This packed week is about righting listing ships. Teladoc’s CEO suddenly departs, Amwell at risk of a NYSE delisting–we look at What Happened and what needs to be done. VillageMD gets new COO to manage the shrinkage. And Change Healthcare data on sale from disgruntled ALPHV affiliate. Digital health funding continues to limp along. Clover looks at another delisting, Walmart Health applies the brakes. And we highlight innovations from Novosound, Biolinq, Eko, Universal Brain. Digital health’s Q1 according to Rock Health: the New Reality is a flat spin back to 2019 (Limping, but alive) VillageMD names new president... Continue Reading
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VillageMD names new president and COO as it shrinks to 620 locations
Jim Murray retires from Centene to take the role of VillageMD’s president and chief operating officer. The appointment was effective on 1 April. He will be responsible for leading operations of Village Medical, Summit Medical, and CityMD. Last October, VillageMD named new divisional heads: Rishi Sikka, MD as president of Village Medical, Dan Frogel, MD as president and chief clinical officer of CityMD, and Becky Levy, JD as president of Summit Health and Starling Physicians. VillageMD release, Crain’s Chicago Business As noted previously, VillageMD has been retreating quickly from its aggressive plans circa 2022 for expansion into Walgreens locations to... Continue Reading
Opinion: Further thoughts on Teladoc, Amwell, and the future of telehealth–what happens next?
...CEO in mid-October 2023 seven weeks after Roz Brewer was separated. VillageMD was identified quickly as a large part of the problem. He took the writedown even before locations were fully closed and made multiple moves to cut costs starting at the corporate level before moving into the field. This is not to make light of the human damage and the jury remains out on the wisdom of some of the moves. But Wentworth has moved quickly, decisively, and positioned it realistically in saying ‘this is not a 12-month turnaround’ and wisely caveating that board alignment around the strategic review... Continue Reading
TTA’s April Showers: NeueHealth’s big loss + big CEO bonus, Cano Health’s reorg update, Davids keep facing the Apple Goliath, ATA presses DOJ on controlled substance telehealth, advice on working with PR, more!
...and payments in next weeks (updated) (Saving the analysis for later) The Change Healthcare/Optum cyberattack entered a second week with no restoration of services in sight; how providers and pharmacies are coping without their primary means of processing patient claims and furnishing care–and the psychological toll; and the uncertain future of Walgreens, WBA, and the rapid downsizing of their provider arm, VillageMD. To add further insult to UHG, now DOJ is putting them under antitrust scrutiny. Is BlackCat/ALPHV faking its own ‘death’? (updated) HHS and CMS come to Change affected providers’ assistance with ‘flexibilities’ Update: VillageMD lays off 49 in... Continue Reading
TTA’s Easter Blooms, Booms: Walgreens writes down VillageMD, major metastudy critical of diabetes digital health, funding sprouts, stormy weather for UnitedHealth, Oracle Cerner/VA, more!
A pre-Easter week that started as quiet and got VERY LOUD at the end. Walgreens took the hard road, wrote down VillageMD even before the closures were final, and lowered forecasts. An important metastudy+ casts doubt on the efficacy of present digital health diabetes solutions but provides solid direction forward. And it’s definitely an early sunny spring for funding, but there’s continued bad weather forecast for UnitedHealth Group and Oracle Cerner’s VA implementation. Happy Easter and Spring to all our Readers! Facing Future 2: Walgreens writes down $5.8B for VillageMD in Q2, lowers 2024 earnings on ‘challenging’ retail... Continue Reading
Facing Future 2: Walgreens writes down $5.8B for VillageMD in Q2, lowers 2024 earnings on ‘challenging’ retail outlook
Walgreens unsparing in FY 2024 Q2 results, affected by VillageMD closures, weak retail, and inflation. In a financial report released Thursday, remarkably devoid of happy talk, Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) presented a ‘picture adjustment’ that wrote down VillageMD’s losses even while locations are being closed. WBA also factored in for full year 2024 the ‘challenging retail environment in the US’ as well as the blurry picture of the US Healthcare division that includes VillageMD, Summit Health/CityMD, Shields Health Solutions (pharmacy), and CareCentrix (home care). For WBA in total, the first six months of their fiscal year, through 29 February 2024,... Continue Reading
TTA’s Finally Spring: DOJ sues Apple on monopoly, ’23 breached records up 187%, funding’s back and AI’s got it, Walgreens shrinkage, more!
...systems and Walgreens’ VillageMD exiting Florida. There’s life in funding and stock buybacks but Oracle Cerner’s in the same-old with the VA. Teladoc on slow recovery road, telemental health coming back, LockBit busted, Musk’s Neuralink implant, and a few thoughts on AI. Weekend reading: AI cybersecurity tools no panacea, reality v. illusion in healthcare AI, RPM in transitioning to hospital-at-home, Korean study on older adult health tech usage (AI obsession?) Breaking: Walgreens’ VillageMD shutting in Florida; Change Healthcare system websites cyberattacked (updated) (Two shockers) Mid-week roundup: Cotiviti’s $10.5B stake to KKR; Cigna buys back $3.2B shares; VA Oracle Cerner faulty... Continue Reading
Mid-week roundup: UK startup Anima gains $12M, Hippocratic AI $53M, Assort Health $3.5M; Abridge partners with NVIDIA; VillageMD sells 11 Rhode Island clinics; $60 for that medical record on the dark web
...is developing conversational AI technology using LLM and speech recognition to ease the burden of taking notes during the doctor’s appointment, with fluency in 14 languages across 55 medical specialties. Abridge’s technology is designed to capture clinician-patient conversations and structure the scribing. NVIDIA’s partnership will give Abridge access to NVIDIA’s computing resources, foundation models, and expertise in efficiently deploying AI systems at scale. Release Another episode in the continuing Walgreens Restructuring Saga has VillageMD selling 11 practices to Arches Medical Partners. The practices are located in the Providence metro area of Rhode Island and consist of three urgent cares and... Continue Reading
Walgreens’ latest cuts affect 646 at Florida, Connecticut distribution centers
...headquarters to VillageMD. Despite the $1 billion in cuts for 2024 announced last October, Mr. Market is not responding–Walgreens’ stock price continues its downward trend and has lost 15% sharply since January. The new CEO Tim Wentworth has already positioned Walgreens’ recovery as ‘not a 12-month turnaround story’. Walgreens, over the past three years, drilled a lot of holes. Some worked out well, such as Shields, but the $10 billion investment in VillageMD may be a dry hole. In the strategic review he announced earlier this month, Boots may be on the block, not Shields, but there will be more... Continue Reading
Update: VillageMD lays off 49 in first two of six Village Medical closures in Illinois
VillageMD starts releasing staff in soon-to-shut Illinois clinics. Layoffs have already started in the Illinois clinics owned and operated by Walgreens-owned VillageMD. As reported in Crain’s Chicago Business, two of their six Village Medical clinics have given notice to doctors, practice managers, medical assistants, registered nurses, and ultrasound and radiology technicians. This eliminated 24 positions at the Lincoln Park (Chicago) office and 25 positions at their Wheeling clinic, both free-standing independent locations. The layoffs took place between 20 February and 5 March. It is not clear from the article or the WARN Notice filed 20 February with the state Department... Continue Reading
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