Ex-CCO of InTouch Health to Join Galen as Special Investment Partner

Steve Cashman to join Galen Partners as Special Investment Partner ('SIP')

STAMFORD, Conn., Sept. 9, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Steve Cashman, a veteran of the virtual healthcare space and ex-CCO of InTouch Health, has joined Galen Partners, a leading healthcare-focused growth equity investment firm, as Special Investment Partner ("SIP").

Galen Partners

As the CCO of InTouch, Steve Cashman was instrumental in facilitating several key acquisitions that helped transform the InTouch platform into the first true enterprise telehealth solution. He will now join a group of 15 SIPs, comprised of highly respected seasoned healthcare executives, that work directly with Galen to identify investment opportunities and drive value to Galen's existing portfolio.

Steve is looking to replicate the success of InTouch and will help lead Galen's proactive efforts in the virtual care space to identify attractive platform investment opportunities that help demonstrably improve clinical outcomes, lower costs and increase patient satisfaction.

"Steve is highly regarded across the virtual healthcare industry and is well-known for his ability to drive growth and build value. We are pleased that Galen will benefit from his vast expertise as the healthcare technology dimension of all our investments become increasingly more important in today's changing landscape," said David Jahns, Managing Director at Galen. "We believe Steve's extensive leadership experience in the healthcare industry will be instrumental in supporting our team to build and grow great companies and find compelling investment opportunities across the virtual care landscape."

"Having already worked hand in hand with Galen to successfully scale InTouch Health, I'm excited to join their mission of identifying additional platform opportunities in the virtual care space," says Steve. "The pandemic has highlighted the need to leverage technology to improve clinical outcomes and reduce cost, and our work together will be on the forefront of that effort."

About Galen Partners

Founded in 1990, Galen Partners is a leading healthcare-focused growth equity investment firm. Over the firm's history, Galen has raised six dedicated funds totaling nearly $1 billion and has invested in over 80 leading healthcare companies. Galen continues a tradition of strategic collaboration and partnership with founders and management teams to build healthcare market leaders.

Media Contact:
Stacey Bauer 
Phone: 203.653.6400
Email: sbauer@galen.com

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SAGES TAVAC Analysis Indicates WATS3D is a Safe and Effective Diagnostic Technique for Barrett’s Esophagus

SUFFERN, NY (June 16, 2020) – WATS3D, an AI-powered diagnostic platform used to identify precancerous cells in the esophagus, has been deemed as a safe and effective adjunctive to forceps biopsies in the evaluation of Barrett’s esophagus (BE), low-grade dysplasia, and high- grade dysplasia. The review of the efficacy, value and safety of the diagnostic platform was conducted by the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES) and its Technology and Value Assessment Committee (TAVAC) and published in the SAGES’ peer review journal Surgical Endoscopy (link: doi.org/10.1007/s00464-020-07503-w).

The TAVAC review process included a systematic analysis of previously published clinical studies and data on PubMed/Medline, along with bibliographies of key references for relevant information not included in the PubMed database. Among the data reviewed by TAVAC were the results of studies that indicated that WATS3D has been shown to significantly increase the diagnostic yield of BE, low-grade dysplasia, and high-grade dysplasia when compared to forceps biopsy alone.

According to Shawn Tsuda, MD, FACS, board-certified surgeon and Chair of the SAGES TAVAC, the Committee’s review found that WATS3D has very high inter-observer agreement for pathological diagnosis and produced consistent outcomes in the increased detection of pre-malignant diseases of the esophagus. “The current method for tissue sampling via the Seattle protocol for the detection of Barrett’s esophagus has its limitations,” says Tsuda. “A significant increase in sensitivity provided by WATS3D has the potential to increase the value of routine surveillance for Barrett’s, as well as low-grade and high-grade dysplasia. For the surgeon and endoscopist, this can guide intervention with greater confidence and potentially improve outcomes in patients with pre-malignant esophageal disease.”

“Through stringent review and analysis, like that offered by SAGES TAVAC, the life-saving potential of WATS3D continues to be recommended,” says CDx Diagnostics CEO William Huffnagle. “We’re encouraged that WATS3D is being incorporated into more routine testing practices where a patient’s health concerns can be identified and treated before they develop into cancer.”

The SAGES TAVAC analysis follows a series of recently published external reviews of the WATS3D technology. In 2019, the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE) included WATS3D in its Standards of Practice Committee’s guideline for the screening and surveillance of BE. In addition, the technology was included in a white paper from the American Foregut Society (AFS) which indicated there is sufficient data to support the routine use of WATS3D in the ongoing evaluation of BE.

About SAGES
Founded in 1980, the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES) represents a worldwide community of surgeons that can bring minimal access surgery, endoscopy and emerging techniques to patients in every country. The mission of the Society is to improve quality patient care through education, research, innovation and leadership, principally in gastrointestinal and endoscopic surgery. More information is available online at www.sages.org.

Sharecare Acquires Evidence-Based Behavior Change Apps MindSciences

by Fred Pennic 06/03/2020

What You Should Know:

– Sharecare announced the acquisition of Boston-based MindSciences, an evidence-based behavior change suite of apps focused on mental health (anxiety, stress management), smoking cessation, and weight loss/binge eating, and more.

– The acquisition rounds out Sharecare’s portfolio of mHealth-based therapeutic programs improving chronic disease risk and overall health outcomes by targeting varying aspects of well-being.

– Based on the work of Dr. Judson Brewer, now at Brown University, MindSciences app-based programs address habit change through industry-leading evidence-based mindfulness techniques.

Sharecare, the digital health company that helps people manage all their health in one place, today announced that it has acquired MindSciences, the leader in evidence-based behavior change apps. Founded by renowned neuroscientist and behavior change expert, Dr. Jud Brewer, MindSciences provides best-in-class digital therapeutics that help people reverse unhealthy habits involving food, tobacco, stress and anxiety – which contribute to the most costly and widespread health issues in the United States. This acquisition builds on Sharecare’s existing partnership with MindSciences, through which its tobacco cessation program was made available to the digital health company’s payer, provider, government and employer group customers.  

MindSciences Background

Based on more than a decade of peer-reviewed scientific research yielding more than 70 publications, MindSciences’ programs help people understand how their brain works and how habits are formed through reward-based learning. Through a series of clinically validated, interactive daily modules with mindfulness lessons and exercises, MindSciences leverages that same system used to form bad habits – including smoking, overeating and anxiety – to unwind them for good. With over $15 million in funding for its research from organizations including the American Heart Association, National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute and National Institute on Drug Abuse, to name a few, studies on the effectiveness of MindSciences’ programs have been conducted with more than 3,000 clinical trial participants and tens of thousands of real-world users. 

Director of research and innovation at the Mindfulness Center at Brown University and associate professor of psychiatry at The Warren Alpert Medical School, Dr. Brewer (M.D., Ph.D.) has dedicated his career to researching how the human brain forms negative behavior patterns, habits and addictions, and the specific techniques needed to create lasting change. In addition to training U.S. Olympic athletes and coaches, foreign government ministers and corporate leaders, Dr. Brewer frequently appears as an expert in the media; and his TED Talk, “A Simple Way to Break a Bad Habit,” was the fourth most viewed of 2016 and, to date, has generated over 15 million views.

