< + > Bonus Features – April 30, 2023 – 68% of providers say improving patient collections is a high priority, hospital expenses have increased 2x the Medicare IPPS reimbursement rate since 2019, 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 Studies

Compared to other industries, healthcare is leading the way in improving networks to support edge computing, according to the latest AT&T Cybersecurity Insights Report. Budgets for edge computing go into four buckets – strategy, networks, security, and applications – and healthcare is putting nearly one-third of its edge computing spending into networks. While this investment is helping to converge on-premises networks, it does leave less to spend on network security, which is a worrying sign.

Healthcare risk management company Censinet, KLAS Research, and the American Hospital Association (AHA) published their inaugural Healthcare Cybersecurity Benchmarking Study. The study found that organizations are doing well when it comes to email security but face gaps when it comes to medical device security and supply chain risk management. Overall, the study concluded, organizations are still taking a reactive and not a proactive approach to cybersecurity.

Syntellis and the AHA reported that hospital expenses increased 17.5% from 2019 to 2022 – or more than double the rate of increase for Medicare IPPS reimbursement (7.5%). Drug expenses also increased 19.7% over the same time period, Additionally, 74% of hospitals reported an increase in the number of administrative tasks related to health insurance policies, compared to just 2% who reported a decrease.

A CWH Advisors study commissioned by healthcare payment company Sphere found that 68% of provider organizations believe improving patient payment collections is a high priority. Additionally, 71% ranked accelerating cash flow as one of their top three priorities, followed by improving customer service for patients and staff (68%) and offering flexible payment options for patients (50%).

A paper from Southern California FQHC AltaMed Health Services and mPulse Mobile, which makes conversational AI tools for patient engagement, reported a 7% increase in colorectal cancer screening rates when patients received automated text reminders and fotonovelas (in either English or Spanish) educating them about the importance of screening.

Partnerships

• Withings Health Solutions is sponsoring Project Power, a diabetes lifestyle change program from the American Diabetes Association.
• WellDoc partnered with Conifer Health Solutions to launch Conifer Connect, a a personalized digital health application for chronic care.
• Mobile diagnostics company Sprinter Health is partnering with Story Health, a specialty care service provider, on in-home care for patients with heart disease.
• RCM vendor medaptus is collaborating with Fresenius Kabi to offer hospitals financial reimbursement software for infusion services.
• Video and sensor company Iveda is working with Movement Interactive to provide real-time alerts to healthcare workers monitoring residents of long-term care communities.
• Healthcare cybersecurity company Clearwater is using Cyturus for third-party risk management within its its Vendor Risk Management managed services program.

Product and Company News

• Fortified Health Security unveiled Fortified Central Command, consolidating all of its managed security services into a single platform.
• Analytics vendor Komodo Health introduced MapEnhance, a network of specialty data partners.
• Data sharing company Datavant released data connectivity tools suitable for use under GDPR to create pseudonymized data for research.
• Point-of-sale patient payment platform PatientFi launched PRIVI for monthly payments of recurring aesthetic treatments.
• Virtual care and remote monitoring company AvaSure launched its Virtual Nursing application and Care Model.
• Workforce engagement technology vendor Clinician Nexus rolled out its Education Suite and Performance Suite.
• Patient billing platform Inbox Health received a patent for its customized communication technology.
• Medication engagement company Medisafe launched a Custom Branded Solution for pharmaceutical companies developing digital patient journeys.
• A Forrester study commissioned by NETSCOUT reported that its enterprise performance management products reduced the time spent on incident response by 80%.
• Linus Health published two studies demonstrating the effectiveness of digital cognitive assessments to identify early signs of cognitive impairment and dementia. In addition, UMass Chan Medical School is using Linus Health in a pilot to screen for early detection of Alzheimer’s Disease.

Sales

• Colorado-based Quality Medical Clinic is implementing eClinicalWorks PRISMA. In addition, Colorado-based Litchfield Hills Orthopedic Associates is implementing eCW PRISMA, healow, and eBO reporting.
• Central Virginia Family Physicians expanded its use of Navina, an AI tool for decision support and patient engagement in primary care.
• Texas-based Dell Laser Consultants chose ModMed for ophthalmology practice management, analytics, patient engagement, and billing.

Awards

• Rock Health announced its Top 50 in Digital Health for 2022, a list that includes dozens of startup founders, leading venture capitalists and policymakers, and journalists such as CNBC’s Bertha Coombs, TechCrunch’s Natasha Mascarenhas, and Modern Healthcare’s Gabriel Perna.
• DrFirst medication management solution SmartRenewal won Gold in the Edison Awards.

People

• Handheld ultrasound device maker Butterfly Network named Joseph M. DeVivo as President and Chief Executive Officer.
• Enterprise performance management software Syntellis appointed Robert Hendricks as Chief Product Officer.
• Provider data management company Kyruus hired Peter Boumenot as Chief Product Officer.
• RCM vendor Savista hired Warren Jacobson as Vice President of Client Revenue Cycle.

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.