The physician can also respond with instructions directly to the SNF staff. This eliminates a significant portion of the faxing, phone calls, and delay. Communications are improved substantially.” Mountain View works primarily with patients who need short term rehabilitation. Its staff provides services for physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech therapy on a 24-hour basis, and its facility contains a wing for patients with Alzheimer’s and dementia. Like many medical care centers, it must conduct medical tests and work with other facilities to complete diagnostic and radiological procedures, and its connection with Health Gorilla should serve to increase its ability to reach out to testing centers with its needs. The Times-Tribune in Scranton, Pa. reported this year that switching to electronic health records can improve the quality of patient care. Electronic records allow for quick transmission of information between practitioners and facilities, and according to the National Center for Health Statistics, the percentage of office-based physicians who used electronic records increased from 11.8 percent in 2007 to 39.6 percent in 2012. This has reportedly made it easier for doctors and nurses to retrieve various types of patient information and, therefore, reduce the risk of making diagnostic errors. If that logic holds true for electronic access to laboratories and testing centers, Mountain View may be joining the leagues of medical centers that have further improved their care with electronic record-keeping systems. Health Gorilla says it contains a network of more than 9,000 diagnostic labs and more than 35,000 radiology centers and says members can place orders and get test results completely without paper fax transmissions.
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Finance Dignity Health’s net income up $73M in FY 2014 September 29, 2014 | Becker’s Hospital Review http://www.beckershospitalreview.com/finance/dignity-health-s-net-income-up-73m-in-fy2014.html San Francisco-based Dignity Health posted a net income of $885 million for fiscal year 2014, up from $812 million in 2013. The health system’s total unrestricted revenues for 2014 were $10.7 billion, up from $10.4 billion in 2013. However, Dignity’s expenses were up $400 million for 2014. The health system’s operating income for fiscal year 2014 was $227 million, down $84 million from 2013. During the 2014 fiscal year, Dignity invested more than $684.5 million in capital projects, including the ongoing construction at Sequoia Hospital in Redwood City, Calif., construction of a patient tower for Chandler (Ariz.) Regional Medical Center, and construction of Phoenix-based Westgate Medical Center. Dignity is a 39-hospital nonprofit health system, with 33 hospitals located in California, four in Arizona, and three in Nevada.
Moody’s assigns ‘A1’ rating to CentraCare Health System’s bonds September 29, 2014 | Becker’s Hospital Review http://www.beckershospitalreview.com/finance/moody-s-assigns-a1-rating-to-centracare-healthsystem-s-bonds.html Moody’s Investors Service has assigned an “A1” rating to St. Cloud, Minn.-based CentraCare Health System’s $42.19 million of series 2014B bonds. The rating assignment was supported by a number of factors, including the health system’s continued strong financial performance. CentraCare’s balance sheet metrics remain strong, with unrestricted cash and investments of $591.5 million at the end of fiscal year 2014, up from $505.3 million for 2013. The health system’s market dominance also supported the rating affirmation. CentraCare maintains the dominant market position in its service area, and provides the only hospital with tertiary level services in the area. The health system also faces some challenges, which were considered for the rating assignment, such as having a cash-to-debt ratio of 139.4 percent at the end of fiscal year 2014, which compares unfavorably to its rating level’s median of 150.6 percent.
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Moody’s affirms Allina Health System’s ‘Aa3’ rating September 29, 2014 | Becker’s Hospital Review http://www.beckershospitalreview.com/finance/moody-s-affirms-allina-health-system-s-aa3rating.html Moody’s Investors Service has affirmed the “Aa3” rating assigned to $618 million of outstanding bonds issued on behalf of Minneapolis-based Allina Health System. The rating affirmation was supported by a number of factors, including Allina Health’s growth in unrestricted cash and investments in fiscal year 2013 and maintenance of liquidity in fiscal year 2014. At the end of FY 2013, Allina Health had 182 days cash on hand, up from 175 days at the end 2012. The rating affirmation was also supported by the health system’s leading market position, with a 32.7 percent market share in its service area. Allina Health also faces some challenges, which were considered for the rating affirmation, such as inpatient volume declines and being located in a highly competitive market.
