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Next week will be all about health IT, as technologists the world over will descend on Las Vegas to attend HIMSS 2016. Kicking off February 29, more than 40,000 health IT professionals, clinicians, executives and vendors will be at the show.
We discussed HIMSS on this weeks’ MedHeads, as you can see in the video above. Some thoughts from MedCity News’ Chris Seper, Stephanie Baum and Neil Versel? Salesforce could deliver big news this year. A strong focus on the lack of interoperability would be key. Value-based purchasing could be a hot topic.
With the Rise of AI, What IP Disputes in Healthcare Are Likely to Emerge?
Munck Wilson Mandala Partner Greg Howison shared his perspective on some of the legal ramifications around AI, IP, connected devices and the data they generate, in response to emailed questions.
And why in the world is Peyton Manning speaking at a healthcare conference?
Beyond MedHeads and HIMSS, here are five stories that resonated with our readership this week:
1. New study says single finger-prick tests aren’t necessarily accurate. Is Theranos just out of luck?
The idea for a single finger-prick blood test seems really ideal for diagnostics, but bioengineers at Rice University have shown in a new study that it really isn’t that simple. After taking multiple simple tests, they observed that the samples weren’t identical, specifically with basic health measures like hemoglobin, white blood cell counts and platelet counts.
A Personalized Approach to Medication Nonadherence
At the Abarca Forward conference earlier this year, George Van Antwerp, managing director at Deloitte, discussed how social determinants of health and a personalized member experience can improve medication adherence and health outcomes.
2. Is Practice Fusion for sale? Is athenahealth a suitor?
Citing “multiple sources,” Politico reported Wednesday morning that formerly high-flying ambulatory EHR Practice Fusion is for sale. One of Politico’s unnamed sources said athenahealth is “high on the list of desired suitors.”
San Francisco-based Practice Fusion declined to comment on the substance of the report. “It’s purely speculative at this point,” a company spokesperson said.
3. China’s technology transfer landscape – the new frontier
The first time I asked researchers at one of China’s academic research institutions “What do you think are the challenges to commercializing your discoveries?” I had no idea what to expect. I thought that if the ideas of technology transfer and commercializing academic research were not even on their radar screen, I was in store for a series of very short conversations! I was relieved, therefore, to find that researchers and administrators I met at institutions across China all seemed to have thought about the topic, and all seemed inspired to commercialize. But the experiences they conveyed were very different.
4. Fitbit earnings call emphasizes healthcare applications, collaborations with insurers
Less than one year since its IPO, Fitbit is trying to deepen its penetration into the healthcare ecosystem beyond the health and fitness market. In its 2015 fourth quarter earnings call, CEO and Co founder James Park highlighted collaborations it has with two of the largest health insurers in diabetes and weight management and plans to invest in software that engages users in their health, hinting at its acquisition plans.
5. Zenefits’ slow bleed from sex in the stairwells to investigation by insurance regulators
Health insurance brokerage startupZenefits‘ story has become something of a morality tale of the bad things that can happen when investors buy into a company’s idea and take their eyes off crucial elements. The result has been a company that’s managed to raise more than $580 million, but has gained more notoriety for skirting health insurance regulations than complying with them.
