In the News
COVID-19: The Critical Role of Real-World Evidence Made Real
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the HLTH Matters Blog Series will be interviewing experts from across the health ecosystem to bring timely facts and updates to the HLTH community. A post written by Aetion CEO Carolyn Magill details the role of real-world evidence in the fight against coronavirus. “I’m certain...
Cancer screenings plunge more than 90% due to COVID-19
Electronic health record software provider Epic released data indicating that appointments for cervix, colon, and breast cancer screenings have dropped between 86 percent and 94 percent compared to average volumes in the three years before the confirmation of the first COVID-19 case in the U.S. At the end of April,...
Aetion Urges FDA To Establish Cloud-Based RWE Platform
Aetion has issued a call for the FDA to implement a cloud-based real-world evidence (RWE) platform with robust data governance so that users can do data queries, archiving, access, and aggregation. Such a system, the company says, could help avoid unnecessary data duplication and support concurrent reviews by global...
GRAIL Announces $390 Million Series D Financing
GRAIL announced that it has completed a $390 million Series D financing round. New investors including Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments), Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments), and two undisclosed investors joined existing backers including Illumina in this round of funding....
With contact tracing, don’t let perceptions of big tech be the enemy of the greater good
Experts say the U.S. will need about 300,000 human tracers to chart and break ongoing expansion of the coronavirus pandemic, but we currently only have between 8,000 and 14,000. In a recent Rock Health post, the firm recommends combining a surge in human tracers, digital technologies to capture and share accurate and...
Novartis receives CHMP positive opinion for Enerzair® Breezehaler® (QVM149), a potential first-in-class inhaled LABA/LAMA/ICS combination for uncontrolled asthma
Novartis has announced that the European Medicines Agency (EMA) Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) has adopted a positive opinion recommending the approval of its Enerzair® Breezehaler® as a maintenance treatment of asthma in adult patients not adequately controlled with currently recommended...
‘The world will never be the same’: Healthcare executives say telehealth is here to stay beyond the coronavirus
One benefit of the coronavirus pandemic is the increasing usage of telehealth. The virus has forced an end to many non-urgent medical visits, and doctors are connecting with COVID and non-COVID patients virtually. According to Dr. Roy Schoenberg, CEO of telehealth company Amwell, telehealth has gone from a...
The Benefits and Risks of Telehealth Services
The COVID-19 crisis has brought telehealth to the forefront as a way to screen for the disease and to manage care for high-risk patients with chronic illnesses. In fact, among U.S. adults, two-thirds said COVID-19 has made them more willing to try telehealth options. According to the Telehealth Index: 2019 Physician...
Health Care Payment Reforms and Improved Data Sharing Could Help Contain COVID-19
There is increasing political pressure to “reopen America” and return to normal life as people’s fears about COVID-19 wane—whether that reduction in fear is reasonable or not. But in order to successfully reopen the United States and contain future COVID-19 outbreaks, two things will be needed: more testing and...
UPS to Fly Medications by Drone to Florida Retirement Area
United Parcel Service will use drones operated by its airline, UPS Flight Forward, to fill prescriptions from a local CVS for residents of retirement community The Villages in Florida. Delivery by UPS and its drone technology partner, Matternet, to The Villages, may eventually be expanded to include more CVS stores....
Press Releases
Froedtert and the Medical College of Wisconsin Health Network Expands Digital Health Options for Pregnant Patients with Babyscripts and Xealth
The Froedtert & MCW health network has expanded its digital health offerings to pregnant patients through a new integration between virtual obstetrical care platform Babyscripts and Xealth, a company that enables digital health at scale. This clinical solution is...
The Washington Post Names Aledade a 2020 Top Washington-Area Workplace
Aledade has been named one of The Washington Post’s 2020 Top Workplaces in the Washington, D.C., area. Selection is based solely on employee feedback gathered through an anonymous survey administered by research partner Energage, LLC, which measured several aspects of...
Kyruus Secures $30 Million Investment From Francisco Partners
Kyruus, a leader in provider search and scheduling solutions for health systems, recently announced that it had obtained $30 million in new funding from Francisco Partners, a global technology-focused private equity firm with extensive experience in healthcare IT....
McKesson Appoints Tom Rodgers to Executive Vice President & Chief of Strategy and Business Development Officer
McKesson Corporation announced that Tom Rodgers has been appointed executive vice president and chief strategy and business development officer, effective June 5, 2020. In his new role, Rodgers will also become a member of the company’s Executive Operating Team....
Lightship, Inc. Market Research Confirms Patients’ Interest in Direct-to-Patient Trial Offering Amidst COVID-19 Pandemic
Lightship, a global direct-to-patient clinical trial company, recently announced the results of a nationwide market research survey designed to capture patients’ opinions surrounding clinical trial participation during the COVID-19 pandemic. The results indicated that...