Bernie Monegain

The organizations signed a letter of intent to collaborate on integrating behavioral health services to more effectively address issues such as the opioid epidemic.

The company said it will work Case Western Reserve University and Vanderbilt University to build on recent work with computational image analysis.

The company’s platform helps hospitals tackle medical device vulnerabilities.

The collaboration aims to help patients understand information about their condition and engage them in shared decision making.

Partners HealthCare, Triad Healthcare undertake separate initiatives focused on reducing costs with by delivering notifications to clinicians about patients not complying with treatment regimens.

NCQA says the physician group earned the Patient-Centered Medical Home designation for coordinated care and evidence-based medicine.

Hearst Health and the Jefferson College of Population Health announced today that the Massachusetts Housing and Shelter Alliance is the winner of the 2018 Hearst Health Prize. The prize went to the organization for providing permanent housing for people coping with chronic homelessness. [Also: Social determinants of health and the $1.7 trillion opportunity to slash spending] "All of us at Massachusetts Housing and Shelter Alliance see this award as validating the growing belief that a truly integrated healthcare system must include appropriate, supportive, safe and affordable housing," said Joe Finn, president and executive director of the Massachusetts Housing and Shelter Alliance, in accepting the award. The alliance's Home and Healthy for Good program provides permanent supportive housing to address chronic homelessness and overutilization of acute care and emergency care by removing barriers to housing. Tenants live in leased, independent apartments or shared living arrangements that are integrated into the community. They also have access to a broad range of comprehensive, community-based services, including medical and mental healthcare, substance abuse treatment, case management and vocational and life skills training. "This program works in a unique way with nonprofit organizations for housing, using an evidence-based approach for measuring and managing its impact," Gregory Dorn, MD, president of Hearst Health said. "They have demonstrated how addressing a fundamental social need can generate meaningful health and financial outcomes." The Hearst Health Prize applications were evaluated based on the program's population health impact or outcome. Impacts of the Massachusetts Housing and Shelter Alliance's Home and Healthy for Good program included: A 78 percent reduction in utilization of emergency services within the first six months of housing; there is an increased utilization of mainstream systems of preventive and primary care. Prior to entering the program, 29 percent of the participants were satisfied with their health. After housing, 63 percent of the participants reported satisfaction with health. Since its founding, 981 adults experiencing chronic homelessness have been placed in permanent housing across Massachusetts. Two thirds of the total Home and Healthy for Good population is either still housed or has left the program to move on to another type of permanent housing. "Awarding the Hearst Health Prize to Massachusetts Housing and Shelter Alliance acknowledges that housing and health are intertwined," David B. Nash, MD, dean of the Jefferson College of Population Health, said in a statement. "The provision of housing and related services are interventions that have an impact on issues such as readmissions, addiction, employment, mental health and preventive healthcare." In addition to the $100,000 award to the winner, Hearst Health also gave $25,000 to each of the two finalists: Nurse-Family Partnership and Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. Videos: • 2018 Winner Video: Massachusetts Housing and Shelter Alliance • 2018 Finalist Video: Nurse-Family Partnership • 2018 Finalist Video: Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center Twitter: @Bernie_HITN Email the writer: bernie.monegain@himssmedia.com

A report from research firm Kalorama Information named the top healthcare disruptors it anticipates happening between now and the year 2027 -- and the Trump Administration’s health policies in the U.S. took the top spot.   In Kalorama’s report, the market research firm noted that while healthcare is in a perpetual state of change, so are global socio-economic trends, which in turn are changing the way all industries operate. Kalorama’s top seven disruptors: Trump Administration: The firm pointed specifically to ongoing attempts to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, as well as health IT policies, and statements about drug pricing as factors that could trigger disruption. Brexit and its impact on European markets: Much the way Brexit has already sent a ripple throughout Europe, and with so many healthcare firms there, Brexit changes could potentially impact many markets, Kalorama said. Rising rates of disease diagnosis and treatment: With more patients globally being diagnosed with a wider range of diseases, not to mention lingering reimbursement and medical and drug supply issues, healthcare systems will be taxed with treating a growing number of people moving forward. Mergers and acquisitions: As happens in so many industries, the high rate of mergers will continue in healthcare as companies seek growth by acquisition, new technologies and expertise. Exactly how the industry consolidation will happen remains to be seen but hospitals executives should plan for more of it in the future. High and rising out-of-pocket spending on healthcare: There’s little debating that health expenses in the U.S. are out of control and the rising rates of out-of-pocket spending will only make that reality more unpredictable and, in turn, planning and forecasting more complex. Physician shortages: Whether it’s because of burnout, physician’s retiring or the wave of hospitals acquiring solo doctors and medical practices, the supply of clinicians appear to be threatened and that will challenge hospitals, particularly with projections of more patients in the system. The Gig Economy: The health care delivery and insurance systems will have little choice but to keep pace with the growing legions of job-to-job workers and adapt to meet their unique needs in the age of consumerism. "There are so many factors impacting markets right now that they need to be considered in a multivariate analysis," Bruce Carlson, publisher of Kalorama Information, said in a statement. Carlson added that Brexit and austerity in Europe, heavy M&A activity and the targeting of healthcare by Amazon and Apple add up to an "Era of Uncertainty." Twitter: @Bernie_HITN Email the writer: bernie.monegain@himssmedia.com

The organizations said they intend to establish digital pathology centers and to create best practices and protocols for the digital transformation of the field. 

The health system will collect unprocessed data from AncestryDNA, MyHeritage and 23andMe to validate new findings and discover new mutations, the organization said.