“The widespread and persistent worry Americans are experiencing right now is unlike anything I have seen in my 20-plus years of studying, researching and practicing mindfulness – and we must empower people to use the single most powerful tool available to help them weather this storm: their own mind,” said Dr. Brewer, who joins Sharecare as its senior scientific and medical advisor for behavioral health. “Sharecare’s reach, engagement and depth is unparalleled, and I am incredibly hopeful about the positive change we can effect by putting the combined power of our platforms into people’s hands.” 

Integration Benefits for Sharecare

Integrating MindSciences’ programs into Sharecare’s platform will help them deliver on employer, payer and consumer needs that are in critical demand and are expected to grow, but also some very specific well-being needs that COVID-19 has exacerbated for populations across the US. MindSciences’ full suite of app-based digital therapeutics includes: 

Craving To Quit®: a mindfulness-centered smoking cessation program, proven to be twice as effective as the American Lung Association’s Freedom From Smoking

Eat Right Now®: an evidence-based program for binge eating and weight loss that, according to a 2017 study from University of California, San Francisco, reduces  craving-related eating by 40%

Unwinding Anxiety®: an award-winning app clinically proven to reduce anxiety by 57% as measured with GAD-7

Breathe: a free app based on MindSciences’ award-winning behavior change programs, featuring simple and effective one-minute breathing exercises to help people be calmer, less distracted, more aware, and more focused when needed – whether in the midst of a busy day or a quiet moment at home. 

Through the acquisition – terms of which were not disclosed – MindSciences becomes a cornerstone of Sharecare’s tools and programs for behavioral health, which also includes Sharecare Windows – a series of original HD relaxation and wellness videos created to reduce stress and anxiety, promote healthy sleep patterns, and support meditative practices. 

“We are deeply committed to helping our client partners deliver best-in-class digital therapeutics to those in their populations that need them most, which is why we partnered with MindSciences in the first place. And as levels of worry and unhealthy behavior skyrocketed across the country in April, behavioral health and remote patient monitoring have become increasingly critical, particularly as employers across the country prepare to return to work,” said Jeff Arnold, founder, chairman and CEO of Sharecare. “In the wake of COVID-19 in particular, our acquisition of MindSciences is a major step forward in optimizing the Sharecare platform to help our partners navigate the next phase of the pandemic while empowering their people to overcome habits they may have developed to cope, reclaim their well-being and build resilience for the future.”

Teladoc Health Completes Acquisition of InTouch Health, Creating Single Virtual Care Delivery Leader from Hospital to Home

Combined Company Enables Providers to Build Comprehensive Telemedicine Strategies

Purchase, NY, July 1, 2020 – Teladoc Health, Inc. (NYSE: TDOC), the global leader in virtual care, today announced that it has completed its acquisition of Santa Barbara, Calif.-area based InTouch Health. With the integration of InTouch Health’s innovative telehealth capabilities linking providers to one another in complex medical environments, Teladoc Health will connect the care experience across in-patient, outpatient and home care settings, ensuring greater access to high quality care and better health outcomes. At a time when virtual care has never been more important, the company is now the only global end-to-end partner spanning the full spectrum from acute visits and chronic conditions management to complex specialty care and remote surgery. 

“As virtual care quickly becomes a necessity for all healthcare providers, the acquisition of InTouch Health positions us to lead this transformation in healthcare and be that single, integrated partner,” said Jason Gorevic, chief executive officer, Teladoc Health. “Doctors and hospitals need medical grade solutions and a unified virtual care strategy that can scale and grow with them. This acquisition makes Teladoc Health the first and only company to comprehensively deliver on that need.”

In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, consumer openness to telemedicine has never been higher and nearly half of providers are now delivering care online or by phone. At the same time, nearly two-thirds of consumers say they want the care they receive in their communities and virtual care to work together. With a platform purpose-built for healthcare, the organizations bring unparalleled clinical quality, technological innovation and operational scale to uniquely meet needs both inside and outside the four walls of the healthcare system. Together, the company will support thousands of physician users, partnering with hundreds of hospitals and health systems around the globe.

“With both our longstanding clients and new partners that have come to us since the start of the pandemic, there is a seismic shift in the urgency and readiness of hospitals and physician practices large and small to virtualize now,” explained Joe DeVivo, president, Hospital & Health Systems, Teladoc Health. “Providers are seeking an enterprise virtual care approach. With our proven healthcare industry expertise and unified platform, we are delivering a better way to engage with patients at every point along their healthcare journey.”

Teladoc Health completed its acquisition of InTouch Health on July 1, 2020. Pursuant to the terms of the agreement as announced on January 12, 2020, the purchase price consists of approximately $150 million in cash and 4.6 million shares of Teladoc Health common stock.

Notice of Inducement Equity Awards

In connection with the acquisition of InTouch Health, and effective as of the closing date, Teladoc Health granted to 352 employees of InTouch Health restricted stock unit awards covering an aggregate of 46,669 shares of Teladoc Health common stock. These awards include grants to Mr. Joseph DeVivo and Dr. Yulun Wang of restricted stock unit awards covering 3,772 and 5,028 shares of Teladoc Health common stock, respectively. Dr. Wang received an award of 2,514 restricted stock units that vest based on continued service to Teladoc Health over the three years following the date of grant, with a prorated portion vesting earlier if his employment terminates, under certain conditions, within the 18 months following the closing date, and an award of 2,514 restricted stock units that vest in a single installment (subject to his continued employment) on the date that is 18 months following the closing date.  All other restricted stock unit awards are scheduled to vest based on continued service to Teladoc Health over two to three years following the date of grant.

Additionally, in connection with the acquisition of InTouch Health, and effective as of the closing date, Teladoc Health granted to Mr. Joseph DeVivo a stock option award covering an aggregate 9,227 shares of Teladoc Health common stock, which has an exercise price of $198.85 per share.  The stock option award will vest as to 33% of the award on the first anniversary of the date of grant, and, as to the remainder of the award, in 24 equal monthly installments thereafter, subject to continued service to Teladoc Health.

The stock option and restricted stock unit awards were approved by the Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors of Teladoc Health and were granted under the Teladoc Health, Inc. 2017 Employment Inducement Incentive Award Plan as employment inducement awards pursuant to NYSE rules.

For more information, visit www.teladochealth.com.

About Teladoc Health

Teladoc Health is transforming how people access and experience healthcare. Recognized as the world leader in virtual care, Teladoc Health directly delivers millions of medical visits across 175 countries each year through the Teladoc Health Medical Group and enables millions of patient and provider touchpoints for thousands of hospitals, health systems and physician practices globally. Ranked #1 among direct-to-consumer telehealth providers in the J.D. Power 2019 U.S. Telehealth Satisfaction Study and Best in KLAS for Virtual Care Platforms for 2020, Teladoc Health leverages more than a decade of expertise and real-time insights to meet the growing virtual care needs of consumers, healthcare professionals, employers and health plans. For more information, please visit www.teladochealth.com  or follow @TeladocHealth on Twitter.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements can be identified by words such as: “anticipate,” “intend,” “plan,” “believe,” “project,” “estimate,” “expect,” “may,” “should,” “will” and similar references to future periods. Examples of forward-looking statements include, among others, statements we make regarding future revenues, future earnings, future numbers of members or clients, litigation outcomes, regulatory developments, market developments, new products and growth strategies, and the effects of any of the foregoing on our future results of operations or financial conditions.