Partners HealthCare agrees to price caps in new deal September 26, 2014 | InsuranceNewsNet.com http://insurancenewsnet.com/oarticle/2014/09/26/partners-healthcare-agrees-to-price-caps-innew-deal-a-560140.html Lawrence Memorial and Melrose-Wakefield hospitals would cap prices for 6 1/2 years under a revised agreement between Attorney General Martha Coakley and Partners HealthCare, which is planning to acquire the two medical centers along with South Shore Hospital. Partners also agreed to maintain the same level of psychiatric and behavioral health at its Hallmark and North Shore hospitals for five years, according to Coakley’s office. “These additional concessions will mitigate the potential for higher prices related to this transaction and ensure that mental health treatment remains fully accessible to the surrounding community,” Coakley said in a statement. The state’s Health Policy Commission has warned that the Partners takeover of the three hospitals would spike costs by between $38.5 million and $49 million for the state’s top three insurance companies. “I commend the attorney general for pushing Partners to mitigate the price impact of the Hallmark transaction, one of the major concerns identified in our report,” said Dr. Stuart Altman, chairman of the Massachusetts Health Policy Commission. “I look forward to learning more details as we review the amended consent judgment and the attorney general’s response to the public comments.”
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Partners -- the health care behemoth that owns Massachusetts General, Brigham and Women’s and six other acute care facilities and employs some 6,500 doctors -- has entered into a settlement with Coakley to avoid an antitrust investigation by her office.
Cadence operating margin down, total surplus up in FY 2014 September 24 2014 | Becker’s Hospital Review http://www.beckershospitalreview.com/finance/cadence-operating-margin-down-total-surplusup-in-fy-2014.html Winfield, Ill.-based Cadence Health — which recently merged with Chicago, Ill.-based Northwestern Memorial Healthcare — saw its operating margin drop to 9.6 percent for fiscal year 2014 from 11 percent in fiscal year 2013, although its overall surplus rose by 44 percent to $211.3 million. For the fiscal year ended June 30, Cadence reported $1.28 billion in total revenue, up from $1.13 billion in fiscal year 2013. However, expenses also increased from approximately $1 billion to nearly $1.16 billion. Still, Cadence saw almost $89 million from investment return, unrestricted contributions and other gains, up from $84.7 million the previous year. In fiscal year 2013, the system also sustained a $61.2 million loss from impairment of note receivable and joint venture investment. Cadence merged with Northwestern effective Sept. 1, combining the two health systems into one entity (Northwestern Medicine) thatincludes four hospitals: Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago; Northwestern Lake Forest (Ill.) Hospital; Central DuPage Hospital in Winfield; and Delnor Hospital in Geneva, Ill.
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Technology Big health care player jumps on HealthKit, offers users a shopping incentive to get fit September 29, 2014 | Tech Times http://www.techtimes.com/articles/16756/20140929/big-healthcare-player-jumps-onhealthkit.htm Managed health care firm Humana has integrated Apple’s HealthKit platform into its HumanaVitality app, allowing users to score points that can be redeemed for fitness equipment and other rewards. Finally debugged and ready to go, Apple’s HealthKit application programming interface (API) was designed to bring users biometrics and activity into a comprehensive and accredited report. Fitness apps, such as the HumanaVitality app, can leverage sensors on Apple products to direct user data into HealthKit. With data such as blood pressure readings and weekly miles walked stored in HealthKit, users can share extensive reports on their health activity with caregivers and health care firms. As is typically the case with other fitness apps, the free HumanaVitality app can leverage HealthKit’s support from both internal and external sensors to send a comprehensive health record to wherever the user desires. “The HumanaVitality App, designed to make it easy and simple for consumers to engage with their health, enables users to create and measure specific, personal wellness goals (get active, eat better, lose weight or reduce stress),” states Humana. “HumanaVitality rewards members for meeting these goals and for other healthy behaviors, from getting a biometrics screening to taking 10,000 physician-recommended steps a day.” Humana says users of its app can earn Vitality points by meeting fitness goals and they can spend them on items such as fitness gear, movie tickets, music downloads and more at the HumanaVitality Mall. HumanaVitality’s HealthKit integration was designed to preserve the simplicity of Apple’s new health platform, according to Bruce Broussard, Humana’s president and CEO. “The simple, innovative, and easy-to-use design of the Apple Health app makes it easier for these Humana members to collectively manage their fitness data so they can improve their health,” says Broussard. “Apple is taking a significant step forward with regards to the ‘quantified self.’ As more consumers use Apple Health, the platform can also help the health care industry leverage the power of technology to further transform the consumer health experience.” To start using the HumanaVitality app, users will need to ensure their mobile devices run iOS 8.0.2. The first iteration of Apple’s HealthKit platform missed out on the launch of iOS 8 due to bugs, but the eventual release of iOS 8.0.2, itself plagued with issues, finally brought Apple’s health platform to market.
