Physicians Interaction, a provider of mobile information tools for doctors which is controlled by Merck, is acquiring MedHelp, which has mobile capabilities aimed at health consumers.
http://medcitynews.com/2014/06/physicians-interactive-acquires-mobile-health-forum-consolidation-move/?utm_source=MedCity+News+Subscribers&utm_campaign=68b9c132c8-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_c05cce483a-68b9c132c8-67648197ZocDoc, which helps patients find doctors and schedule appointments, has raised an additional $152 million at an apparent valuation of $1.6 billion, with the new funds to be used to expand into wellness for the employer market. Another absurd investment and valuation.
http://medcitynews.com/2014/06/zocdoc-fresh-capital-raise-follows-move-employer-wellness-space/?utm_source=MedCity+News+Subscribers&utm_campaign=68b9c132c8-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_c05cce483a-68b9c132c8-67648197Grand Rounds has raised an additional $40 million to continue development of its platform to help connect patients and specialists.
http://medcitynews.com/2014/06/grand-rounds-collects-another-40-million-connect-5-million-people-top-medical-specialists/?utm_source=MedCity+News+Subscribers&utm_campaign=68b9c132c8-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_c05cce483a-68b9c132c8-67648197An article in the Wall Street Journal, based on data from Innovalon, finds that the new enrollees through the insurance exchanges have much higher rates of chronic and other illnesses than projected, likely explaining the proposed increases in 2015 premium rates in many states for exchange plans.
http://online.wsj.com/articles/sick-drawn-to-new-coverage-in-health-law-plans-1403656445?mod=WSJ_hp_RightTopStoriesSomething very odd is going on with health spending. Today’s significant downward revision to the first quarter GDP number is largely due to a massive rewrite of the contribution from health spending, from a 9% jump to an actual decrease. Who knows what is going on at the BEA, which produces the numbers, but an explanation would be nice.
House was right, patients lie. According to new research, however, they will lie less to a virtual physician. In an experiment reported in the journal Computers in Human Behavior, participants disclosed more fully in an interview they believed was conducted by a computer than one controlled by a human.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0747563214002647West Corporation, a public communications technology and services firm, has purchased Health Advocate for $275 million. Health Advocate provides wellness and care management services.
http://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/blog/health-care/2014/05/health-advocate-acquired-by-nebraska-firm-for-265.htmlA Modern Healthcare analysis of 200 health system financial reports finds a significant narrowing of margins in the last year.
http://www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20140621/MAGAZINE/306219968&utm_source=AltURL&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=am?AllowView=VXQ0UnpwZTVEUGFmL1I3TkErT1lBajNja0U4VURPUmNFQk1HREE9PQ==&mhAbout this Blog
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. Mr. Roche is available to assist health care companies through consulting arrangements through Roche Consulting, LLC and may be reached at khroche@healthy-skeptic.com.