| | | |   | Good morning, health tech readers! I’ve got a couple industry tidbits, reflections on the risks of health data sharing, and some evidence suggesting that providers really like telehealth for treating opioid use disorder. As always, I welcome your tips and comments. | | | Providers organizations are still investing in software — despite economic uncertainty Macroeconomic uncertainty has pushed health tech companies to rein in projections, especially when they’re unsure customers — including employers and insurers — will adopt new contracts. But a report from KLAS Research and Bain suggests that health care organizations are still spending on software — and about 45% of them increased their software investments over the past year. Providers are particularly interested in revenue cycle management, patient intake, and cybersecurity products, though they’re also streamlining their technology and often opting for add-ons to existing software instead of jumping into contracts with new vendors. “Against this backdrop, vendors face growing competition from large electronic medical record (EMR) incumbents pursuing product adjacencies, big tech, and innovative venture capital–funded start-ups,” the authors wrote. Among other takeaways: About 80% of providers say software is among their top five investment priorities, and 95% expect to make new software investments in the next year. But a significant chunk may revise down their IT spend: About 30% say they’ll spend less in the face of economic uncertainty than they would in years with more favorable market conditions. | More on the benefits — and costs — to patients for sharing health data Last week I highlighted an MIT study that concluded, rather sweepingly, that the benefits of sharing one’s de-identified health data to improve health care for others outweigh the risks of re-identification — based on the lack of media reports mentioning re-identified data. I asked for your thoughts. Former Office for Civil Rights investigator Andrew Mahler, who currently heads privacy and compliance at CynergisTek, noted that sharing de-identified data could still pose a risk because there’s no single standard for de-identification. “Simply stating that a data set is ‘de-identified’ does not inherently mean that the data has been properly de-identified and risks to an individual’s privacy are minimal,” Mahler said. “In our assessments of providers and plans, we often discover that researchers and their staff are not fully or properly de-identifying data due to lack of training and engagement with compliance offices.” While re-identification may not have been widely covered in the media, “a reality is that de-identified data (if not performed properly) can sometimes still lead to exposure of the patient’s medical information,” Mahler warned. A patient with a unique treatment, even if unnamed, might be identifiable by their families or neighbors, for instance. | Doctors support telehealth for opioid use disorder About six out of seven registered doctors who have used telehealth to treat opioid use disorder during the pandemic say they’d support making temporary regulatory flexibilities permanent to allow for more virtual care, finds a Yale survey of about 1,000 doctors published in the American Journal of Managed Care. More than half said virtual care was more effective than they expected, while about one in six found it to be less effective. “Given the increasingly alarming mortality risk, it is critical to consider the accessibility of evidence-based treatment especially relative to that of the unpredictable, illicitly manufactured opioids that are driving overdose fatalities,” author Tamara Beetham said. | Perspectives on the monoclonal antibody treatment for Alzheimer's disease, lecanemab Drugmakers Biogen Inc. (BIIB) and Eisai Co., Ltd. (ESALY) announced that a monoclonal antibody treatment for Alzheimer's disease called lecanemab slows the development of cognitive decline. Tegus was the most efficient way for investors and corporations alike to quickly understand Biogen and Eisai’s perspectives, their pipeline, and where the antibody treatment fits in the treatment landscape. Tegus hosts thousands of 1:1 conversations with top physicians, industry executives, and custom-sourced KOLs, so primary research is just a click away. Learn more with a free Tegus trial. | Remote monitoring pilot shows promise at Ochsner Giving patients devices like digital blood pressure cuffs and blood sugar monitors and then remotely following up when they’re showing abnormalities could meaningfully improve outcomes for Medicaid beneficiaries with high blood pressure and diabetes, finds a pilot study at Louisiana-based Ochsner. (The health system spans several states, including Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.) The study found that almost half of people with hypertension and 60% with type 2 diabetes met their health goals within a few months of participation. But Medicaid coverage for digital programs varies widely depending on the state, so Ochsner said it wanted employers and insurers to pay for these types of services to expand the pilot beyond Louisiana. | Industry tidbits - Eye-screening AI company Eyenuk raised $26 million in a Series A round led by AXA IM Alts.
-
GSK is embarking on a new partnership with precision medicine company Tempus: GSK is putting $70 million toward the collaboration and will get access to medical history and pathology reports linked to genetic data, which the companies say could improve clinical trial enrollment and matching. -
Workplace benefits startup Pasito has raised $3.25 million in seed funding from investors that include Google and Y Combinator. - Meditation app company Calm will make its first foray into more traditional health care with new, condition-specific mental health programs marketed to insurers, providers, and self-insured employers. Users will get access to features designed to make clinician and caregiver communication and medication tracking easier. Calm acquired Ripple Health Group last year to steer its entry into health care more broadly, the company said.
- Direct-to-consumer telehealth company Hims & Hers Health hired Brian O’Shaughnessy, formerly of Google and Skype, as its first chief communications officer. Josh Krueger, formerly of Walmart and Amazon, will lead the company's fulfillment operations.
| What we’re reading -
What the erosion of reproductive rights means for apps geared toward women, FierceHealthcare -
Slower broadband speed is linked to lower telehealth use, Mobihealthnews | | | Thanks for reading! More on Thursday,  | |
No comments