Forward-looking statements are neither historical facts nor assurances of future performance. Instead, they are based only on our current beliefs, expectations and assumptions regarding the future of our business, future plans and strategies, projections, anticipated events and trends, the economy and other future conditions. Because forward-looking statements relate to the future, they are subject to inherent uncertainties, risks and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict and many of which are outside of our control. Our actual results and financial condition may differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause our actual results and financial condition to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements include, among others, the following: (i) changes in laws and regulations applicable to our business model; (ii) changes in market conditions and receptivity to our services and offerings; (iii) results of litigation; (iv) the loss of one or more key clients; and (v) changes to our abilities to recruit and retain qualified providers into our network. For a detailed discussion of the risk factors that could affect our actual results, please refer to the risk factors identified in our SEC reports, including, but not limited to our Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, as filed with the SEC.

Any forward-looking statement made by us in this press release is based only on information currently available to us and speaks only as of the date on which it is made. We undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether written or oral, that may be made from time to time, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise.

Galen Partners completes acquisition of Evolve Treatment Centers, a leading provider of adolescent behavioral health services in California

STAMFORD, Conn., Jan. 08, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Galen Partners, a healthcare-focused growth equity investment firm, announced today the acquisition of Evolve Treatment Centers. Headquartered in Los Angeles, CA, Evolve is a leading adolescent behavioral health services provider, specializing in mental health, trauma, and substance abuse for adolescents in need. Evolve’s mission is to transform the teen mental health space, ensuring that teens and their families have the highest level of compassionate care available.

“We are excited about the prospect of building upon Evolve’s excellent clinical programs as we continue to provide the highest quality teen mental health treatment,” said David Jahns, Managing Director at Galen Partners. “The dramatic increase in adolescent anxiety, suicide, and other mental health disorders represent a public health crisis, illustrated by a 400% increase nationally in adolescent suicide attempts since 2011. Despite the clear need for behavioral health care for the adolescent patient population, there remains a shortage of providers and care models focused on serving these patients. Galen believes Evolve is particularly well suited to meet this overwhelming unmet need through its clinically-validated treatment approach, and we look forward to expanding the Evolve platform so that troubled adolescents can get the care they need.”

Ken Wood, Evolve’s CEO, stated, “We are proud of Evolve’s history of delivering quality patient care through our best-in-class treatment centers, highly trained and knowledgeable staff, evidence-based treatment approach, and a company culture centered on teamwork and integrity. On behalf of the entire Evolve team, we are excited about our partnership with Galen, and we know Evolve will accomplish even greater things with their backing and support.”

The Galen partnership enables Evolve to further expand its Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF) and Joint Commission-accredited, evidence-based and highly impactful mental-health services for teens and their families.

About Galen Partners
Founded in 1990, Galen Partners is a leading healthcare-focused growth equity investment firm. With nearly $1 billion invested over six funds, Galen has invested in and helped to build more than 80 companies since the firm’s inception. Galen continues a tradition of strategic collaboration and partnership with founders and management teams to build healthcare market leaders. Under the direction of the Managing Directors Philip Borden, David Jahns and Zubeen Shroff, Galen seeks to make investments in high-growth healthcare companies with revenues greater than $10 million and EBITDA between $0 and $9 million. 

For more information on Galen, please visit www.galen.com.

Foley Hoag LLP served as legal advisors to Galen. FTI Consulting served as financial advisors to Galen. BBVA USA provided debt financing for the transaction.

About Evolve Treatment CentersEvolve Treatment Centers offers the highest caliber of evidence-based care to adolescents ages 12 to 17 who struggle with substance abuse and / or mental health issues. With 13 facilities throughout California, Evolve offers teens and their families a full continuum of care including Intensive Outpatient (IOP), Partial Hospitalization (PHP) and Residential Treatment Centers (RTC). Evolve is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF) and by the Joint Commission. 

For more information on Evolve, please visit www.evolvetreatment.com

Stacey Bauer
Office: (203) 653-6473
sbauer@galen.com

Teladoc Health to Acquire InTouch Health

Acquisition creates clear leader in providing virtual care solutions for both hospitals & health systems

Combination broadens advanced clinical use cases to be enabled for expanded care delivery both inside & outside the hospital

Acquisition expected to strengthen Teladoc Health long-term revenue growth

PURCHASE, NY, January 12, 2020 — Teladoc Health, Inc. (NYSE: TDOC), the global leader in virtual care, today announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire InTouch Health, the leading provider of enterprise telehealth solutions for hospitals and health systems.  This acquisition positions Teladoc Health as the partner of choice for health systems seeking a single solution for their entire virtual care strategy, and establishes the company as the only virtual care provider covering the full range of acuity – from critical to chronic to everyday care – through a single solution across all sites of care worldwide.

‘‘Today marks a bold leap forward in Teladoc Health’s mission to transform how high-quality healthcare is accessed and experienced, making virtual care available for patients with even the most critical care needs,” said Jason Gorevic, chief executive officer, Teladoc Health. “Bringing these companies together will make Teladoc Health the clear virtual care leader across every front door of healthcare, further accelerating the adoption and impact of virtual care for millions of people around the world.”

This announcement comes at a time when demand for virtual care services within the provider market is poised for significant growth, as favorable reimbursement tailwinds increasingly equip hospitals and health systems to fully realize the value of virtual care. According to 2019 JPMorgan research, 40% of hospitals surveyed reported planning to increase their budgets for telemedicine solutions. With 61% of hospital revenue forecasted to come from managed and value-based care models by 2021, (L.E.K. 2018 Hospital Study Survey), virtual care will be a crucial strategy to improve consumer engagement, ensure consistent quality and manage health care’s rising costs.   

Health System’s Single Solution for All Virtual Care Needs

Partnered with more than 450 hospitals and health systems with more than 14,500 physician users globally, and supporting 40+ clinical use cases, InTouch Health provides an award-winning, integrated suite of technology, software, purpose-built devices and a secure global network offering a high-quality managed experience for global health care providers.  Together with Teladoc Health, the newly combined entity will be uniquely equipped to meet the growing needs of the provider market with one single, integrated solution spanning both consumer and provider-to-provider applications.

“Now is the perfect time for us to join together with Teladoc Health and deliver to hospitals and health systems everywhere what they’ve been asking for – a single, enterprise solution to support their virtual care strategies and enable them to better engage with patients at every point along their healthcare journey,” said Joseph M. DeVivo, chief executive officer at InTouch Health. “Whether it’s extending clinical capabilities, augmenting physician resources or supporting optimized outcomes, we are that trusted single partner to support them.” 

Expanding Care Capabilities and Supporting improved Outcomes

Virtual care will increasingly be adopted to improve patient outcomes as the need for care is expected to increase, driven by aging populations and the increasing prevalence of chronic diseases. Teladoc Health will be uniquely equipped to redefine the standard for where critical and specialty care can be accessed through a single virtual care solution that delivers longitudinal patient care – from the everyday to the most complex – anywhere, anytime. From stroke care to cardiology and more, this unmatched range of capabilities will enable clinicians to provide the best patient care both in medical facilities, as well as new locations such as home, transport and retail.

