Here are a few
I came across last week.
Note: Each
link is followed by a title and few paragraphs. For the full article click on
the link above title of the article. Note also that full access to some links
may require site registration or subscription payment.
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https://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/most-significant-mergers-and-acquisitions-2021
The most significant mergers and acquisitions of 2021
Some of the
biggest names in healthcare and technology – athenahealth, Allscripts,
Microsoft, Nuance and, of course, Oracle and Cerner – made big news with
big-ticket deals this past year.
By Mike Miliard
December 31,
2021 09:00 AM
It's
been a big year for wheeling and dealing in the healthcare IT space, that much
is for sure. And the biggest of all happened just days before the calendar
flipped over, with Oracle's landmark $28.3 billion acquisition of Cerner.
That
one, naturally, sits atop our list of some of the biggest and boldest M&A
deals of 2021. Be sure to stay tuned in 2022 as we continue to explore what its
ripple effects will be for those companies and their customers.
1. Oracle acquires Cerner
The
Wall Street Journal first had the scoop, the weekend before, noting that a big
acquisition might be in the offing and that the the sheer size of the deal
would be Oracle's biggest buy ever – triple the size of its 2005 PeopleSoft
deal.
When
it was officially announced the following Monday, leaders from the
two companies touted their combined ability to "provide our overworked
medical professionals with a new generation of easier-to-use digital tools that
enable access to information via a hands-free voice interface to secure cloud
applications," according to Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison said, and
enable "connected, high-quality and efficient patient care" (as
Cerner CEO Dr. David Feinberg said).
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https://ehrintelligence.com/news/fitch-gives-oracle-negative-rating-following-plans-to-acquire-cerner
Fitch Gives Oracle Negative Rating Following Plans to Acquire Cerner
Fitch
Ratings expressed concern about Oracle’s debt reduction plans after its
announcement to acquire EHR vendor Cerner but noted the benefits of Oracle
expanding into the healthcare industry.
By Victoria Bailey
December 30,
2021 - Following Oracle’s agreement to acquire EHR vendor Cerner, Fitch
Ratings has placed
the corporation on rating watch negative as Fitch’s previous debt reduction
expectations for the transaction have changed.
Oracle
recently announced its plans
to acquire Cerner through an all-cash tender offer of $28.3 billion in
equity. The company said that it hopes to address clinician burden, lower
healthcare costs, and improve patient privacy and outcomes through the
acquisition of the EHR vendor.
However,
Cerner has an outstanding debt of approximately $1.8 billion, according to
Fitch. In 2020, the company generated $5.5 billion in revenue, EBITDA of $1.7
billion, and post dividend free cash flow of $635 million. Oracle’s proposed
acquisition transaction values Cerner at 17.5x EBITDA.
“Fitch's
ratings are supported by the expectation that Oracle will reduce its debt at a
pace aligned with its debt maturities and use its excess cash for shareholder
returns or acquisitions,” Fitch wrote. “The announced agreement to acquire
Cerner could result in the company deviating from its previous plan to reduce
its debt to $76 billion by FY2022.”
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https://healthitsecurity.com/news/hsca-releases-cybersecurity-guidelines-for-medical-device-manufacturers
HSCA Releases Cybersecurity Guidelines for Medical Device Manufacturers
The
Healthcare Supply Chain Association released guidelines for medical device
manufacturers and providers regarding cybersecurity and patient privacy.
By Jill McKeon
December 30,
2021 - The Healthcare Supply Chain Association (HSCA) released
guidance for medical device manufacturers and healthcare providers concerning
cybersecurity and patient privacy practices.
HSCA is a
trade association that represents healthcare group purchasing organizations
(GPOs) across the US with the goal of advocating for fair procurement practices
and education to improve efficiency in the purchase and sale of healthcare
goods and services, its website states.
HSCA’s new
cybersecurity guidance involves four main categories of consideration:
cybersecurity training and software, equipment acquisition standards and risk
coverage, data encryption, and information sharing and standards organizations.
The guidance
provided tips for both healthcare organizations and medical device
manufacturers to identify red flags before doing business with a new vendor or
organization. It is crucial that third-party vendors hold themselves to strict
cybersecurity standards to ensure patient data privacy.
