< + > Bonus Features – March 5, 2023 – Two-thirds of patients connect with regular docs when they need medical care when traveling, half of clinical workflow automation users plan to expand their use, and more

Welcome to the weekly edition of Healthcare IT Today Bonus Features. This article will be a weekly roundup of interesting stories, product announcements, new hires, partnerships, research studies, awards, sales, and more. Because there’s so much happening out there in healthcare IT we aren’t able to cover in our full articles, we still want to make sure you’re informed of all the latest news, announcements, and stories happening to help you better do your job.

News and Research

With the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency due to end on May 11, the Drug Enforcement Administration has proposed restrictions on the remote prescription of controlled substances, with only buprenorphine and Schedule III-V non-narcotic controlled medications available via telemedicine, and available only in 30-day supplies. The American Telemedicine Association called the proposed rule “overly prescriptive” and said it would adversely impact continuity of care.

Virtual care provider KeyCare found that 68% of patients who needed urgent care when traveling used telehealth to connect with their regular care team. Convenience was the top factor influencing the decision, followed by the ability to connect with familiar physicians.

A survey from Nest Collaborative concluded that parents prefer virtual care for lactation services, with 64% of survey respondents using telehealth (either on its own or in conjunction with in-person visits) compared to 37% who exclusively used in-person services.

Keypoint Intelligence and RevSpring found that 87% of patients say it’s important that their providers use their preferred communication channels, and the majority say they’re likely to switch providers because of poor communication.

Becker’s Healthcare and OmniLife Health reported that 30% of health systems and transplant centers use clinical workflow automation, and 48% of those organizations plan to expand its use.

Partnerships

• Google selected eClinicalWorks for the Chrome Enterprise Recommended Program.
• The Puerto Rico Health Information Exchange committed to joining Health Gorilla’s anticipated QHIN.
• Digital pathology solution provider Tribun Health has integrated with Canon Medical Informatics‘ Enterprise Imaging Suite.
• Chugai Pharmaceutical and Biofourmis are extending their partnership to develop a tool to objectively measure pain in patients with endometriosis.

Products

• Revenue cycle analytics and automation firm VisiQuate launched Full Score, a machine-learning model for faster cash collection.
• Personalized care company Surgo Health launched as a Public Benefit Corporation.
• Analytics company Reveleer updated its risk adjustment product.
• Cardiac remote monitoring company Implicity released a SMART on FHIR App that reports directly to Epic.
• Clinical data network OM1 expanded its mental health offering to include schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.
• Condition management platform Luscii launched its Certified Medical Developer Program, with the Maidstone & Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust serving as one of the program’s first accreditation cohorts.
• Stratasys expanded its partnership with Ricoh USA to print 3-D medical models on demand.

Sales

• The University of Kansas Health System chose Abridge for AI-powered medical documentation.
• Texas-based Guadalupe Regional Medical Center chose PocketHealth for patient-driven image sharing.
• Care provider for commercial truck drivers Interstate Health Systems selected CareCloud for administrative and financial process automation.
• The GI Quality Improvement Consortium is adopting Health Catalyst Clinical Registry and Reporting.

Awards

• Digital therapeutic company Newel Health received a $2.5 million grant from The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research.
• Experity announced three Limelight Awards at its recent Urgent Care Connect Conference, recognizing leaders at Fast Pace Health, Owl Now Urgent Care, and Mend Urgent Care.
• Higher education virtual care provider TimelyMD was ranked one of the fastest-growing companies in the Southwest by Inc. Magazine.
• Inc. also recognized virtual psychiatric care provider Encounter Health as one of the fastest-growing companies in the Midwest.

People

• Medication engagement vendor Medisafe appointed Stacey Wasserman as Chief Business Officer and Lyndi Hirsch as Senior Vice President of Strategic Marketing; the company also named Lynn O’Connor Vos as Board Chair.
• Revenue cycle service provider RSi named Derek Shaw as Chief Operating Officer and Dustin Spencer as Chief Sales Officer.
• Clinical grade NLP software maker emtelligent named Kim Perry as Chief Growth Officer.
• Brain health software maker Linus Health appointed Leah Ray as Chief Customer Officer.
• Collaboration platform PointClickCare named Leslie Campbell to its Board of Directors.
• Enterprise medical imaging company Intelerad Medical Systems appointed Robert Petrocelli as Chief Technology Officer.
• HIE framework Carequality Executive Director Alan Swenson made the Utah Business list of 40 Under 40 award winners.

If you have news that you’d like us to consider for a future edition of Healthcare IT Today Bonus Features, please submit them on this page. Please include any relevant links and let us know if news is under embargo.