“With a continued focus on extending virtual care to new settings, expanding access and improving care coordination, our unmatched capabilities will extend both inside and outside the four walls of the hospital and empower care providers and patients alike,” added Gorevic.

Transaction Summary

The transaction is expected to close by the end of Q2, subject to customary closing conditions. Under the terms of the agreement, the purchase price of $600 million will consist of approximately $150 million in cash and $450 million of Teladoc Health common stock. Lazard acted as sole financial advisor and Latham & Watkins LLP acted as legal advisor to Teladoc Health in the transaction. J.P. Morgan acted as sole financial advisor and Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati LLP acted as legal advisor to InTouch Health.

Financial Reporting and Business Outlook

InTouch Health is expected to generate 2019 revenues of approximately $80 million, growing approximately 35% versus the prior year.[1]  Upon closing of the transaction, Teladoc Health will provide an updated full-year 2020 financial outlook and guidance for the combined company after adopting recent U.S. GAAP accounting pronouncements as well as completing valuation and related purchase accounting considerations for InTouch Health.

Management Presentation

Teladoc Health management will provide additional details of the InTouch Health acquisition during the company’s presentation at the 38th Annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco on Monday, January 13, at 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time (9:00 a.m. Pacific Time). A live webcast of the presentation and supplemental presentation materials will be available on the investor relations section of the company’s website at ir.teladoc.com.

About InTouch Health

InTouch Health, ranked 2019 Best in KLAS for Virtual Care Platforms, is a telehealth services company that offers healthcare providers solutions to efficiently deliver virtual care for a broad array of use cases and healthcare environments. InTouch Health provides a reliable, dedicated cloud-based network and virtual care solutions designed to ensure connectivity for health systems, providers, and patients at all times. Today, InTouch Health supports more than 3,600 care locations around the world – including many of the top 20 U.S. health systems – as they deploy telehealth programs across their enterprises. To learn more, please visit www.InTouchHealth.com.

About Teladoc Health

A mission-driven organization, Teladoc Health, Inc. is successfully transforming how people access and experience healthcare, with a focus on high quality, lower costs, and improved outcomes around the world. Ranked #1 among direct-to-consumer telehealth providers in the J.D. Power 2019 U.S. Telehealth Satisfaction Study, the integrated services from Teladoc Health include telehealth, expert medical services, AI and analytics, and licensable platform services. With more than 2,400 employees, the organization delivers care in 130 countries and in more than 30 languages, partnering with employers, hospitals and health systems, and insurers to transform care delivery. For more information, please visit www.teladochealth.com or follow @TeladocHealth on Twitter.

Media Contacts:Alex Newby
Revive Health, a Weber Shandwick company
859-753-5531
an@thinkrevivehealth.com

Courtney McLeod
Director of Communications
914-265-6789
cmcleod@teladochealth.com

Investor Contact:Patrick Feeley
Vice President of Investor Relations
914-265-7925
pfeeley@teladochealth.com

[1] Management estimates based on unaudited financial results.

Aflac Corporate Ventures makes strategic investment in Sharecare to accelerate digital health innovation and the well-being of Georgia

ATLANTA and COLUMBUS, Ga., Oct. 29, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Sharecare, the digital health company that helps people manage all their health in one place, today announced an investment from Aflac Corporate Ventures, the corporate ventures arm of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE: AFL). Focused on investment opportunities targeting growth-stage companies with a strong value proposition and capable management team, Aflac Corporate Ventures partners with companies whose disruptive innovations in insurance, healthcare, finance, analytics and other related fields align with Aflac's strategic interests.

"Beyond our like-minded missions to create innovative ways to enhance each person's health experience through digital connectivity, what truly galvanizes this opportunity with Aflac is the passion we share to improve well-being for everyone, starting with Georgia," said Jeff Arnold, founder, chairman and CEO of Sharecare. "And while we're proud of the work we have done at Sharecare to improve Georgia's year-over-year ranking on the national well-being index from No. 31 to No. 23, we're just getting started; and having companies like Aflac support our mission stands to have a transformative impact on our business, our state and the health industry at-large."

As the leading digital health company that helps people – no matter where they are in their health journey – dynamically and easily manage all of their health in one place, Sharecare's mission is to help each person build a longer, better life by enabling health transformation at the individual, organizational and community level. Through its comprehensive mobile platform, Sharecare enables people to go from assessment to action and connect to the personalized information, evidence-based programs, benefits, community resources and health services they need to live their best lives.

"Our strategic investment in Sharecare is indicative of our continued focus on growth-stage, innovative and scalable companies, and well aligned with our overall strategy to partner with companies whose missions are relevant to Aflac's core business," said Nadeem G. Khan, president of Aflac Corporate Ventures. "Working with Sharecare affords us the additional opportunity to invest proudly in a Georgia-based business and play an even bigger role in helping improve the overall health and well-being of everyone." 

The reach of Sharecare's investors extends from the living room to doctors' exam rooms and into the workplace. In addition to Aflac Corporate Ventures, the Company's strategic investors include hospitals, health care investment firms and health plans, in particular, HCA, Trinity Health, the Heritage Healthcare Innovation Fund and CareFirst; media companies Discovery Communications, Harpo Productions and Sony Pictures Television; high growth technology investment firms such as Claritas Capital; noted crossover fund Wellington Management; Quest Diagnostics; Wells Fargo; and Swiss Re, one of the world's largest reinsurance providers. Since its founding, Sharecare has raised more than $425 million in total capital.

Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC acted as financial advisor to Sharecare.

About Aflac
When a policyholder gets sick or hurt, Aflac pays cash benefits fast. For more than six decades, Aflac insurance policies have given policyholders the opportunity to focus on recovery, not financial stress. In the United States, Aflac is the leader in voluntary insurance sales at the worksite. Through its trailblazing One Day Pay(SM) initiative, for eligible claims, Aflac U.S. can process, approve and electronically send funds to claimants for quick access to cash in just one business day. In Japan, Aflac is the leading provider of medical and cancer insurance and insures 1 in 4 households. Aflac insurance products help provide protection to more than 50 million people worldwide. For 12 consecutive years, Aflac has been recognized by Ethisphere as one of the World's Most Ethical Companies. In 2018, Fortune magazine recognized Aflac as one of the 100 Best Companies to Work for in America for the 20th consecutive year and included Aflac on its list of World's Most Admired Companies for the 17th time. Aflac Incorporated is a Fortune 500 company listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol AFL. To find out more about Aflac and One Day Pay(SM), visit aflac.com or aflac.com/espanol.

About Sharecare
Sharecare is the digital health company that helps people manage all their health in one place. The Sharecare platform provides each person – no matter where they are in their health journey – with a comprehensive and personalized health profile where they can dynamically and easily connect to the information, evidence-based programs and health professionals they need to live their healthiest, happiest and most productive lives. In addition to providing individual consumers with direct access to award-winning and innovative frictionless technologies, scientifically validated clinical protocols and best-in-class coaching tools, Sharecare also helps providers, employers and health plans effectively scale outcomes-based health and wellness solutions across their entire populations. To learn more, visit www.sharecare.com.