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https://www.healthdatamanagement.com/articles/what-technology-needs-to-achieve-in-healthcare-in-2022
What technology needs to achieve in healthcare in 2022
With hope
that the COVID-19 pandemic will be managed and under control, healthcare
organizations need to play catch-up in making digital progress.
Dec 30 2021
Fred
Bazzoli
For
healthcare, it’s been a challenging two years of bailing out the boat to keep
things afloat. The future still appears challenging and clouded.
But looking
ahead to the end of 2022 (forever the optimist here), what will healthcare
organizations have under control by that point?
Various
advances with technology over the last two years – and hopefully, a path
through the coronavirus forest – will require the industry to catch up on
initiatives that were put on hold or were not the focus of attention.
In addition,
some of the advances made and efficiencies gained through the use of technology
must be built upon. Healthcare was forced to revamp dramatically because of the
pandemic, and the industry can’t afford to backslide on the progress it’s
discovered in some areas.
So where does
healthcare need to be at the end of the New Year? What gains must be made by
December 2022? Here are some thoughts.
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https://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/expert-offers-depth-look-conversational-ai-and-its-vendors
Expert offers in-depth look at conversational AI and its vendors
Manu Aggarwal
of the Everest Group explains how the technology can help both caregivers and
patients, and offers health IT leaders some valuable advice.
By Bill Siwicki
December 30,
2021 01:04 PM
Companies
in a variety of industries are leveraging conversational artificial
intelligence to better serve customers and support employees. Some healthcare
provider organizations are using conversational AI to help caregivers and
patients.
The
technology is being used in healthcare for such things as patient chatbots,
medical triaging and patient support, patient data management and access, and access
to medical services.
Healthcare
IT News recently sat down with Manu Aggarwal, a partner in Everest
Group's business process services practice. Everest Group recently evaluated 20
vendors in the conversational AI field and classified them as leaders, major
contenders and aspirants in the firm's PEAK Matrix framework.
Here,
Aggarwal explains the workings of conversational AI and reveals some of the
findings of his firm's vendor evaluation.
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https://www.healthleadersmedia.com/technology/survey-finds-healthcare-execs-bullish-ai
Survey Finds Healthcare Execs Bullish on AI
Analysis
| By Eric Wicklund |
December 30, 2021
Optum's
fourth annual survey on artificial intelligence in healthcare finds that nearly
every executive either has an AI strategy or is planning one, and almost half
are already using AI technology.
A new survey
from health insurer Optum finds that almost half of healthcare executive
respondents are using artificial intelligence, while roughly 85% say they have
a strategy in place.
The Optum Survey on Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Health Care,
the fourth annual installment from the UnitedHealth Group business unit, found
that 98 percent of the 500 senior healthcare industry executives surveyed
either have an AI strategy or are planning one, and 96% believe AI will play an
important role in targeting health equity.
How they’re
using AI is a different matter. Some 72% of respondents say they trust AI to
support administrative processes that would otherwise be handled by clinicians,
thereby allowing providers to spend more time on patients and patient care.
When asked about using AI in clinical care, 41% said they were excited about
the potential for AI in virtual patient care, while 40% saw a future in
diagnoses and predicting outcomes and 36% saw potential in medical image
interpretation.
“This year’s
survey findings continue to validate how the responsible use of AI can help
health systems strengthen and scale essential functions and reduce
administrative burdens, all of which helps clinicians focus on their core
mission of patient care,” Rick Hardy, chief executive officer of Optum Insight,
the data and analytics business within Optum, said
in a press release. “We share their enthusiasm for AI, but more
importantly, we look forward to combining our healthcare expertise with AI to
help people — patients, physicians, and those working behind the scenes — as
that is where the real value is delivered.”
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https://mhealthintelligence.com/news/31-of-older-americans-worry-telehealth-not-as-effective-as-in-person-care
31% of Older Americans Worry Telehealth Not as Effective as In-person Care
Having a
prior relationship with their provider and having the option to exchange emails
or direct messages with them can help alleviate older adults' telehealth
concerns, according to a survey.
