News roundup: AliveCor launches FDA-cleared Kardia 12L ECG, eVisit buys UPMC’s inpatient teleconsult, UPMC and MedStar invest; NeueHealth gains $150M loan–with caveats–and NYSE non-compliance notice

June 26, 2024 | by

AliveCor shrinks 12-lead ECG to a single cable with AI-assisted detection for 35 cardiac determinations. The just-cleared by FDA system for clinicians combines the Kardia 12L ECG System (left), a single cable with five electrodes that acquires 8 high-quality diagnostic bandwidth leads, with the KAI 12L AI-assisted diagnostic technology. KAI uses a deep neural network-machine learning AI model to interpret ECG data acquired and validated on more than 1.75 million ECGs from leading US medical centers. It can make 35 cardiac determinations–14 arrhythmias and 21 morphologies–that include acute myocardial infarction (MI) and the most common types of cardiac ischemia. The Kardia 12L is battery-powered, weighs about 1/3 of a pound, and fits into a typical lab coat pocket.

12-lead ECG is considered the standard of ECG readings. A pocket system of this type puts this in reach of clinics, rural health, urgent care offices, and employer clinics. It requires minimal self-guided training and doesn’t require patients to fully disrobe. Release, Mass Device

Telehealth provider eVisit acquiring UPMC’s inpatient teleconsult technology–along with investments from UPMC and MedStar Health. This ‘hat trick’ adds hospital inpatient telehealth capability to eVisit’s health system-focused telehealth triage, provider-to-provider consults, and scheduled telehealth visits. The teleconsults serve inpatient care across five services: stroke, neurology, critical care, psychology, and toxicology. Both UPMC and current client MedStar Health (from the 2023 Bluestream Health acquisition, TTA 27 Apr 2023) are also investing in eVisit, adding an undisclosed amount to eVisit’s 2021 $45 million Series B. (Another way of saying ‘unlettered raise’?) Release, FierceHealthcare

And would this month be complete without items from the Dean of Dodging Disaster, Creating its Own New Reality, the one and only NeueHealth? The first is that Hercules Capital is giving them a second term loan facility (Loan and Security Agreement) of up to $150 million over three years that is, to be polite, hedged with qualifications. 

  • Tranche #1 is available on closing: $30 million
  • Tranche #2, $25 million, will be available only for a limited time– 10 November through 31 December 2024. It is also dependent on Molina making its final payment to NeueHealth for the Medicare Advantage plans they bought–a payment dependent in turn on those plans achieving plan performance ratings ( the “2025 Stars Condition”).
  • Tranche #3 of $45 million will be available from 5 February 2025 to 15 September 2025. But it is contingent after paying off what is owed in connection with the ACO REACH Model for performance years 2023 and earlier, payment in full of the CMS Settlement (as defined in the Loan and Security Agreement) and the Company having at least $22.5 million of unrestricted cash and cash equivalents.
  • Tranche #4: up to $50.0 million and available until 21 June 2027
  • The loan matures on 1 June 2028

Release 24 June, SEC Form 8-K, FierceHealthcare

The second is that the loan could not have come at a more needed time, as NeueHealth received a non-compliance notice from the NYSE on 16 June. It fell below an average market capitalization of $50 million for 30 consecutive trading days, with their last reported stockholders’ equity also below $50 million. It has 45 days to submit a business plan to remedy it within 18 months. NeueHealth’s preferred stock had a value of $920.4 million as of 31 March 2024 but is excluded from the NYSE calculations of common stockholder equity. NeueHealth closed today at $5.23.

This is in addition to a $30 million loan from current 60% majority shareholder NEA [TTA 16 Apr].

Along with tying Gordian knots masterfully and playing multiple ends against the middle, one wonders what management does all day at their new offices in Doral, Florida? Avoiding Chapter 11? Golfing? Surfing?

Short takes: Amazon dims to black Halo wearable line, eVisit acquires Bluestream Health, Moving Health Home launches to lobby Congress, government

April 27, 2023 | by

Amazon shuttering Halo health and fitness product line and services. On Wednesday, Amazon emailed Halo users that the line (View, Band, and brand new Rise sleep tracker) and services, including apps, will be switched off on 31 July. Users will be able to download or delete health and other data. Subscriptions will be refunded as well as all purchases made in the last 12 months. Remaining staff in the Halo unit will be laid off. This was not unanticipated given that Amazon cut jobs at Halo back in February as part of their mass layoff of 18,000 then and another 9,000 last month. Amazon is being quite ruthless in reacting to its 2022 loss and changing up its bets in healthcare to buying F2F care, like One Medical–as the Federal Trade Commission cleans its sights to hunt big game [TTA 23 Feb, 23 March] and the Department of Justice lurks in the wings, despite the sale closing. Engadget, Amazon notice, The Verge, Becker’s

Virtual care platform eVisit acquires virtual care platform Bluestream Health. Bluestream adds ‘white labeled’ telehealth as a customized “front door” for health systems along with virtual care workflow and LanguageLine translation to eVisit’s capabilities in automating patient care management for large health systems. eVisit picks up Bluestream’s 50,000 providers and 500 health systems to add to its 100 healthcare delivery organizations, 2,000 sites of care, and access by over 275,000 clinicians.  Acquisition cost and leadership/workforce transition are not disclosed. eVisit is based in Phoenix while Bluestream is HQ’d in NYC. This Editor first met with founder Brian Yarnell about 2015 or possibly earlier, when the company was operating out of two offices in shared workspace. Release, eVisit Bluestream acquisition page. FierceHealthcare

A new industry organization launches to lobby Congress and government for home health. Moving Health Home announced in March that it was forming to unify healthcare organizations to advocate for home health and to make the home a reimbursable site of care from insurers and Medicare. This spans prevention such as fall risk assessment and nutrition as well as direct care in the home including hospital at home. Members include Amazon, Hackensack Meridian Health, DaVita, Signify Health, Dispatch Health, and many others from the clinical, vendor, and provider areas. It’s headed by Krista Drobac, who has been for some time an activist in the connected health and health policy areas. Earlier this month, they announced that there will be a House bill, Expanding Care in the Home Act (ECHA) which is similar to prior bills both in the House and Senate.