April News in Review

A look back at the news this month that we have reported on. These are our recurring reports that highlight and focus on the important areas of the health IT industry. If you have news you would like us to report email to me at roberta@hitechanswers.com. Thanks for reading and listening!

Most Played Episode

The Incrementalist: Lisa Bari, CEO of SHIEC
Host Dr. Nick van Terheyden aka Dr. Nick welcomes Lisa Bari, CEO of SHIEC, to discuss how COVID19 has amplified the need for HIE’s. How states with good HIE’s were able to stand up resources for the pandemic faster. And how HIEs are helping improve distribution of health resources to match needs and fight inequity.

Follow and join the conversation with #TheIncrementalist.

Health IT Business News

Our bi-weekly business report featuring financial, contract, acquisition, collaboration, product, and company achievement news in health IT.

This month, Sphere joins with Raintree Systems to enable integrated payments for practices, J2 Global announces plan to separate into two leading publicly traded companies, and Strive Health partners with NextGate to support whole-patient kidney care.

Telemedicine 2021

Our bi-weekly report on the hottest topic in health IT – Telehealth. The report highlights industry, product, State, and company achievement news along with suggested reading and a pick from our HealthcareNOW Radio channel podcast episodes all on the most current happenings in telehealth.

This month Evernorth completes acquisition of MDLIVE to expand access to virtual care, GlobalMed introduces the TotalExam® Lite, the next generation of digital general exam cameras and otoscopes for telemedicine and more.

Monday Morning Rounds with CMS

Our bi-weekly report of accumulated CMS communication from their newsroom.

This month, we are following the Senate Finance Committee confirmation hearings for Biden’s pick for the next CMS Administrator, Chiquita Brooks-Lasure. According to the Washington Post, “If confirmed by the Senate, she’ll be the agency’s first leader with specific expertise in all three of its biggest programs: Medicare, Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act.”

State HIE News and Updates

This monthly report checks in on our State Health Information Organizations. State HIEs come in all shapes and sizes but have one thing in common: To improve the quality, safety and efficiency of health care delivered in their states.

This month SYNCRONYS leverages Orion Health to launch next-generation Health Information Exchange in New Mexico, Sutter-Yuba Behavioral Health joins SVMS, HealthInfoNet’s HIE Solutions to the CMS e-Notification CoP Rule and more.

HIE Rundown

This monthly report keeps an eye on the industry’s progress on health data interoperability. News from vendors and national organizations, along with suggested reading and a pick from our HealthcareNOW Radio channel podcast episodes for listening.

This month, EHNAC and UDAP.org offer a roadmap for interoperability requirements with the launch of TDRAAP Star Level Glide Path, AHIMA helps prepare health information professionals for the Information Blocking Final Rule, and Innovation Care Partners selects VirtualHealth for care management.

What’s Happening at the ONC

The Office of the National Coordinator is an agency of HHS to support the adoption of health IT and the promotion of nationwide health information exchange to improve health care. This monthly report keeps you up to date on what they are up to.

This month, ICYMI: Annual Meeting Recap – either read the blog or watch the sessions you might have missed. There are also 4 new fact sheets to help demystify the FHIR® API and new revised Information Blocking FAQs.

Revenue Cycle and Payer News

This monthly report includes the latest news being reported on payers and the health insurance industry.

This month Anthem, Inc. to acquire myNEXUS, Home Health Benefits Manager, Cigna + Oscar expands small businesses’ access to affordable health plans in California, Cigna launches COVID vaccine transportation for its Medicare Advantage Customers and more.

Sorting out AI, ML, DL, and NLP

Another hot topic in health IT – Artificial Intelligence. This monthly report brings you news and resources along with suggested reading and a pick from our HealthcareNOW Radio channel podcast episodes for listening.

This month tune in to one of our newest podcasts, Tell Me Where IT Hurts, where host Dr. Jay Anders interviews Tim O’Connell, MD and CEO and founder of Emtelligent, a deep-learning-based medical natural language processing company. Together they discuss the differences between AI and NLP, along with NLP’s role in health technology now and in the future.

Health IT Marketing

Our Director of Marketing, Carol Flagg brings you this monthly report answering these questions. What makes marketing in the health IT space unique? Who are the movers and shakers? What’s working, what’s trending? Where can you learn more?

This month, read KNB Communications article, 4 Ways Healthcare Marketers Can Tackle Zoom Fatigue, Colin Hung’s take on Hire for Marketing or Healthcare Experience? & Brafton’s How To Build a Modern Marketing Team.

NursesNOW

Looking to keep your finger on the pulse of the nursing industry? Check out our monthly report on top nursing news stories from around the globe.

This month IntelyCare recognized with the best places to work in Boston 2021 Award, ANA applauds efforts to vaccinate millions of Americans against COVID-19, 45 best gifts for nurses and nursing students 2021 and more.

Talent Tuesday

If it is Tuesday we are talking about our industry’s talent. This bi-weekly report features new hires, who is hiring, and tips for the experts.

This month, check out all of the latest health IT hires and appointments and read up on the Healthcare Jobs Report and Outlook by Clarke Caniff Strategic Search.

PHARMA Updates

With new developments and discoveries happening around coronavirus every day we’ve rounded up some of the latest news and announcements pertaining the pharmaceutical industry in this bi-weekly report.

This month AdhereHealth launches High-Risk Patient COVID-19 Vaccine Accelerator for the underserved, largest U.S. Mobile Mass Vaccinator hires Axia Public Relations, Alveo Technologies’ be.well COVID-19 Test wins XPRIZE Rapid Covid Testing Competition and more.

Product News

Research says the US Health Care Information Technology market was evaluated at $61,018 million in 2017, and is estimated to reach $149,178 million by 2025. This bi-weekly report highlights new and updated health IT products.

This month HealthPoint Plus releases its StepUp HomeLab diagnostic kit to its members, RxInform from DrFirst now available in the Epic App Orchard, AccentCare deploys the Jvion CORE™ to prevent avoidable readmissions and more.

Trending White Paper

This month our most popular download resource was Remote Care Enters the Mainstream in 2021 by Vivify Health.

Physicians and patients aren’t the only ones with a growing interest in telehealth/RPM. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is increasingly recognizing its benefits and is changing its regulations accordingly – which is the subject of this eBook.