By Anuja Vaidya
December 29,
2021 - Close to a third of older Americans remain concerned about the
efficacy of telehealth visits as compared with in-person care, according to
a new poll.
The survey,
conducted by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and
funded by the SCAN Foundation, polled 1,000 adults, aged 50 years and older,
between Nov. 12 and 15.
Though
telehealth use remained popular in 2021 — with 62 percent of respondents
reporting using the care modality in November, up from 56 percent who said the
same in March — older adults cited several concerns with virtual visits.
About 31
percent of respondents said they were worried that receiving care via
telehealth was not as effective as a traditional in-person visit. They also
cited concerns regarding not having a personal relationship with their doctor (29
percent), the security of health information (17 percent) and running into
technical issues (16 percent).
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https://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/cybersecurity-2022-password-less-authentication-zero-trust-blockchain-and-more
Cybersecurity in 2022: password-less authentication, zero trust,
blockchain and more
Manoj
Srivastava, a cybersecurity expert at Kaseya, offers a view ahead at a variety
of security technologies important to the year ahead.
By Bill Siwicki
December 28,
2021 10:00 AM
Nearly
a third of hospitals and health systems are planning to implement biometrics
(29%), digital forensics (28%) or penetration testing (28%) within the next 24
months, according to new HIMSS research. (HIMSS is the parent company of Healthcare
IT News.)
However,
43% say funding is keeping their organizations from executing on security
challenges they have, the research shows. This is not good as healthcare
remains a primary target of cyber criminals.
So
Healthcare
IT News has interviewed a cybersecurity expert to get his views on
where healthcare cybersecurity will be headed in 2022. Manoj Srivastava is
general manager of security, ID Agent and Graphus at Kaseya, a vendor of IT
management software.
Q.
What do you see on the horizon in 2022 when it comes to technological advances
in healthcare cybersecurity?
A. There
are at least three technological advances that will apply to healthcare
cybersecurity and across other industries as well. They are password-less
authentication, secure access service edge (SASE) and zero trust.
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https://www.healthcareittoday.com/2021/12/29/one-possible-model-for-a-vr-based-primary-care-practice/
One Possible Model For A VR-Based Primary Care Practice
December 29, 2021
Anne Zieger
With
Facebook purportedly moving towards being part of the metaverse, a new proposed
3D iteration of the Internet, I’ve been thinking a lot about how such an
environment would impact healthcare delivery.
Given
that over the past two years most of my medical visits have been via
telemedicine anyway, it’s been natural to begin to think about how it would be
if I was completely immersed in virtual environments. My conclusion is that the
right VR environment could quite possibly deliver care more smoothly than
either offline or traditional telemedicine services could.
Below,
I’m going to describe what I would consider to be an ideal setup for virtual
reality-based primary care practice. I’ve deliberately decided not to dig into
existing medical VR environments, but rather just describe what might work best
for me as a patient.
First,
I’d start by checking in with a virtual receptionist, probably an avatar with
advanced AI-driven features. Its capabilities would include the ability to
guess what questions or concerns you have and display related prompts.
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https://www.healthleadersmedia.com/clinical-care/6-clinical-care-trends-2022
6 Clinical Care Trends for 2022
Analysis
| By Christopher
Cheney | December 29, 2021
HealthLeaders
asked one of the top chief medical officers in the country to gauge trends for
clinical care next year.
KEY
TAKEAWAYS
·
Nursing has been a flashpoint for workforce
shortages in 2021, but physician shortages will also likely become acute in
2022.
·
Keeping up with coronavirus variants in 2022
will likely become an exercise in "whack-a-mole" at healthcare
organizations.
·
The growth of artificial intelligence in
healthcare is expected to accelerate in the next year.
Workforce
shortages will be the most significant clinical care trend in 2022, according
to the chief medical and scientific officer of Novant Health.
In addition
to serving as chief medical and scientific officer at Novant, Eric Eskioglu,
MD, is an executive vice president at the Winston-Salem, North Carolina-based
health system. His background also includes practicing as a neurosurgeon and
working as a former aerospace engineer at Allied-Signal Aerospace and Boeing.