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iOS 8 and HealthKit’s bug-filled launches were worsened by Bendgate, an ongoing controversy that centers around users complaints about the durability of Apple’s latest series of smartphones.
UnitedHealthcare’s tools to navigate healthcare coverage September 26, 2014 | KING5.com http://www.king5.com/story/entertainment/television/programs/new-daynorthwest/2014/01/15/unitedhealthcare-s-tools-to-navigate-healthcare-coverage/13374132/ The Affordable Care Act is creating a new era of healthcare, even for those who are covered by their employers. UnitedHealthcare has created several tools to help members navigate all aspects of their plan’s coverage, as well as comparison-shop for treatments, procedures and much more. Dr. Roger Muller, Market Medical Director of UnitedHealthcare, Pacific Region, joined Margaret to discuss some of those tools and explain how they can help people gain better control over their healthcare needs. Among the tools Dr. Muller discussed: myHealthcare Cost Estimator- an online resource that provides prices for a number of services, like an MRI or even having a baby, based on zip codes and plan types. The tool: •
Allows access to prices for more than 500 treatments and procedures, while also considering quality comparison information.
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Users can build cost estimates by matching a specific physician with a specific, desired hospital. Estimates for treatments and procedures, such as surgeries, lab tests, radiology tests and office visits are available.
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A simple user-interface makes understanding health treatment options as easy as comparison shopping for airline tickets, cars, electronic devices or other consumer goods.
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myHealthcare Cost Estimator draws on the company’s actual contracted rates with physicians, hospitals, clinics and other healthcare providers across 47 markets, giving consumers highlyaccurate price estimates.
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Cost estimates are tailored to a consumer’s specific benefits plan design, identifying their out-ofpocket costs,cost paid by their employer, and available funds in a health care account to pay toward the expenses.
Health4Me - a mobile app that allows customers to review benefit, health savings account, recent claims information and more, from their smartphones.
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MyClaims Manager Tool - UnitedHealthcare is the first insurance carrier to offer an online bill paying service. The goal of myClaims Manager is to help consumers take greater ownership of their healthcare decisions, offering a simple and clear way for people to manage all their health-related finances from one online location. (Some consumers have already caught medical billing errors by using the enhanced service) Besides bill-paying capabilities, the new online service helps consumers better manage their healthrelated finance in a variety of ways, including: •
Helping them check claims for accuracy and resolve any discrepancies
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Tracking medical expenses for tax reporting
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Providing claim details that help consumers understand what they owe and why
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Allowing them to make notes and flag claims for follow-up, as well as mark those that have been paid
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Explaining health care terms in language that’s easy to understand
Cigna Taps ChoiceHealth for Quality Health Care in Virginia September 24, 2014 | Yahoo Finance http://finance.yahoo.com/news/cigna-taps-choicehealth-quality-health-185002115.html Cigna Corp. (CI) has announced a collaborative care initiative with ChoiceHealth. The program, effective Oct 1, will benefit nearly 3,000 individuals covered by a Cigna health plan. Under this coverage, members receive treatment from over 35 primary care doctors who are part of ChoiceHealth in Virginia. This step is in sync with Cigna’s goal to improve the quality of care and service provided to its customers. Cigna also aims to lower healthcare costs and improve overall value though such programs. Cigna’s Collaborative Care initiative is similar to an Accountable Care Organization (:ACO). An ACO is a group effort by health care providers that voluntarily form alliances to provide coordinated high quality care to patients. An ACO is accountable for the quality, cost and overall care offered to members. By focusing on the needs of patients and connecting payments to the service offered, this model intends to improve the health of individuals and communities as well as curtail rising healthcare costs. Through this program doctors will monitor and coordinate all the aspects of patient care. The patients will get the benefits of the program even as they retain their current physician. The program does not specify any change regarding referrals to specialists. Patients suffering from longterm diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and obesity are the ones who will benefit the most from the initiative.