SOURCE Sharecare

Fastest Growing Fertility Pharmacy to Deliver Enhanced Services and Programs to West Coast Clinics

Florida-based SMP Pharmacy Solutions announces strategic acquisition of Northridge Plaza Pharmacy to serve growing demand in California fertility market

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 10, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- SMP Pharmacy Solutions, one of the fastest-growing privately owned pharmacies is now set to open a brick-and-mortar location to locally support fertility clinics in California and surrounding states.

The acquisition of Northridge Plaza Pharmacy (NPP), a well-known and trusted entity among fertility clinics in California, is part of a strategic expansion plan that will allow SMP to enhance its local presence in the West Coast region – where demand for support of the growing fertility market is among the highest in the U.S.

"We are excited to extend SMP's white-glove services to the West Coast. This signifies a major step in our mission to provide our industry-leading services throughout the nation" said Armando Bardisa, CEO of SMP Pharmacy Solutions. SMP will provide a host of differentiated services to offices and patients to include personalized patient care, superior office support, and a robust technological platform.

The core values of NPP are similar to those of SMP Pharmacy Solutions; a highly personalized approach to customer service and a high standard of excellence. "We are confident that SMP will build upon the foundation we have worked hard to create here at NPP. Our patients and providers will be as thrilled as we are." states Karen and Silva Ekizian, Owners of Northridge Plaza Pharmacy.

NORTHRIDGE PLAZA PHARMACY
Northridge Plaza Pharmacy was founded in 1993 by the late Rafi Ekizian, with a mission to provide quality pharmacy services in Northridge and its neighboring communities. NPP's current operators, the Ekizian family, are confident that SMP will continue to provide true healthcare value to the California community.

SMP PHARMACY SOLUTIONS
Since 2003 SMP has grown from a local retail operation to a national award-winning fertility specialty pharmacy with licenses in 50 states and strategic partnerships with leading manufacturers. In 2018 SMP partnered with a healthcare-focused investment firm, Galen Partners, to help usher in the next phase of the pharmacy's growth and service level. SMP has developed specific therapeutic expertise in fertility pharmacy and specialty services, holding major accreditations including URAC, ACHC, and PCAB.

For information, call 855-255-5005 or send an email info@smppharmacy.com. Also visit www.smppharmacy.com.

SOURCE SMP Pharmacy Solutions

Life Image and Graticule Announce Partnership to Help Biopharma Realize the Full Potential of Advanced Data in Real World Evidence Programs

Partnership Combines Life Image’s Global Medical Evidence Network Specializing in Imaging Data with Graticule’s Deep Expertise Applying Advanced Data to High-Value Use Cases

Newton, Mass. – October 8, 2019 – Life Image, the world’s largest medical evidence network for clinical and imaging data, today announced a strategic partnership with Graticule, an advanced data firm that provides data subscriptions and advisory services. The partnership combines the market-leading capabilities of the two companies to help pharmaceutical and biotech companies accelerate drug development and post-market safety, effectiveness and label expansion.

Life Image recently launched its Real World Imaging™ solution of ‘living’ data sets, which consists of tens of millions of images and hundreds of thousands of associated reports and studies categorized by more than 25 anatomical parts including head, lung, breast, chest and more. The growing Life Image network of more than 1,500 U.S. facilities, 150,000 providers and 58,000 global clinics is fueled by a digital platform that is powered by industry-leading interoperability standards.

Graticule was formed by veteran healthcare and data entrepreneurs to help solve the many barriers that have impaired the use of advanced real world data from complex sources such as imaging, pathology, voice, IoT and unstructured reports. Graticule provides advisory services and technology solutions to answer high-value questions by defining pragmatic analytical strategies and then sourcing, cleansing, and linking data to achieve them.

“Life sciences companies have traditionally relied upon structured data such as EHR records and medical claims for RWE. Those data sources often fall short when it comes to diseases like cancer and multiple sclerosis where imaging is integral to care. Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning technology, when applied to imaging, has demonstrated early utility for improving how diseases are detected, diagnosed and treated,” said Dan Housman, Chief Technology Officer, Graticule. “Life Image’s broad provider network offers the scale needed to aggregate data to realize the full potential of AI in medicine.”

The market need for advanced data is well recognized by industry veterans.

“Imaging and radiology reports provide rich diagnostic and outcomes data but have been challenging to access and scale for the Real World Evidence (RWE) market”, said Michael Weintraub, Co-Founder & CEO, Humedica and Ardan Equity. “The Graticule Life Image partnership combines complementary health IT and life sciences expertise needed to unlock the hard last mile of utility that most groups struggle with.”

“Given the complexities of life sciences, the industry needs more dynamic data and access to therapeutic endpoints to help understand disease progression and comparative effectiveness,” said Matthew A. Michela, CEO and President, Life Image. “The availability of Real World Imaging™ as part of Life Image’s access to clinical touchpoints in its global network combined with the advisory talent and technology of Graticule can help reduce the time and cost of getting life-saving medicines to patients.”

About Graticule

Graticule provides data subscriptions and on-demand data collaborations to pharma clients to unlock the value in advanced real world data such as imaging, genomics, and free text notes. Graticule provides extensions to technologies with mature adoption within health systems to eliminate IT overhead and to accelerate the data collaboration process. Graticule is focused on curating data resources and applications for Neurology, Cardiology, Oncology and Rare Diseases. Uses of Graticule data by life sciences clients include machine learning model development, biomarker development, clinical trial recruitment, and identification of undiagnosed patients. For more information, visit Graticule at www.graticule.life.

About Life Image

Life Image is the world’s largest medical evidence network providing access to points of care and curated clinical and imaging data. It is the only company in the market today with Real World Imaging™ that provides large-scale, heterogeneous, de-identified imaging sets that are linkable to other longitudinal data. Founded in 2008, Life Image has created a digital platform using industry-leading interoperability standards to connect 10,000 facilities with more than 150,000 U.S. providers and 58,000 global clinics. Its network of hospitals, physicians, patients, life sciences, medical devices and telehealth is interconnected with a technical ecosystem of EHRs, PACS, AI solutions, cloud environments and analytics platforms.

For more information about Life Image, please visit www.lifeimage.com, visit its blog and follow the company on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

Media Contact
Ashley Owen
Aria Marketing for Life Image
(617) 332-9999 x216
aowen@ariamarketing.com

Media Contact
Robert Frigault
Graticule Marketing
(617) 216-9921
rfrigault@graticule.life

American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy Includes WATS3D in Its New Practice Guideline for the Screening and Surveillance of Barrett’s Esophagus

SUFFERN, N.Y., Sept. 04, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CDx Diagnostics, developer of the WATS3D diagnostic platform for the screening and surveillance of Barrett’s esophagus (BE), a known precursor to esophageal cancer (EC), today announced that the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE) has included WATS3D in its Standards of Practice Committee’s guideline for the screening and surveillance of BE. A copy of the Standards of Practice Committee’s guideline can be found here.

“It is our hope that broader use of WATS3D can potentially transform EC into a preventable disease. I would like to thank the physicians who have participated in our clinical studies for their guidance and dedication as well as the CDx team led by Dr. Mark Rutenberg for enabling us to reach this pivotal milestone today,” said William Huffnagle, CEO of CDx Diagnostics.