In a recent
interview, HealthLeaders asked Eskioglu about the top clinical care trends for
2022. The following is a lightly edited transcript of his comments.
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https://www.healthleadersmedia.com/technology/why-2022-could-be-year-zero-trust-healthcare
Why 2022 Could Be the Year of Zero Trust in Healthcare
Analysis
| By Scott Mace |
December 29, 2021
Network
segmentation, strong authentication, and detecting unusual network behavior can
slow attackers already inside your network
KEY
TAKEAWAYS
·
A May 2021 Presidential Executive Order directed
critical infrastructure providers to adopt the principles of zero trust.
·
A security consultant says healthcare computer
systems definitely fall within the definition of critical infrastructure.
·
Reducing implicit trust zones and minimizing
reliance on older security technology such as traditional VPNs can aid in
threat detection and prevention through methods such as flagging unusual
network user behavior.
After a year
of debilitating ransomware attacks and a presidential order partly in response,
healthcare faces a cybersecurity call to action in 2022: Adopt the principles
of zero trust.
According to NIST Special Publication 800-207, Zero Trust Architecture,
published in August 2020 by the National Institute of Standards and Technology,
zero trust security models assume that an attacker is present in the
environment and that an enterprise-owned environment is no different—or no more
trustworthy—than any non-enterprise-owned environment.
The
importance of zero trust grew in 2021 as President Biden on May 12 signed Executive Order 14028,
“Improving the Nation’s Cybersecurity,” to support US cybersecurity efforts and
protect the critical infrastructure and federal government networks underlying
the economy.
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https://healthitsecurity.com/news/ama-encourages-health-app-developers-to-implement-privacy-by-design
AMA Encourages Health App Developers to Implement “Privacy by Design”
AMA
released guidance for health app developers to help them navigate health data
governance and equitable digital health data collection.
By Jill McKeon
December 28,
2021 - The American Medical Association (AMA) released
a guide on data governance and equitable digital health data collection for
health app developers to reference as they navigate the new age of health data
sharing. The guide supplements AMA’s “Privacy Principles,” which were released
in 2020 to help health app developers understand their role and responsibility
when it comes to patient privacy.
Health app
developers often fall into a regulatory gray area when it comes to data
collection and use. Certain health apps may collect as much sensitive
information as traditional healthcare providers, but they are not bound to
HIPAA.
In September
2021, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) aimed to tackle this problem by
releasing a policy statement affirming that health
apps and connected device companies that collect health information must comply
with the Health Breach Notification Rule.
The policy
statement raised new considerations as to what entities can be defined as
healthcare providers under the rule and what the FTC considers a data breach to
be.
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https://www.healthdatamanagement.com/articles/breast-mri-dataset-aims-to-support-research-machine-learning?id=128977
Breast MRI dataset aims to support research, machine learning
Studies of
922 patients include images and supporting documentation that helps provide a
full picture of diagnosis, treatment and outcomes.
Dec 27 2012
Fred
Bazzoli
Machine
learning and artificial intelligence initiatives are dependent on the quality
and consistency of information fed into advanced computing systems that help them
“learn.”
To do a
better job of advancing this process with breast cancer, a wide range of
imaging and supporting clinical documentation from magnetic resonance imaging
(MRI) studies is being made available to advance understanding of the disease.
A dataset of
922 breast cancer patients treated at Duke Hospital has been made publicly
available for machine learning and clinical research, thanks to The Cancer
Imaging Archive (TCIA), a service that de-identifies and hosts a large archive
of medical images of cancer accessible for public download.
TCIA was
created and originally hosted by Washington University in Saint Louis, but was
relocated in 2015 from the Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology at Washington
University to the Department of Biomedical Informatics at the University of
Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS).
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https://www.healthdatamanagement.com/articles/the-healthcare-crisis-that-technology-cant-solve-too-few-hands-of-care?id=128980
The healthcare crisis that technology can’t solve – too few hands of care
The ongoing
COVID pandemic has pushed nurses, doctors and healthcare providers beyond human
capacity, and everyone will pay the price for years to come.
Dec 27 2021
Fred
Bazzoli
As is
tradition (and the easy way out), it’s not unusual for editors in late December
to pontificate about prognostications for the New Year. Many times, we write
upbeat, hopeful soliloquies that make bold, sometimes crazy, predictions about
the year ahead.