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Cigna’s collaborative care initiative will also designate care coordinators who work closely with patients and monitor the services being offered. They will follow up with the patient, sending reminders about screenings required or recommend direct medical help. At the same time, they will educate patients by encouraging them to participate in various health and wellness programs and workshops. Remuneration to ChoiceHealth’s physicians will be made on the basis of their performance in reducing patients’ health care costs while providing them best service. Additional compensation will be provided in terms of pay for value, which will depend up their ability to meet the targeted level of medical quality and cost. Some of the largest health insurers in the country, including Humana Inc. (HUM), United Healthcare Group Inc. (UNH) and Aetna Inc. (AET), are also forming ACOs to control costs.
Arcadia Healthcare Solutions Updates Analytics Platform to Optimize Population Health Management September 24, 2014 | Business Wire http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20140924005004/en/Arcadia-Healthcare-SolutionsUpdates-Analytics-Platform-Optimize Arcadia Healthcare Solutions, a leading analytics technology and consulting services provider for health systems and health plans, today announces a new version of its proven Arcadia Analytics platform, focused on reporting for Performance Management, Cost & Utilization Analysis, and Patient Outreach & Care Planning; best-in-class user experience; and robust, vendor-agnostic EHR connectivity, leveraging industry leader Informatica®. The web-based reporting portal provides caregivers and administrators across an entire healthcare organization relevant and timely access to clinical, cost and utilization data. The platform deeply integrates clinical data from more than 20 Electronic Health Record (EHR) systems and claims data from health plans, to drive insight into an organization’s patient population and performance for Accountable Care Organization (ACO) and other shared risk contracts. Using real-time analysis of over 150 industry standard and client customized measures, and daily updates from all data sources, the Arcadia Analytics platform enables organizations to track performance management to quickly identify gaps in care and plan for patient visits. Organizations can conduct cost and utilization analysis through emergency department visit tracking and patient mapping with Google Maps. In addition, the platform incorporates disease registries, a longitudinal patient summary and advanced population filters to identify high cost and high risk patients, aiding in patient outreach and care planning. “Our mission is to become a managed care organization for 100,000 lives and achieving this goal means having a greater understanding of our patients’ data and the ability to predict their needs,” said Sarah Fronza, Senior Vice President of Care Transformation & Analytics at Silverton Health. “Without a way to combine and manage both clinical and financial patient-risk data, we were working in the dark. Arcadia Analytics provides us a 360 degree view of our patients that not only included their risk factors, but also real-time clinical data and claims information to complete the partial picture we had. We finally have the missing piece for us to drive our vision forward.”
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“We pride ourselves on taking the time to deeply understand the challenges provider organizations face to effectively manage the health of their patients and developing the solutions to help solve these challenges,” said Sean Carroll, Chief Executive Officer at Arcadia Healthcare Solutions. “Our analytics platform provides the ability to better manage patients with chronic conditions along with preventive services in a global way. Not only can the solution look at population level information but it can drill down into a user-friendly view of a specific patient or encounter information to identify opportunities where they can improve care. Further, our solution lets organizations target financial risk with laser-focused accuracy and balance that with utilization information and a care management suite that enables providers to stay ahead of healthcare reform.”
Cerner and Athenahealth announce Apple HealthKit partnership September 22, 2014 | Healthcare DIVE http://www.healthcaredive.com/news/cerner-and-athenahealth-announce-apple-healthkitpartnership/311900/ Dive Brief: •
Major electronic health vendors Cerner and Athenahealth announced on Thursday that they are working with Apple to develop integrated applications that will work with Apple’s HealthKit platform.
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Athenahealth intends to use HealthKit to improve care for patients with chronic conditions like diabetes, according to the company. According to Cerner, the integrated functionality with HealthKit will allow care teams that use the vendor to access patient data through the Apple platform (with the patient’s consent).
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Up until now, Apple had only announced a partnership with vendor Epic. Apple did not respond to a request for comment from Reuters.