Since esophageal dysplasia is both highly focal and typically invisible, the effectiveness of upper endoscopy is widely recognized to be limited by the high rate of false-negative sampling error associated with standard 4-quadrant random biopsy. WATS3D, or Wide Area Transepithelial Sampling with 3D Tissue Analysis, addresses this limitation by using an abrasive sampling brush to create a wide area tissue sample that unlike standard cytology instruments also captures the full thickness of the epithelium, penetrating into the submucosa. This uniquely comprehensive tissue sample had not been attempted before since it is up to 50X thicker than the depth of field of a standard laboratory microscope. CDx Diagnostics invested over $80M in the development of a three-dimensional computer image analysis system that creates a 3D Micro-Biopsy view of the specimen for review by an artificial intelligence-based neural network system that highlights to any WATS3D certified pathologist potential abnormality found in this complex tissue specimen.

“This important change to the ASGE practice guideline for BE was based on a systematic review of the available literature and reflects consistent findings in multiple studies with prospectively collected data from over 15,000 patients who had WATS3D in addition to forceps biopsies,” said Michael S. Smith, MD, MBA, Chief of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at Mount Sinai West and Mount Sinai St. Luke's Hospitals, the author of the largest prospective community based study of WATS3D.

“Early detection and treatment of dysplasia has radically reduced deaths from cervical and colon cancers, but has had limited utility in reducing EC deaths partly due to the limitations of screening and surveillance protocols that rely on a tiny forceps biopsy to detect a small area of invisible precancerous change,” said Mark Rutenberg, PhD, MSEE, Founder and Chief Scientific Officer of CDx. “Adjunctive use of WATS3D in more than 250,000 patients, over 10 years, in both academic and community settings, has shown that it effectively addresses this limitation. Moreover, large published prospective trials from real world-community practice settings have demonstrated increased detection of dysplasia and Barrett’s by more than 200% and 100% respectively.”

“The quality of evidence supporting routine adjunctive use of WATS3D is at least as high as that which supports screening and surveillance endoscopy itself,” said Charles J. Lightdale, MD, of the Columbia University Medical Center and one of the authors of a 16 site academic center clinical trial of WATS3D which found that it increased the detection of the smallest, most elusive, and most dangerous form of dysplasia (HGD) by over 400%, even when compared to the meticulous endoscopy and random biopsy performed in specialty BE centers. Dr. Lightdale continued: “This ASGE recommendation recognizes that the incorporation of WATS3D into the routine clinical practice of both community and academic gastroenterology will provide an important benefit to patients by helping to ensure that their chronic heartburn and/or BE will not be allowed to develop into a devastating disease.”

Dr. Michael Smith served as Co-Principal Investigator on the National Clinical Trial and has received compensation as a consultant to CDx Diagnostics.

Dr. Charles Lightdale participated as one of the investigators in a multicenter, academic clinical trial of WATS3D and has received compensation as a consultant to CDx Diagnostics.

About Esophageal Cancer & WATS3D
Esophageal adenocarcinoma (EA) is one of the fastest growing and most fatal cancers in the United States, with an incidence that has quadrupled in men over the past two decades. It is estimated that approximately 17,650 new cases of EA will be diagnosed this year, resulting in approximately 16,080 deaths. EA can be prevented if it is detected and treated while still a harmless precancerous change which is the motivation for the millions of upper endoscopies performed each year on patients which chronic GERD and Barrett’s esophagus. A key factor limiting the effectiveness of this strategy is the fact that esophageal precancer is both highly focal and invisible and that random biopsy sampling tests less than 5% of the known or suspected BE segment. The impact of these limitations is significant, as a previously reported study showed that 25% of cancer patients diagnosed with EC had undergone FB in the previous two years.

In contrast, WATS3D samples a much greater tissue area, enabling detection of dysplastic and abnormal cells that are located between FB samples. The wider sampling area with WATS3D sharply increases the routine detection of BE and ED compared with FB.

Critically, the computer synthesized WATS3D image presents an in vivo, en face view of the gland to the pathologist — allowing for a definitive diagnosis of dysplasia in cases that would otherwise be reported as “indefinite.”

Additionally, the WATS3D computer-assisted technology yields sharply higher inter-observer agreement among pathologists compared with FB. This is because the WATS3D neural network highlights the most suspicious areas on this computer synthesized image areas for consistent pathologist review.

To learn more about WATS3D, and to access our library of photos and videos, visit https://www.cdxdiagnostics.com/media-resources/.

About WATS3D

WATS3D addresses the major inadequacies inherent in current random forceps biopsy testing of the esophagus. In just a few minutes, endoscopists can easily obtain a wide area, full-thickness transepithelial specimen for computer-assisted 3D laboratory analysis prior to diagnosis by any WATS3D certified pathologist. In large multicenter clinical trials, WATS3D has been found to significantly increase the detection rate of both Barrett’s esophagus and esophageal dysplasia. The high sensitivity and inter-observer agreement of WATS3D is due to the larger tissue area sampled, and the proprietary 3-Dimensional computer imaging system that is based on an artificial intelligence algorithm developed as part of the U.S. Strategic Defense Initiative missile defense program. To learn more about WATS3D, visit www.wats3d.com.

About CDx Diagnostics
CDx Diagnostics’ mission is to provide clinicians with easily implemented, cost effective tools to preempt cancer through enhanced detection of precancerous cellular changes. This is accomplished by a proprietary diagnostic platform that synthesizes computer imaging, artificial intelligence, molecular biology and three-dimensional cytopathology to detect precancerous change earlier and more reliably than prior methods. CDx tests require only a few minutes of practice time, are highly cost effective, widely reimbursed, and address a recognized critical gap in the current diagnostic standard of care that results in thousands of otherwise unnecessary cancer deaths each year. Routine clinical use of CDx testing has already detected thousands of dangerous precancerous that would otherwise have been missed in time for effective endoscopic treatment and application of the CDx Diagnostics platform to prevent cancers of the bile duct, stomach, and IBD affected colon is currently in progress. CDx Diagnostics is a Galen Partners portfolio company.

Contact: 
Chantal Beaudry or John Guerriero for CDx Diagnostics
cbeaudry@lazarpartners.com
jguerriero@lazarpartners.com
212-867-1762 

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/33cd146f-9e78-4186-914f-48c6c0e9c68a

A video accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/fd18cf92-5143-431f-936e-1d48b6ac89ac

Life Image Announces Launch of Real World Imaging™ (RWI™) to Improve Effectiveness of Real World Evidence Programs for Life Sciences and Artificial Intelligence-Led Innovation

Life Image Represents the Only Company Providing Large, Heterogeneous, De-Identified and Linkable Imaging Data Sets that Integrate to Longitudinal Clinical Outcomes

Newton, Mass. – September 3, 2019 – Life Image, the world’s largest medical evidence network for clinical and imaging data, today announced the launch of its new Real World Imaging (RWI™) offering to respond to researcher needs for maturing insights and accelerating drug development decisions. With its digital platform that is powered by industry-leading interoperability standards, Life Image specializes in ‘living’ or evolving data sets of novel imaging that’s linkable to other clinical information. Life Image’s RWI™ will also be used to train artificial intelligence (AI) models demanding deeper accuracy and sensitivity across diverse data sets.

Life Image’s RWI™ ‘living’ data sets represent hundreds of thousands of patients, tens of millions of images and hundreds of thousands of associated reports and studies categorized by more than 25 anatomical parts including head, lung, breast, chest and more. This heterogeneous and continuously growing data represents an expanding variety of demographics, temporal data, linked longitudinal records and virtually every global manufacturer across all modalities.

