UnitedHealthcare, AMA partner to launch new diagnostic coding for social determinants of health

UnitedHealthcare is teaming up with the American Medical Association to grow its work using diagnostic codes for the social determinants of health. The two organizations will work together to launch about two dozen new ICD-10 codes that will be used to refer patients to social and government supports that can meet their non-clinical needs, UHC and AMA announced Tuesday. The codes will use a mix of traditional clinical data and patients’ self-reported information, according to the announcement. “UnitedHealthcare and the AMA share a common goal of expanding the healthcare system’s perspective to consider the whole person—not just medical care—by placing as much emphasis on people’s social needs as their clinical needs,” Bill Hagan, president of clinical services at UHC, said in the announcement.

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Home Care Delivered, Inc. Completes Acquisition of Medline Industries, LP's DMEPOS Supplier Business Unit

PR Newswire | October 17, 2023

Home Care Delivered, Inc. a leader in providing medical supplies including diabetes/CGM, incontinence, wound, urological, and ostomy products, is excited to announce the successful acquisition of Medline Industries, LP's DMEPOS supplier business unit. This strategic move will significantly enhance HCD's market presence, expand its geographical footprint, and provide access to a broader customer base while reinforcing relationships with patients, healthcare plans and providers, and manufacturers. "The transaction represents a major milestone for HCD by leveraging over 25 years of distinguished expertise in medical supplies," said Gordy Fox, founder and chief executive officer of HCD. "This acquisition aligns with our commitment to delivering personalized and compassionate customer experiences while leveraging Medline's DMEPOS supplier assets, and continuing to provide our industry expertise and best-in-class customer service." said Brad Mariam, executive vice president, Medline. With the transition of Medline's DMEPOS supplier assets to HCD, a company that shares in our commitment to exceptional service and patient care, Medline will continue to focus on its core role as an industry leader in the manufacturing and distribution of quality medical supplies. [Source: PR Newswire] "By integrating Medline's DMEPOS supplier assets, we are accelerating our growth strategy, delivering an avenue for expanded cost-efficiencies and member adherence," said Lowell Price, senior vice president of business development and chief growth officer of HCD. "This strategic move aligns with our commitment to delivering superior customer service, additional product offerings and ensuring reliable delivery to our members. HCD is well-positioned to continue to elevate customer experiences and reinforce our market presence." About Home Care Delivered, Inc. Home Care Delivered is a leading direct-to-consumer provider of insurance-covered medical supplies of diabetes testing, incontinence, urology, ostomy and wound care supplies delivered directly to the patient's home. Founded in 1996 and headquartered in Glen Allen, Virginia, Home Care Delivered is dedicated to providing best-in-class customer support and quality supplies for patients and caregivers nationwide.

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Healthcare Analytics

AirLife Completes Acquisition of Avanos Medical’s Respiratory Health Business

Business Wire | October 04, 2023

AirLife, a leading North American manufacturer and distributor of consumable medical devices for anesthesia and respiratory care formerly known as SunMed, today announced the completion of its acquisition of Avanos Medical, Inc.’s (NYSE: AVNS) (“Avanos”) respiratory health business, including the BALLARD*, MICROCUFF* and endOclear® product lines. The acquisition adds three complementary brands, the R&D expertise behind them and two manufacturing facilities into AirLife’s growing platform. The transaction advances AirLife’s strategy to enhance its leading portfolio of the most trusted products in anesthesia and respiratory care and serve even more customers as a one-stop source for the highest-quality consumable breathing solutions that support the best patient outcomes. “We’re thrilled to complete this exciting milestone in AirLife’s evolution as we strengthen our leadership as a premier, completely dedicated consumable breathing products company,” said Hank Struik, AirLife CEO. We are especially pleased to welcome the exceptional team that has driven the success of these market leading brands to our company. As some of the most trusted closed suction and endotracheal consumables used to treat patients in critical care, this addition to AirLife unlocks new opportunities to accelerate our growth, serve more healthcare practitioners and drive innovation across our comprehensive portfolio of leading brands. [Source – Business Wire] Goodwin Procter LLP is acting as legal counsel to AirLife. About AirLife AirLife, formerly known as SunMed and headquartered in Grand Rapids, Michigan with manufacturing and distribution sites in the United States, Mexico, China and Europe, is a leading medical device manufacturer, offering one of the most comprehensive portfolios of consumable anesthesia and respiratory care products. AirLife’s product portfolio spans the continuum of care from first responders to hospitals and home care, with safety, patient comfort and clinical performance in mind. AirLife’s comprehensive portfolio of trusted anesthesia products and respiratory care include premier brands such as Salter Labs®, Ethox Medical™, Ventlab™, Westmed™, AirLife™ and Vital Signs™. Currently, AirLife has over 1 million square feet of manufacturing space, providing comprehensive expertise in all plastics materials and conversion—supported by a world-class Quality Management System. Frazier Healthcare Partners, a leading healthcare investment firm, acquired a majority ownership stake in AirLife in 2021.