Dive Insight: The integration of other vendors with HealthKit may help to address the interoperability concerns that have plagued the Apple-Epic partnership since the beginning. Both systems are notoriously closed, so the fact that Apple has chosen to work with other health IT vendors is a pretty definite statement that it’s not going to limit users to Epic’s clients. The announcement comes in the wake of a delay in HealthKit’s release. Apple released its new iOS 8 operating platform on Wednesday, sans HealthKit. Rumors have been circulating that technical glitches would delay the launch of the health data gathering and sharing platform; on Wednesday, Apple told Reuters that it is “working quickly to have the bug fixed in a software update and have HealthKit apps available by the end of the month.” Apple has also yanked some HealthKit-compatible apps, like MyFitnessPal and Carrot Fit. Although the tweet has since been removed, Carrot Fit developer Brian Mueller tweeted on Wednesday: “Well that’s a relief. Just got a call from Apple, there’s nothing wrong with CARROT Fit. HealthKit is just broken and isn’t ready to launch.” Then, shortly after, he added: “Sounds like HealthKit won’t be working at all this week. And there’s no ETA for when a bug fix will go live.”
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Meanwhile, across the country, the data sharing platform is being rolled out in hospital trials testing its clinical usefulness. HealthKit is soon to be part of trials focusing on childhood diabetes with Stanford University Hospital and cancer and heart disease at Duke University. With HealthKit, which is still in development, Apple hopes to work with hospitals across the country to help manage and improve care and reduce costs for patients with chronic conditions. Athenahealth’s Don said the company will test its “proof of concept” application with one client, Hudson Headwaters Health Network, a non-profit health center based in New York.
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Strategy ZirMed Acquires MethodCare to Improve Data-Driven Business Decisions September 29, 2014 | HealthTECHZONE http://www.healthtechzone.com/topics/healthcare/articles/2014/09/29/390102-wheelingsdealings-zirmed-acquires-methodcare-improve-data-driven.htm A McKinsey & Co. study stated the U.S. healthcare industry could potentially save $300 billion a year with the help of advanced analytics. By 2011, U.S. healthcare organizations had generated 150 exabytes or 150 billion gigabytes, and that number is increasing at an incredible rate, which makes it essential for healthcare service providers to deploy predictive analytics solutions in order to improve the overall operations of hospitals, family practices, insurance companies and other industries associated with healthcare. ZirMed, provider of cloud-based enterprise business and clinical performance solution for healthcare, has made a key acquisition to increase its SaaS platform and enterprise reach by purchasing MethodCare. The Chicago-based MethodCare provides predictive analytics solutions designed to help healthcare organizations meet their financial and clinical excellence goals with advanced analytics to increase revenue and maximize operational efficiencies. In addition to expanding its presence in Chicago with a new Healthcare Analytics Center of Excellence led by MethodCare’s team of data scientists and business intelligence engineers, ZirMed will be able to integrate its flagship SaaS solutions that use predictive analytics in the areas of patient access, charge integrity, and reimbursement. This will give the company a comprehensive end-toend patient episode of care. By clearly identifying key areas in which there are revenue leakage it can point out recoverable missed charges, predict denials and appeal success rates, score patients propensity to pay, flag underpayments, and better manage risk-based contracts services currently offered to healthcare providers to improve financial performance across the board. “By merging MethodCare’s proven predictive analytics offering with ZirMed’s population health and revenue cycle solutions, health care providers can now take advantage of the first true centralized end-to-end performance management platform to streamline operations and support greater strategic, data-driven business decisions,” said Tom Butts, chief executive officer, ZirMed. The MethodCare Charge Integrity Solutions uses big data analytics to automate the discovery of all missing charges, coding variances and overcharging risks to proactively prevent charge capture leakage, resolve process inefficiencies, improve coding compliance, and ensure the accuracy of all inpatient and outpatient accounts in one easy-to-use solution. The Charge Integrity Solutions provides: increases revenue from missed charges; drives higher reimbursement by coding variances; ensures all costs are captured for Medicare cost reports; mitigates risk from overcharging errors; identifies audit concerns before they are problematic; and provides national, state and local benchmarking.
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“MethodCare is excited to become a part of ZirMed,” said Jeff Kaplan, co-founder and CEO, MethodCare. “Together, we can accelerate the delivery and breadth of revenue cycle and population health solutions that allow healthcare organizations to achieve improved financial performance and deliver the highest quality patient care. ZirMed is a natural fit for us as we share the same commitment to technology innovation and superior client service.”
