Patients who reside in neighborhoods with low socioeconomic status have higher rates of hospital readmissions, even after adjusting for individual socioeconomic status and other factors, according to a study in the journal Circulation Outcomes, providing further evidence of how flawed CMS' readmission penalty program is.
Mednax, a national practice management company focusing on pediatrics, is acquiring MedData, a vendor of revenue cycle management systems and services.
GetWellNetwork, a vendor of patient engagement software, has acquired Marbella Technologies, which offers software to help providers capture patient feedback.
Private equity firm GTCR has acquired XIFIN, which provides cloud-based software and connectivity for diagnostic labs. The name is about as opaque as the business description.
The market for systems and services to order drugs and manage medication therapies will grow to $1.6 billion by 2019, according to Markets and Markets.
Validic has gotten an additional $5 million for its business of aggregating health data from various sources, including wearables and personal medical records.
In a very important development for telemedicine, the Federation of State Medical Boards is working on a multi-state licensure compact for doctors that would avoid the current hassles for physicians who see patients remotely in multiple states.
This is not, I repeat, not a joke. A company called Beam Technologies has raised $5 million for its "smart" toothbrush, which apparently has an IQ higher than the people making this investment. The toothbrush can help users track their dental hygienie.
Tract Manager, a provider of contract management services for health systems, is buying MDBuyline, which offers purchasing assistance to the same market.
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.