Health IT Business News – September 12, 2019

Financial News

Luma Health Raises $16 Million in Series B Equity Funding
Luma Health, a total patient engagement platform, partnered with PeakSpan Capital to lead a $16 million Series B round, including further investment from Series A investors, U.S. Venture Partners and InHealth Ventures, and new strategic investments from Texas Medical Center and Cisco Investments.

Walmart tests dentistry and mental care as it moves deeper into primary health
CNBC reports that Walmart, the world’s biggest retailer, is moving deeper into the primary care and mental health market, opening a new clinic called Walmart Health in Georgia.

NextGen Healthcare in Green closing; 82 to lose jobs
Healthcare services provider NextGen Healthcare Inc. (@NextGen) is closing its Green facility starting in November with the loss of 82 jobs by January. The closure is part of an “operational efficiency” consolidation measure, the company said in a statement Friday. The office has been open since 2006 reports Akron Beacon Journal.

VillageMD Announces $100 Million in Series B, Led by Kinnevik
VillageMD (@VillageMD), a national provider of primary care, announced its Series B funding round of $100 million. The round was led with $75 million from Kinnevik AB (“Kinnevik”), an international growth-focused investment company, along with a returning investment from Oak HC/FT and new investments from Town Hall Ventures and Adams Street Partners.

Cerner laying off more than 250 workers as part of wider cost cutting effort
The Kansas City Star reports that Cerner Corp. will lay off 255 workers as part of a wider effort to cut costs within the healthcare IT business. The layoffs affect workers in the Kansas City area and in Cerner offices across the country. The 255 affected workers represent less than 1 percent of the company’s global workforce of nearly 30,000.

Product News

Vocera Enhances the Mobile Communication Experience with New Vocera Vina Smartphone App
Vocera Communications, Inc. (@voceracomm), a provider of clinical communication and workflow solutions, announced the release of Vocera Vina, the company’s revolutionary new smartphone application. The customizable communication app presents prioritized patient-centric calls, secure messages, and alerts in a unified inbox, and provides an intuitive user experience for clinicians inside and outside the hospital. Powered by the Vocera Platform, Vina delivers relevant context about clinical events, patient status, and clinician availability, helping care teams improve safety, quality of care, and experience for patients and care teams.

AdventHealth Unveils Largest-of-its-Kind Command Center
Orlando Sentinel reports on AdventHealth’s (@adventhealth) version of an airport control tower. Located at AdventHealth Orlando’s campus, the 12,000-square-foot, $20 million center has been a year in the making. With wall-to-wall screens that are updated every three to five seconds, the center keeps track of every patients who’s at one of the health system’s nine hospitals in Central Florida, is about to be transferred there, or is being discharged.

Collaboration News

Altais Teams Up with Aledade, Inc. and the California Medical Association to Offer Unique Patient Care Model Supported by Innovative Technologies
Altais has entered into a collaboration with Washington D.C. area-based Aledade, Inc. (@AledadeACO), and the California Medical Association (CMA), to improve patient care and outcomes. Aledade provides cutting-edge technology and data analytics, user-friendly clinical and administrative workflows, and practice transformation support to more than 6,500 providers in 25 states. CMA represents more than 44,000 physicians across the Golden State and has an unparalleled understanding of physicians’ needs amid a rapidly changing healthcare landscape.

Making the Cut

Allscripts Outperforms Competitors in New Global EHR Report From Black Book™ Research
Allscripts (@Allscripts) has been ranked number one of 68 named EHR vendors in a Black Book Research user satisfaction survey globally.