And while
Health Data Management leans to the hopeful side about what technology can
accomplish, that will not be this column.
Instead, I
want to take a moment to reflect on a crisis that is likely to beset the
industry for years, dragging down performance, jeopardizing patient outcomes,
patient care, patient safety and, in worst-case scenarios, could result in
massive care delivery issues and countless, unnecessary deaths.
It is a
problem that no amount of technology can solve; no number of bricks-and-mortar
structures will ameliorate. Artificial intelligence can’t help it, nor can any
magical efficiency gains.
It’s this – a
beaten down, overburdened, overwhelmed workforce facing an overload of
death-dealing sickness that doesn’t have an end in sight.
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https://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/wider-ehi-scope-compliance-tap-2022-onc-offers-clarity
With wider EHI scope compliance on tap for 2022, ONC offers clarity
"There’s
no need to wait until October 6. Anyone ready to share more than the USCDI v1
is welcome and encouraged to do so as permitted under applicable law."
By Mike Miliard
December 23,
2021 10:29 AM
Leaders
from the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT offered some help for
healthcare organizations who will face broader information blocking compliance
in 2022 – specifically with regard to the sharing of electronic health
information, or EHI.
In
a blog post, Kathryn Marchesini and Michael Lipinski offer
providers, certified health IT developers and health information
networks/exchanges some clarity on a deceptively simple question: "So,
what is EHI anyway?"
This
past year, of course, ONC's information blocking regulations took effect
on April 5. But to give those covered entities a phased-in way of
compliance, the info blocking rules covered only a subset of EHI – specifically
information represented by the data elements identified byUnited States Core Data for Interoperability v1.
"A
USCDI data element is the most granular level at which a piece
of data is represented in the USCDI for exchange (e.g., patient date of birth,
medications, or procedure note)," note ONC officials.
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https://www.healthit.gov/buzz-blog/information-blocking/say-hi-to-ehi
Say Hi to EHI
Kathryn
Marchesini and Michael Lipinski | December 20, 2021
ONC’s
information
blocking regulations apply to interferences
with the access, exchange, or use of electronic health
information (EHI) (45
CFR Part 171) and define certain exceptions to the definition of
information blocking. Thus, it’s important that those subject to the
information blocking regulations – health care providers, developers of
certified health IT, and health information networks/exchanges (cumulatively, “actors”)
– understand what health information the regulations cover. So, what is EHI
anyway?
What’s
EHI?
EHI is defined
as electronic
protected health information (ePHI) to the extent that it would be included
in a designated
record set (DRS), regardless of whether the group of records are used or
maintained by or for a covered entity.
The EHI definition incorporates terms (ePHI and DRS) defined by the regulations
(Rules) issued under the Health
Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, as amended (generally
referred herein as HIPAA).
The definition of EHI, however, specifically excludes psychotherapy
notes as defined in the HIPAA Rules and information compiled in
anticipation of legal proceedings, which is consistent with the individual
“right of access” standard in the HIPAA Rules. EHI relies on the electronic
part of what the HIPAA Rules define as the DRS. The use of terms defined by the
HIPAA Rules (“HIPAA-defined terms”) provides familiarity for the health care
industry and consistency across regulations.
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https://www.healthcareittoday.com/2021/12/28/oracle-acquisition-of-cerner-sets-stage-for-more-big-health-it-buyouts/
Oracle Acquisition Of Cerner Sets Stage For More Big Health IT Buyouts
December 28, 2021
Anne Zieger
As
most readers know, Oracle Corp. recently agreed
to acquire EHR giant Cerner for about $28.3 billion. Oracle has stated that
it intends to leverage its existing tools to modernize Cerner’s systems and
move them to its Gen2Cloud, a step which shouldn’t be too difficult given that
Cerner already runs its key clinical system on an Oracle database.
This
is reportedly the biggest acquisition in Oracle’s history and probably the
biggest healthcare IT buyout by a tech giant on record as well.
The
deal follows a couple of smaller but also significant healthcare acquisitions,
including Amazon’s $753 million purchase
of online pharmacy PillPack in 2019 and Microsoft’s $19.7 billion acquisition
of Nuance Communications earlier this year.
