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Researchers are working with digital therapeutics specialist Biofourmis, using machine learning technology and the Apple Watch to analyze dozens of physiology biomarkers.

Also: French academic hospital CHRU de Nancy announces 10-year enterprise informatics agreement with Royal Philips, former NHS England director Sir Bruce Keogh joins messaging app firm and others. 

Coroners have called for action to prevent further fatalities linked to the NHS Pathways system following 11 patient deaths.

Capital and Coast District Health Board (DHB) in New Zealand is piloting the Resident Guide app for onboarding junior doctors. The six-month pilot begins in mid-August and involves all resident medical officers (RMOs) at Wellington Hospital. Junior doctors are rotated around hospitals four times a year and need to quickly upskill on the way things are done at each new location, such as how to book tests and consults with other specialties. The cloud-based Resident Guide app provides access to a combination of local operational and clinical guidelines. 3DHBs (Capital & Coast, Hutt Valley and Wairarapa DHBs) chief clinical information officer Steve Earnshaw said the aim of introducing Resident Guide is to make access to essential information easier for RMOs to find and engage with. Earnshaw added that local information is already being loaded into the app and the August start date will provide time to fine tune and make improvements before the transition period in November when a new group of RMOs arrive. “Change-over is always a difficult time and this will help the new RMOs by providing them with everything they need to know on an app on their phone,” he said. MedApps co-chief executive Tom Collins said the regular movement of junior doctors is like starting a new job every few months. “The information is all site specific, so they have to start from scratch every time,” said Collins. “Resident Guide means that when you rotate you are not making mistakes and it’s a confidence builder for junior doctors who are trying to do the best for themselves and their patients.” The platform is already live at 28 facilities in Queensland, Australia, where it is also being used by nursing staff. This article first appeared on eHealthNews.nz.

The company says its Cito platform offers real-time single views of patient information, unifying and structuring clinical data into customisable virtual electronic health records.

Population health management vendor SPH Analytics is merging with SA Ignite, which develops tools to help providers optimize their performance scores for the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System. Financial terms of the merger were not disclosed. WHY IT MATTERS Together, the two companies will be able to offer more expansive technology for pop health and quality measurement, officials said, giving clients new tools to help them manage the transition to value-based reimbursement. The post-merger company will focus on helping provider customers meet quality measure requirements, educating them on the details of MIPS and other advanced value-based payment frameworks and offering consultative support to help clients to maximize the financial ROI of  new reimbursement models. The newly combined business serves more than 21,000 providers, including hospitals, physician practices and provider networks. THE LARGER TREND Healthcare providers have no shortage of quality measures, across a variety of federal programs, with which they're expected to comply for value-based reimbursement. This past week, for the first time, HHS announced that it will hold a Quality Summit to take a fresh look at the tangle of regulations and streamline them where necessary. Beyond these prescribed quality measures, however, more and more health systems are taking a more expansive view of population health, applying advanced analytics to stratify risk and, sometimes, using technology to help them intervene and improve the social determinants of health for those patients most at need. ON THE RECORD "This strategic alignment creates a meaningfully expanded client base and enables us to build on our impressive track record of helping clients achieve substantive and sustained results in their shift to value-based care," said Amy Amick, president and CEO of SPH Analytics, in a statement. "The SA Ignite solution set blends with our Population Care and Population Value solution lines in a highly complementary manner that will help us better serve our combined client base." “Working alongside electronic health records, our cloud-based IgniteMIPS software delivers powerful analytics that surface truly actionable improvement opportunities," added Tom S. Lee, CEO and founder of SA Ignite. "Now merged with SPH, we are able to offer our customers a broader suite of quality measures such as MIPS CQMs, HEDIS, and ACO measures, as well as cost and utilization analytics and patient level drill-down capabilities." Twitter: @MikeMiliardHITN Email the writer: mike.miliard@himssmedia.com Healthcare IT News is a publication of HIMSS Media.

With the cost data technology integrated with its Epic EHR, Houston Methodist Sugar Land has reported approximately $717,000 in attributable cost savings with an average incremental cost reduction of $105 per admission.

The eight-stage international model allows healthcare providers to measure their technology deployments against those of their peers.

Commonwealth Corporation, a workforce development agency that works to boost the skills of Massachusetts young adults with investments and partnerships, has released new funding to create new pilots to expand training for entry-level healthcare workers. WHY IT MATTERS The money for the pilots comes after Massachusetts' Commission on Digital Innovation and Lifelong Learning issued a report and recommendations to Gov. Charlie Baker, making the case that "healthcare, information technology and advanced manufacturing are among the most vital employment sectors for Massachusetts’ future prosperity" and "should be important focal points of any meaningful effort to align lifelong learning opportunities with employer needs." Three partnerships will get as much as $200,000 each via two-year grants to help develop and new digital or hybrid competency-based training programs for entry-level healthcare workers. The money will support an initial Program Design phase and subsequent implementation, including tuition for a first cohort of students. THE LARGER TREND Despite being a world leader in the healthcare and technology industries, Massachusetts is still home to thousands of employees in entry- and mid-level healthcare jobs – home health aides, certified nursing assistants, direct care workers and others – who don't have sufficient access to education and skill-building opportunities, the Commonwealth Corporation noted. Meanwhile, many employers in healthcare and beyond are grappling with worker shortages that are hindering their ability to deliver high-quality care. The goal of this new initiative is to help upskill employees such as those with digital training programs, accomplishing the dual goal of boosting economic opportunity for workers while addressing healthcare's workforce shortages. ON THE RECORD Commonwealth Corporation illustrated the kind of worker who might benefit from these programs by describing an entry-level healthcare worker named Carla. "A single mother with a high school diploma who immigrated to the United States eight years ago, her wages are now $14 an hour, making it a struggle for her to support her family even when she works more than 40 hours a week. Despite these challenges, Carla has consistently demonstrated passion for her work, earning praise from both her patients and employer, who cite her caring approach, diligence and interest in continuing to improve her practice. "Carla would like to advance professionally, but she can’t figure out how to participate in the required training. She needs to continue to work as the sole caretaker of her two youngest children and she shares her car with her 19-year-old daughter, who attends a community college and works evenings. Carla’s circumstances make returning to the classroom an unrealistic – and unaffordable – option. "With the rising demand for community-based care, Carla’s employer also faces growing challenges filling open positions. The company wishes to build a career advancement ladder to develop the skills of staff like Carla and other promising colleagues, but it lacks the knowledge and capacity to provide in-house training. And low margins for reimbursable time make it nearly impossible to schedule sufficient training time during the work day." The hope with this new funding is to create new opportunities for employees and employers alike, and better position Massachusetts' workforce for the future of digital health. .jumbotron{ background-image: url("https://www.healthcareitnews.com/sites/hitn/files/u6245/workforce%20development%20jumbotron.png"); background-size: cover; color: white; } .jumbotron h2{ color: white; } Focus on Workforce Development In July, we'll speak to experts about how they're managing their workforces – not just clinicians, but IT departments, data scientists, care managers, back office staff and others. Twitter: @MikeMiliardHITN Email the writer: mike.miliard@himssmedia.com Healthcare IT News is a publication of HIMSS Media.