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Healthcare Analytics

Weave Introduces AI-Driven Voicemail Transcriptions for Healthcare Providers

Business Wire | October 31, 2023

Weave a leading all-in-one experience platform for small and medium-sized healthcare practices, today announces the addition of AI-driven voicemail transcriptions to its platform. Now available to Weave’s 27,000+ customers, Voicemail Transcription automatically transcribes voicemails from patients allowing for efficient, visible, and private reading experiences. With this update, users will now see the voicemail transcription when they click on the Voicemail tab within their Desktop Application or within the mobile app, improving overall user experience by making it faster to consume messages without having to listen to the audio, which can often be difficult in busy settings. said Branden Neish, Chief Product and Technology Officer at Weave. AI has exploded in popularity over the past year, and we’re taking steps to ensure Weave is delivering state of the art offerings that empower our customers to enhance patient experiences and deliver top of the line care. AI will only continue to grow in popularity and daily use, which will have a transformative impact on the future of the healthcare industry. Weave customers that have already implemented AI into their practices claim they save an average of an hour a day with the technology. [Source:Business Wire] In a new customer and consumer report conducted by Weave, the company found that patients are accepting of AI in healthcare settings and they see it leading to enhanced care and patient experiences. In fact, the majority of consumers (65%) are open to providers using AI tools in their practices. The report also found that consumers and providers are aligned with how they think AI will impact the healthcare industry, with two in three consumers (67%) and 3 in 4 (75%) healthcare providers believing that AI is likely to become a prevalent tool in healthcare. "Artificial Intelligence is the catalyst for a new era in healthcare,” says Dr. Matt Nejad, DDS of Beverly Hills, CA. “Weave's AI-enabled voicemail transcripts are a leap in this direction, providing automation and actionable insights that empower providers to focus on what truly matters: patient care." This announcement follows months of AI-driven activity from Weave to enhance features that allow healthcare providers to deliver quality care and improve patient experiences, including Email Assistant and Response Assistant. About Weave Weave is a leading all-in-one customer experience platform for small- and medium-sized healthcare businesses. From the first phone call to the final invoice and every touchpoint in between, Weave connects the entire customer journey. Weave’s software solutions transform how local businesses attract, communicate with and engage customers to grow their business. In the past year, Weave has been named a G2 leader in Patient Engagement, Optometry, Dental Practice Management and Patient Relationship Management software.

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Health Technology

Verily Introduces Viewpoint Workbench to Boost Biomedical Research

Verily | October 09, 2023

Verily, an Alphabet subsidiary focused on precision health technology, has unveiled Viewpoint Workbench, a new enterprise-grade platform created to consolidate multimodal data and expedite biomedical research. Workbench offers a secure collaborative setting for data generators, researchers, and biopharmaceutical organizations to oversee and analyze their data. This platform is a component of Verily Viewpoint, a comprehensive suite of solutions that enable the generation of evidence necessary for expediting the availability of safe and effective therapies to individuals in need. Scott Burke, Chief Technology Officer, Verily, said, Researchers are gathering more data of more types than ever, but it is challenging to effectively store, access, and analyze it while complying with data governance mandates. [Source – Business Wire] Scott Burke added that Workbench can adapt to any organization and helps researchers use data to advance scientific understanding. Workbench integrates technology and optimal methodologies honed over several years of constructing data infrastructure for extensive research undertakings, including National Institutes of Health's All of Us Research Program, Accelerating Medicines Partnership Parkinson's Disease (AMP PD) program, and Project Baseline Health Study. Dr. James Lu, MD, Ph.D., CEO and Co-Founder of Helix, emphasized the importance of a platform that can effectively integrate multiple data layers to advance their work significantly. He expressed enthusiasm about integrating Verily's Workbench, which will facilitate collaborative research and yield more informed insights. Additionally, Manish Raisinghani, MBBS, Ph.D., President and CEO of Target ALS, stressed the need to maintain momentum in accelerating ALS drug discovery. He mentioned that Workbench aligns with their ambitious initiative to create a comprehensive biosample and dataset collection for ALS and to provide unrestricted access to scientists worldwide, thus promoting progress in their research endeavors. Workbench enables secure collaboration among data generators, research sponsors, and biomedical researchers. Users can analyze multimodal data, ensure data governance through access control, and engage with a growing network of researchers to advance scientific progress and promote reproducible research. About Verily Verily, an Alphabet health technology company, specializes in research, healthcare delivery, and health financing. Its mission is to advance precision health and promote healthier lives by operating at the intersection of technology, data science, and healthcare. The company develops tools to accelerate evidence generation, creates products for more personalized care, and introduces approaches to enhance cost predictability.

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