IMS Health has acquired Forcea, a European provider of business intelligence and analytics, to boost its performance improvement capabilities for customers.
http://www.imshealth.com/portal/site/imshealth/menuitem.c76283e8bf81e98f53c753c71ad8c22a/?vgnextoid=3265ba03c0bd5410VgnVCM10000076192ca2RCRD&vgnextchannel=5ec1e590cb4dc310VgnVCM100000a48d2ca2RCRD&vgnextfmt=defaultThe latest ChangeHealthcare Healthcare Transparency Index for fourth quarter 2013 reveals continued large variation in provider pricing.
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CarePayment, which helps patients finance the cost of medical bills, has received an additional $100 million in financing.
http://www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20140513/NEWS/305139925?AllowView=VDl3UXk1TzhDL2VCbkJiYkY0M3hlMGFvakVVZENPTT0=&utm_source=link-20140513-NEWS-305139925&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=hits&utm_name=topIn the slightly head-scratching acquisition department, Quintiles, a large contract research and drug and device services firm, is acquiring Encore Health Resources, which consults mostly with providers in regard to EHR implementation and other IT needs. Quintiles says it will improve access to real-world data about drug use.
http://www.quintiles.com/library/press-releases/quintiles-announces-agreement-to-acquire-encore-health-resources/A report from ReviveHealth gives the results of its 8th annual survey of hospital systems regarding their perceptions of payers, which as expected, aren't great.
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SolveBio has raised $2 million to develop its business of collecting and cleaning up genomic data to be used as a reference set for providers and developers.
http://medcitynews.com/2014/05/solvebio-scores-2m-clean-index-genomic-data-developers-can-focus-building-applications/?utm_source=MedCity+News+Subscribers&utm_campaign=82d4ef3360-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_c05cce483a-82d4ef3360-67648197An excellent paper from the Engelberg Center at the Brookings Institute explores determinants of health spending growth, finding a clear link to GDP trends.
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Altarum Institute's March health price report (which tracks only the price component of health spending growth) shows a muted year-over-year increase of only 1.1%, indicating that utilization is the primary cause of the overall 7% spending growth.
http://altarum.org/sites/default/files/uploaded-related-files/CSHS-Price-Brief_May%202014_0.pdfSpeaking of poor research (see today’s Commentary) a study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine finds that Massachusetts’ health reform led to reduced mortality rates, a likely flawed study with untested correlates. The more credible Oregon Medicaid lottery study finds no such effect on mortality.