Telehealth vendor Hims & Hers goes public in blank check deal

It's the latest in a string of big deals in the virtual care industry as Wall Street continues to warm to digital health amid COVID-19. The merger values the three-year-old company at about $1.6 billion.

By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • Oct. 1, 2020

HHS launching effort to better track office-based EHR use

Office-based physicians' responses to surveys tracking health IT utilization have been waning. A new partnership with the American Board of Family Medicine is meant to revitalize data collection to inform future rulemaking.

By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • Sept. 30, 2020

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Interoperability

Interoperability is a long term-challenge for the healthcare industry, but the Trump administration has big ambitions to improve data sharing and patient access — even though its plans so far have few details.

By Healthcare Dive staff

Digital health poised for record Q3, with fast growth in mental, women's health investment

As COVID-19 continues to spur interest, funding in the sector could bypass $8 billion by the third quarter's close this week. That would be up from $5.8 billion in the second, according to experts at CB Insights' conference.

By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • Sept. 29, 2020

UHS confirms Sunday ransomware attack, some 250 hospitals still affected

The for-profit operator confirmed reports malware was behind a massive system outage that affected its entire U.S. operations, including more than 250 hospitals that continue to use paper documentation.

By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • Updated Oct. 2, 2020

Trump administration may push back interoperability rules, again: Rucker

HHS is "looking at needed changes" to deadlines for its information blocking rules, ONC head Don Rucker said last week. His comments followed a rule quietly sent to OMB with a title implying extension of certain compliance dates.

By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • Sept. 28, 2020

FDA launches years-in-the-making digital health center

The center's focus areas will include the Pre-Cert program, AI and machine learning in software as a medical device, as well as cybersecurity and wireless medical devices.

By Susan Kelly • Sept. 24, 2020

Quest, Walmart pilot drone delivery of COVID-19 tests

The same-day service being tested in Las Vegas will use drones to drop at-home collection testing kits on driveways, front sidewalks and backyards.

By Nick Paul Taylor • Sept. 24, 2020

Sam's Club, 98point6 to sell telehealth slightly pricier than vendor's DTC product

Walmart's retail warehouse club said its subscription was a bit more expensive because members can purchase it quarterly instead of annually, and it includes pediatric care.

By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • Sept. 22, 2020

Microsoft Teams integrates with EHRs for provider telehealth

Epic will be the first EHR to offer Teams in its portal, with support for other systems "coming soon," Microsoft said.

By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • Sept. 22, 2020

Georgia practice to pay $1.5M after hacker accessed thousands of patient records

The group calling itself The Dark Overlord used a vendor's credentials and attempted to sell the data, including medical procedures and other personal information, online.

By Shannon Muchmore • Sept. 22, 2020

In COVID-19's wake, hospitals look to hybrid model with in-person, virtual care on equal footing

Comments throughout the AHA conference reflected a clear agreement that not only is telehealth here to stay, but it's also going to be at the heart of care delivery going forward.

By Shannon Muchmore • Sept. 17, 2020

Fewer than half of healthcare institutions met national cybersecurity standards last year

NIST standards for managing and protecting businesses against cyber attacks include five key tenets: identify, protect, detect, respond and recover. CynergisTek found declines among its clients in all but one of those in 2019.

By Hailey Mensik • Sept. 17, 2020

Google-backed Amwell prices upsize IPO above range at $18

Before its NYSE debut on Thursday, Amwell increased the price and number of shares, locking in the Boston-based telehealth vendor's valuation at nearly $4.1 billion.

By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • Sept. 17, 2020

Medical services costs for telehealth could swell to $106B by 2023, vendor predicts

Doximity's report estimates about 20% of all medical visits will be conducted virtually this year, and found particular interest in virtual care from the chronically ill population.

By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • Sept. 17, 2020

OCR settles with 5 more providers on HIPAA right of access violations

Three of the providers failed to give the patient medical records access until after a second complaint to the HHS Office of Civil Rights was submitted and validated.

By Shannon Muchmore • Sept. 16, 2020

In deal with Apple, CVS clients get temporary access to new fitness feature

CVS CEO Larry Merlo also gave an update at Morgan Stanley's annual healthcare conference on its conversion of retail locations to HealthHUBs.

By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • Sept. 16, 2020

Centene added 1.1M members since March amid COVID-19 job losses

The payer also announced a partnership with Samsung to give 13,000 smartphones to patients in rural and underserved areas to help increase access to virtual care.

By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • Sept. 15, 2020

Fitbit receives FDA clearance for ECG app

The wearables giant has trailed rivals in product development and approval in the heart rhythm tracking arena. The nod brings it up to speed with Apple and Samsung.

By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • Sept. 14, 2020

Targeted cyberattacks on telehealth vendors skyrocketed along with adoption, report finds

A new analysis from SecurityScorecard and DarkOwl found security alerts at telehealth vendors during COVID-19 jumped 30% compared to pre-pandemic levels.

By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • Sept. 10, 2020

MedPAC commissioners hint at telehealth policies that may stick post-COVID-19

"Pandora's box is open," Commissioner Susan Thompson, interim CEO of UnityPoint Health, said Friday, urging the group to embrace the moment.

By Samantha Liss • Sept. 8, 2020

HHS issues plan to improve rural health, leaning on telehealth

But the Trump administration's lengthy plan falls short of a complete overhaul, citing relatively small funding increases and a fair amount of initiatives already in place.

By Ron Shinkman • Sept. 4, 2020

Telehealth claims dipped second month in a row in June: Fair Health

Though virtual care use remains extremely high compared to 2019, claim lines fell 21% from May to June as states began to allow in-person care once again.

By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • Sept. 3, 2020

Apple, Google take front seat on apps in new COVID-19 exposure notifications tech

The move is almost certain to exacerbate privacy concerns around the venture as the tech giants take point on creating the exposure notification apps themselves: previously under the purview of public health authorities.

By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • Sept. 1, 2020

Long-term virtual care plans evade providers, small executive survey finds

Remote patient monitoring is still a work in progress for most — only four of the 19 executives surveyed by Klas said their organizations currently have a working program.

By Hailey Mensik • Aug. 31, 2020

Health's new future for technology

Healthcare leaders are facing a new future, and the importance of technology has never been more apparent. Respond by focusing on six key areas.

By Chris D'hondt, Andy Thompson, Jenica McHugh & Dan Dugas • Aug. 28, 2020