Lakeland HealthCare Adds Two New Surgical Robots September 27, 2014 | WSJM.com http://www.wsjm.com/Lakeland-HealthCare-Adds-Two-New-Surgical-Robots/19995734 Lakeland HealthCare is touting the addition of two robotic surgical devices. The health care system is one of just three nationwide to have two da Vinci Xi Surgical Systems, and they’ve been used in several procedures so far. One is in Niles, while the other is in St. Joseph, and they’re used to assist surgeons in minimally-invasive surgeries. In a statement, Dr. Benjamin Stockton said the addition of the surgical robots makes Lakeland a leader in “rapid adoption of safe and minimally invasive healthcare.” Stockton is Lakeland’s Medical Director of Robotics. The robots are used in bariatric, cardiothoracic, general, urological and gynecological procedures.
SPi, Global sells US-based healthcare business September 25, 2014 | The Philippine Star http://www.philstar.com/business/2014/09/25/1372741/spi-global-sells-us-based-healthcarebusiness Spi Global is selling its US-based healthcare business to America’s leading provider of technologyenabled healthcare performance improvement services. In a statement, SPi Global said it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell its wholly-owned subsidiary, Spi Healthcare to Conifer Health Solutions. However, SPi Global said it would retain its healthcare BPO operations in the Philippines and remains committed to leading the continuing growth of the unit. Maulik Parekh, president and chief executive officer of SPi Global, said the business of SPi Healthcare has more than doubled since it was acquired seven years ago making it one of the top providers of revenue cycle management and health information services in the US. “We believe that Conifer Health Solutions, with its expansive healthcare network, is the right home for SPi Healthcare at this juncture as it aspires to strengthen its leadership position in the marketplace,” Parekh said. SPi Healthcare president John O Donnell said the company is looking forward to joining Conifer Health.
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“Our deep operational capabilities, coupled with understanding the challenges and opportunities of providers in today’s dynamic healthcare environment, will set us apart from our collective competition,” he said. Conifer Health Solutions president and chief executive officer Stephen Mooney cited the sustained growth achieved by SPi Healthcare making it the recognized leader in the physician revenue cycle marketplace with a reputation for service delivery excellence. “We believe the combined organization will drive incremental growth for Conifer by creating an enhanced value proposition for physicians in a variety of care settings - including integrated delivery networks - that are seeking to improve their operational performance in the era of value-based care and other changes in healthcare delivery and financing,” Mooney said. Conifer Health has more than 19 million patient interactions across all service lines, manages more than $25 billion in patient revenue and $17 billion in medically managed spend; and provides technology and health management services to support care management for more than four million lives, annually. SPi Global operates 30 offices and facilities with over 19,000 employees in the US, Netherlands, Philippines, India, Vietnam, China and Nicaragua. It delivers a wide range of solutions in Customer Relationship Management, Content, and Healthcare. In February 2013, PLDT unloaded its interest in SPi Global Holdings Inc. in favor of European private equity firm CVC Capital Partners through Asia Outsourcing Gamma Limited (AOG) for a total consideration of $300 million.
Maestro Healthcare Technology Acquires Leading Private Exchange Platform September 23, 2014 | Business Wire http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20140923006420/en/Maestro-HealthcareTechnology-Acquires-Leading-Private-Exchange Maestro Healthcare Technology today announced that they have acquired Florida based Workable Solutions from Alegeus Technologies. This strategic move strengthens Maestro’s unique benefit solutions with the addition of leading private exchange and billing capabilities. Combining the capabilities of Workable Solutions with Maestro’s integrated administration, medical management and consumer driven payment solutions will create enhanced value by establishing an industry leading, integrated platform designed to provide simple administration for employers and an easy-to-understand marketplace for consumers. Workable Solutions was founded in 1997 to serve the enrollment and billing needs of healthcare alliances across the country. Having operated a number of multi-carrier programs, Workable Solutions has developed the expertise required to successfully operate in today’s online benefits marketplace. Their web-based platform includes plan recommendation and selection assistance tools, automated electronic enrollment, eligibility maintenance, and consolidated billing modules.
