All Posts By

Kevin Roche

The Healthy Skeptic is a website about the health care system, and is written by Kevin Roche, who has many years of experience working in the health industry through Roche Consulting, LLC. Mr. Roche is available to assist health care companies through consulting arrangements and may be reached at khroche@healthy-skeptic.com.

May 23 2017

A study at a single hospital examined whether an intensive bundled payment effort would reduce readmissions for COPD patients.  Despite the intervention, readmission rates were no different for the bundled payment patients, and while there were slight cost savings, they likely were outweighed by the cost of the intervention.

http://www.atsjournals.org/doi/abs/10.1513/AnnalsATS.201610-775BC
May 22 2017

In another large contract research organization merger, INC Research and InVentiv Health will merge, with the combined company worth over $7.4 million.

http://www.fiercebiotech.com/cro/inc-research-and-inventiv-health-merge-another-major-cro-deal?utm_medium=nl&utm_source=internal&mrkid=635530&mkt_tok=eyJpIjoiWlRSa1ltVmhORFF4TmpNeiIsInQiOiJJUkZYWU9cL1wvSmRNeW54V0dGOURlTE11RFFDYWo4bkgwcml0UyswZm1MVGVyN1wvSVVYUkg0cTdtMWtiT2dnUWZmcXF0V2dDSFRoR1BTOE1HU2E4YTc0dkx2b0tPZythT3ZYaFlyS3FER01DdUoxZ1wvTUVhNkVzbkh5Q01kaitNVVYifQ%3D%3D
May 22 2017

According to Truveris, branded drug prices increased over 13% last year, and the company doesn't expect much relieve in coming years.

https://endpts.com/new-study-points-to-a-double-digit-hike-in-branded-drug-prices-spotlighting-a-growing-national-debate/
May 22 2017

EvidenceCare, which gives evidence-based medicine advice to doctors, is seeking, but has not yet raised, $5 million in new funding.

https://evidence.care
May 22 2017

Surgery Partners is acquiring National Surgical Partners for $760 million, resulting in a combined 125 surgical centers.

https://www.pehub.com/2017/05/3452176/
May 22 2017

Express Scripts is buying myMatrixx, a workers' comp PBM.

http://www.mymatrixx.com/mm_news/express-scripts-mymatrixx-combine-offer-best-class-pharmacy-services-workers-compensation-programs/
May 22 2017

HealthReveal pulls back the curtain on an $11.3 million financing round.  The company, yawn, has an analytics platform which does supposed real-time identification of at-risk patients.

http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170512005061/en/HealthReveal-Tops-Series-Funding-Northwell-Ventures
May 22 2017

Large for-profit hospital vendor Steward Health Care gets larger, agreeing to acquire IASIS Healthcare's 18 hospitals.

http://www.beckershospitalreview.com/hospital-transactions-and-valuation/steward-health-care-to-acquire-iasis-healthcare.html
May 22 2017

LogicStream, a vendor of clinical process improvement solutions, garnered additional funds in a new financing round.

https://www.pehub.com/2017/05/logicstream-health-nets-series-b-funds/