I’m
not surprised that Amazon was the first Big Tech player to see that it couldn’t
outflank its way into the healthcare business. Amazon has proven time and again
throughout its history that when it’s ready to dig into a market, it buys its
way in. (The e-tailer’s acquisition of Whole Foods is just one example.)
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https://healthitanalytics.com/news/artificial-intelligencecollaborationaimstoimprove-alzheimers-care
Artificial Intelligence Collaboration Aims To Improve
Alzheimer’s Care
By leveraging data on
artificial intelligence, consumer informatics, and aging, the University
of Pennsylvania’s Collaboratory will aim to improve Alzheimer’s
care.
By Erin McNemar, MPA
December 27,
2021 - The University of Pennsylvania’s School of Nursing, the Perelman
School of Medicine, and other departments across the university are working
together to create the Penn Artificial Intelligence and Technology
Collaboratory for Healthy Aging (PennAITech).
PennAITech will
explore the use of artificial intelligence and other technologies to
improve in-home care for older adults with Alzheimer’s disease. According to
the research team, the collaboration will leverage extensive
data and expertise in artificial intelligence, consumer informatics, and
aging.
The collaboration is
being led by George Demiris, PhD, FACMI; Jason Karlawish,
MD; and Jason Moore, PhD, FACMI.
“Aging in
place is a priority for most older Americans. This goal can be challenged by
chronic illness including
Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. We need
innovative solutions that will help us detect risks, address disparities,
support decision- making and improve access to
care,” DemirisI said in a press
release.
-----
https://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/roundup-multiple-healthcare-orgs-report-cyber-attacks
Roundup: Multiple healthcare orgs report cyber attacks
CompuGroup
Medical worked to get internal systems back online after a ransomware attack,
while healthcare providers in West Virginia and Texas notified hundreds of
thousands of individuals about information breaches.
By Kat Jercich
December 27,
2021 08:13 AM
CompuGroup
Medical, a medical software vendor, reported that it had been hit with a
ransomware attack leading to what the company described as a "technical
failure."
In
a notice posted to its website on December 20 at 4:50 p.m. Eastern Time, the
company said that the attack affected the availability of some internal
services, such as email and phones.
At that point, CompuGroup said it had no indication the
attack had impacted customer systems or data – a point it reiterated in a post
the next day.
By
December 22 at 2:30 p.m. Eastern time, the company said it had made progress in
remediating disruptions to services. Over the course of the day, said
CompuGroup, it had been able to set up emergency telephone numbers and
replacement email addresses for customer support purposes.
-----
https://www.politico.com/news/2021/12/25/national-patient-ids-privacy-526096
Idea of national patient IDs revives privacy fight
Its ultimate
fate is still tied to uncertainties surrounding the appropriations process and
an overdue report on the benefits and risks from HHS’ health information tech
office.
By BEN LEONARD
12/25/2021
07:00 AM EST
Advocates of
unique IDs to match patients to their health records may be close to lifting a
decadeslong congressional ban on using federal funds to develop the system.
The effort,
long mired in broader debates over patient privacy, gained steam this fall when
the Senate for the first time left the ban out of a fiscal 2022 spending
package. But its ultimate fate is still tied to uncertainties surrounding the
appropriations process and an overdue report on the benefits and risks from the
Department of Health and Human Services' health information technology office
that could influence the system's design.
“Whenever you
propose anything that sort of resembles national ID, then what happens is that
the ACLU will jump down your throat from the left and then the Red Dawn people
jump down your throat from ... the Libertarian right,” said Rep. Bill Foster
(D-Ill.), who has led efforts to drop the ban with Rep. Mike Kelly (R-Pa.). The
two lawmakers last month urged HHS’ health IT agency to publish its
report, which was due a year ago.
The ID is a
number that health providers would use to match and manage patient information
and, for example, help distinguish patients with the same name. Unique
identifiers have been billed as a way to reduce clinical mix-ups and improve
patient safety and data sharing, while fortifying a patchwork medical privacy
system. The United States is an outlier among developed countries in not having
a universal patient identifier, experts say.
-----
Enjoy!
David.