Imaging data, especially for Real World Evidence (RWE), has historically been difficult, if not impossible, to access, retrieve, view, de-identify and normalize at-scale, even though it provides clinically material insights for a growing number of therapies. Since 2008, Life Image has been the market leader using common interoperability standards to solve the many technical, procedural and structural barriers that have effectively segregated imaging data into unconnected data silos.

“The time has finally arrived that imaging can be utilized as an effective part of the RWE process by eliminating manual processing and compliance errors, providing access to large heterogeneous data sets, and doing so at the speed of the internet,” said Matthew A. Michela, CEO and President, Life Image. “With RWI™, Life Image is expanding its focus on helping researchers and innovators capture the full potential of RWE by providing ‘living’ data sets that grow and become even more meaningful over time. This makes it possible to answer questions as they arise as opposed to answering one question in a limited manner retrospectively, such as carefully controlled clinical trials. The potential benefits are innumerable for patients, payers, population health initiatives, artificial intelligence, and drug and device development.”

RWE is now a global mandate for drug development and pharmacovigilance from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the U.S. as well as regulatory agencies in Europe. RWE supports the process of establishing better arguments across the drug development lifecycle by using clinical, operational, administrative, social and patient-reported outcome information gathered from sources that capture this data at the time of the patient care transaction, as opposed to historical methods of data collection from a controlled clinical trial setting.

Common sources of Real World Data (RWD) such as labs, pharmacy, EHR and medical claims data unfortunately have limited ability to meaningfully capture a patient’s clinical circumstances. Biases exist in these sources of data, especially in oncology and cardiology, due to the type of data being collected (e.g. claims or billing codes) or due to limited access to sources of this data (reinforcing homogeneity). These challenges often result in inaccurate representations of the patient’s or population’s actual condition or the impact of a treatment. Enhancing this type of data with imaging and unstructured data sets elevates the ability to validate the effectiveness of research and statistical models, accelerating the ability to improve protocols and patient outcomes.

In addition to RWI™ data, Life Image also provides value-added services to researchers and innovators including end-to-end management for de-identification, data curation and linking across medical claims, EHR, genetics and other phenotypical commercial and public data assets.

About Life Image
Life Image is the world’s largest medical evidence network providing access to points of care and curated clinical and imaging data. It is the only company in the market today with Real World Imaging™ that provides large-scale, heterogeneous, de-identified imaging sets that are linkable to other longitudinal data. Founded in 2008, Life Image has created a digital platform using industry-leading interoperability standards to connect 10,000 facilities with more than 150,000 U.S. providers and 58,000 global clinics. Its network of hospitals, physicians, patients, life sciences, medical devices and telehealth is interconnected with a technical ecosystem of EHRs, PACS, AI solutions, cloud environments and analytics platforms.

For more information about Life Image, please visit www.lifeimage.com, visit its blog and follow the company on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

###

Media Contact
Ashley Owen
Aria Marketing for Life Image
(617) 332-9999 x216
aowen@ariamarketing.com

NextGate and Life Image Partner to Deliver Trusted Ecosystem of Clinical and Imaging Data

Partnership will enable a single, comprehensive view of patient information across a global-sharing network of clinical, imaging, medical device and pharmaceutical data.

PASADENA, Calif. and NEWTON, Mass., June 25, 2019 – NextGate, the global leader in healthcare enterprise identification, and Life Image, the world’s largest global network for sharing clinical and imaging data that is powered by industry leading interoperability standards, today announced a strategic partnership to meet increasing demand for reliable imaging workflow integration.

Eliminating silos and ensuring that each patient has one and only one record, NextGate and Life Image will help caregivers and researchers optimize care delivery thru their EHR, imaging and other health information systems, forming a solid foundation for data exchange and coordination of care.

Seamless integration of NextGate’s market-leading Enterprise Master Patient Index (EMPI) within the Life Image Interoperability Suite will help to orchestrate accurate, comprehensive patient demographic information across an extensive network of 1,500 U.S. hospitals, 8,000 affiliated sites, 150,000 providers and 58,000 global clinics. The Life Image network— a global ecosystem of clinical, imaging, medical device and pharmaceutical data now integrated into the workflows of 80 percent of all large health systems and academic medical centers in the U.S.—exchanges seven billion imaging files and manages more than 10 million clinical encounters per month.

The partnership furthers NextGate’s position in the global healthcare market as the leader in positive patient identification and solidifies its commitment to helping hospitals overcome the clinical and financial inefficiencies that result from duplicate medical records and data silos.

“Busy clinicians and care managers need high-quality data, tied to the correct patient, in order to make informed, life-saving decisions,” said Life Image President and CEO Matthew A. Michela. “We are delighted to align with NextGate to support all healthcare constituents with a unified health record to deliver the high-quality level of care every patient deserves.”

As organizations transition to value-based care delivery models, the need for a complete and accurate view of patient data across the continuum becomes increasingly critical for greater clinical, operational and financial performance. Inaccurate patient identification costs the U.S. healthcare system $6 billion annually and results in medical errors, data quality issues, administrative waste, and poor patient and provider satisfaction.

“The issue of poor patient identification and duplicate records has grown increasingly complex as more data is generated and more applications are introduced into the healthcare environment,” said NextGate CEO Andy Aroditis. “In the face of accountable, data-driven care, organizations now find themselves under increased pressure to effectively identify, track and manage individuals across care settings. We are delighted to align with Life Image to deliver unprecedented clarity and reliability into one’s medical record for informed clinical-decision making, effective care management, and a seamless patient-provider experience during every encounter.”

About NextGate
With over 200 customers in four countries, NextGate is the global leader in healthcare enterprise identification. Committed to helping organizations overcome the clinical, operational and financial challenges that result from duplicate records and disparate data, our full suite of identity matching solutions connects the entire healthcare ecosystem to drive critical improvements in quality, efficiency and safety. NextGate’s market-leading EMPI currently manages 300 million lives and is deployed by the nation’s most successful healthcare systems and health information exchanges. For more information, visit NextGate.com.

About Life Image
With its beginnings in medical image exchange, Life Image now orchestrates the flow of any and all clinical information across the patient’s journey, in real time, to help care teams and researchers make informed decisions. Founded in 2008, Life Image has spent the past decade innovating and building an interoperable network ecosystem connecting hospitals, physicians, patients, pharmaceuticals, medical device, telehealth and EHRs. Today, the Life Image network connects over 1,500 facilities in the United States and 8,000 affiliated sites, including 8 of the top 10 U.S. hospitals, with 150,000 U.S. providers and 58,000 clinics globally. For more information about Life Image, visit: www.lifeimage.com.