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“As we’ve seen health exchanges evolve, it has become apparent that most exchange platforms lack easy to use, integrated billing and reconciliation capabilities,” said Rob Butler, CEO of Maestro. “This acquisition not only gives us a competitive edge, it also aligns with our belief and business model that employer benefits work better when they work together as one solution.” Private health exchanges have existed for years in the individual and retiree insurance marketplace. Only recently, due to the launch of public exchanges in 2014, have we seen an increased interest in utilizing this concept in the private sector. Employer-sponsored group health exchanges are forecasted to reach over 30 million lives in the next 5 years. “We believe that employers contemplating private exchange plans need options to choose either self-funded or fully insured models. Employers should not be forced to revert back to a fully insured exchange model versus a self-funded exchange platform simply because that’s all the vendor has in their bag,” added Butler. “In addition to offering that option, we provide fully integrated self-insured plan administration which creates a significant advantage as one unified solution.”
MedAssets Completes Acquisition of Sg2 September 22, 2014 | GlobeNewswire http://globenewswire.com/news-release/2014/09/22/667630/10099544/en/MedAssetsCompletes-Acquisition-of-Sg2.html MedAssets (Nasdaq:MDAS) today announced that it completed its previously announced acquisition of SG-2, LLC (Sg2), a leading provider of healthcare business intelligence, market analytics and clinical consulting services. “Working with more than 1,400 hospitals and other clients across healthcare, Sg2’s experts utilize software-as-a-service (SaaS)-based analytics tools and an intelligence platform to help healthcare organizations make informed strategic decisions related to acquisitions, service line extensions, market expansion, or other investments to optimize business growth,” said John Bardis, chairman, president and CEO, MedAssets. “As a highly respected industry leader with superb market insight and forecasting capabilities, Sg2 creates a compelling combination with our proprietary cost, clinical, operational, claims reimbursement and episode-of-care datasets and tools to offer increased value for healthcare organizations and their leadership. “We have invested in building out a robust advisory services and consulting practice, which is focused on cost management, clinical alignment, labor optimization, best practice processes and revenue cycle optimization to offer a pragmatic approach for fast and sustainable total performance improvement,” Bardis continued. “We are excited to welcome Sg2 to the MedAssets team to augment our capabilities to help healthcare executives determine and successfully act upon future opportunities within dynamic local, regional and national markets.” Compelling Business Combination Sg2 plays a key role in unlocking forecasting analytics and market insight to deliver optimal client value. The combination of Sg2 with MedAssets expands the depth of the company’s performance improvement capabilities. Opportunities for future growth and business extensions include:
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Improved channel access: MedAssets offers existing relationships with more than 4,400 U.S. acute care hospitals to provide a powerful sales and distribution channel for Sg2 SaaS-based software and consulting services.
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Expanded footprint: MedAssets will pursue Sg2 introduction to its base of approximately 1,200 medical product and healthcare service companies that contract with its group purchasing organization. Similar to healthcare providers, those companies stand to benefit from Sg2’s clinical business intelligence and market analytics to help identify growth opportunities.
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Broader data utilization: The addition of proprietary cost, claims reimbursement, and episodeof-care datasets and tools from MedAssets to the Sg2 intelligence and analytics platform promises to create new and innovative business intelligence products for additional client value.
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Complementary business intelligence and consulting practices: Sg2’s market analytics, clinical business intelligence and consulting teams complement MedAssets advisory services capabilities to help providers identify near and long-term actions for both sustainable performance improvement and informed business model direction against the backdrop of the changing healthcare marketplace.
Transaction and Other Details •
MedAssets purchased Sg2 for approximately $142 million (subject to certain purchase price adjustments), which was funded with borrowings under its existing credit facility.
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The Sg2 business is expected to be slightly accretive in calendar 2015 on stand-alone basis, and MedAssets may increase its investment to drive additional long-term growth opportunities.
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Sg2’s full-year 2014 net revenue is expected to be approximately $40 million (excluding any potential write down of deferred revenue resulting from purchase accounting adjustments), of which about 75 percent should be derived from SaaS analytics tools generating highly-recurring subscription fees.
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The company plans to update its fourth quarter and full-year 2014 financial guidance at the time of its third quarter financial report, currently scheduled for Wednesday, October 29, after market close.
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