# # #

Media Contacts:
Stephanie Fraser
Director of Communications and Media Relations, NextGate
c: 734-233-1483 | o: 734-399-9336
stephanie.fraser@nextgate.com

Ashley Owen
Aria Marketing for Life Image
617-332-9999, x 216
aowen@ariamarketing.com

swyMed Partners with Life Image to Expand Access to Integrated Telestroke Solution to Help Patients at Rural and Community Hospitals Gain Access to Stroke Specialists

Leading Mobile Telemedicine Company Joins Life Image Network to Enhance Telestroke Offering with Robust Imaging and Clinical Data Integration

Newton, Mass. – March 28, 2018 – Life Image, the world’s largest global network for sharing clinical and imaging data that is powered by industry leading interoperability standards, and swyMed, a leading provider of mobile telemedicine solutions, today announced a new strategic partnership to enhance telestroke capabilities. This engagement will improve the ability for physicians to collaborate and coordinate care while using swyMed’s offering by seamlessly integrating relevant clinical and imaging data into the telemedicine encounter. The agreement also deepens swyMed’s ability to connect to neurologists and primary stroke centers, which are already part of the Life Image network. Life Image is currently supporting more than 140 stroke centers within its U.S. network.

This new partnership will advance swyMed’s telestroke solution by combining the exceptional bandwidth management capabilities in its videoconferencing platforms, which are highly beneficial for rural area hospitals, with access to all relevant medical records, diagnostic imaging, and other critical clinical data. This data is made available through the Life Image clinical image exchange, which is integrated into the workflows of 80 percent of all large health systems and academic medical centers in the U.S. The engagement will also provide Life Image hospital customers with a value-added telestroke solution as part of the Life Image Interoperability Suite, to extend neurology departments’ reach beyond the walls of the organization and deliver timely, high-quality care for patients affected by stroke.

“Despite widespread knowledge that every moment counts when it comes to treating acute ischemic stroke, a majority of stroke patients do not receive adequate treatment in time due to lack of access to primary stroke centers and appropriate specialists,” said Evie Jennes, CCO, swyMed. “We have dedicated extensive efforts to innovating solutions to overcome these challenges and optimize outcomes among stoke patients. By engaging with Life Image, we can now provide immediate access to imaging and clinical data to speed up diagnosis and treatment, as well as connect swyMed users to premier neurology centers and leading research facilities through Life Image’s extensive provider network.”

There are several access-related challenges associated with acute stroke treatment, which are further compounded by the fact that diagnosis and treatment are incredibly time-sensitive and require a specialist. Unfortunately, research shows a severe lack of stroke specialists in the U.S.: only 55 percent of Americans reside within 60 miles of a primary stroke center, and there are only an estimated 1,100 neurologists specializing in stroke nationwide. This new strategic partnership between swyMed and Life Image will address these data access and specialist shortage issues by offering immediate connectivity, even in the most bandwidth-challenged areas, to stroke specialists across the U.S., and integrating all relevant medical data into the telemedicine encounter to allow diagnosis and treatment to begin before the patient arrives at the hospital.

“Providers have long struggled with interoperability and data-integration issues across systems and locations, and these issues come to a head when caring for a stroke patient. Paramedics and emergency room doctors especially need to immediately reach stroke specialists and provide them with the patient’s neurological exam and other imaging and clinical data in order to achieve the best-possible outcome for the patient,” said Matthew A. Michela, President and CEO, Life Image. “We see this partnership with swyMed as an important opportunity to advance the clinical practice of telestroke. Whether it’s a rural hospital with poor bandwidth or a hospital without stroke specialists, this new engagement will benefit all providers dealing with stroke management by uniting swyMed’s cutting-edge telemedicine platform with our powerful global network of data and integration into thousands of provider workflows nationwide.”

Life Image’s interoperable solution, which integrates into existing workflows, orchestrates the flow of more than 10 million clinical encounters per month. The network connects 1,500 U.S. facilities, 8,000 affiliated sites, 150,000 U.S. providers, and 58,000 global clinics with a broader ecosystem of patients, life sciences, medical device companies, and telemedicine companies.

About Life Image

With its beginnings in medical image exchange, Life Image now orchestrates the flow of any and all clinical information across the patient’s journey, in real time, to help care teams and researchers make informed decisions. Founded in 2008, Life Image has spent the past decade innovating and building an interoperable network ecosystem connecting hospitals, physicians, patients, pharmaceuticals, medical device, telehealth and EHRs. Today, the Life Image network connects over 1,500 facilities in the United States and 8,000 affiliated sites, including 8 of the top 10 U.S. hospitals, with 150,000 U.S. providers and 58,000 clinics globally.

For more information about Life Image, please visit: www.lifeimage.com, and check out our blog and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

About swyMed

Time-critical mobile telemedicine consults require simple, fast and highly reliable connections. While many solutions fail beyond the hard-wired four walls of a hospital, swyMed’s patented technology expands telemedicine care to places where it was previously unavailable, powering truly mobile exceptional-quality live video encounters, even at the lowest bandwidths. swyMed’s proven, reliable, easy-to-use solutions, including the DOT Telemedicine Backpack and the DOT Mini, give care providers the ability to connect to doctors for real-time video telemedicine — anytime, anywhere. swyMed’s innovative technology is used by providers in rural hospitals to connect to specialists, for Remote Patient Evaluation (RPE), home health, EMS/critical transport, tele-stroke, mobile telestroke and Mobile Integrated Healthcare (MIH) programs in thousands of encounters throughout the United States, Europe, the Middle East and India.

Media Contacts

Ashley Owen
Aria Marketing for Life Image
aowen@ariamarketing.com

617-332-9999, x 216

Quotient: Transforming Transfusion Diagnostics, and Beyond presentation

Investor Day Presentation

Janak Joshi Google Talk HIMSS

Life Image CTO Janak Joshi joins the Google Cloud panel to showcase our collaboration to develop a comparative effectiveness tool. Insights are delivered at the point of care to help clinicians compare a patient with the anonymized data of other similar patients.

Accessing and incorporating medical imaging data assets to accelerate drug development

By: Matthew Michela 

Real-world evidence (RWE), based on data derived from a wide range of sources outside of a controlled clinical research setting, is increasingly important in improving patient outcomes and value across the healthcare system.

Diagnostic imaging is among the most important data source that has not yet been effectively integrated into RWE. Technical and administrative problems have held it back, but the time has finally come when imaging can become a fundamental part of RWE.

RWE as a mandate: From optional to integral

Looking ahead in drug development, generating reproducible evidence from multiple data assets is one of the key metrics for success at an inflection point. With the rapid pace to acquire and govern data assets, improving sensitivity behind hypothesis generation and early discovery, the biggest need for imaging and pathology data sits inside oncology and neurology pipelines.

Regulatory agencies are increasingly mandating RWE’s use in a wide variety of contexts. The FDA recently issued a guidance on the use of RWE, and the European Medicines Agency uses RWE for certain types of approval. The UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is using RWE for some types of drug efficacy demonstration.

As a result, RWE is being included earlier in the evidence management life cycle to influence better trial design and feasibility, better trial execution (cohort identification, recruitment, adherence, and clinical end-point access), and better insights into post-market access.

Thus, the mounting pressure to partner with provider networks with the right data access strategy to improve identification of novel safety signals on drugs, devices, and other therapeutic interventions comes directly from regulators, public and private payers, and prescribers. While randomized clinical trials (RCT) provide the necessary measure of effectiveness under ideal conditions, RWE provides the context on how the intervention works in the real world for patient populations in their everyday environments. And it does so both rapidly and over time, enabling continuous feedback.

The real power behind moving RWE earlier in the lifecycle is that it is an experience-based living data set that constantly updates, allowing for questions to be answered and refined as the basis for new insights instead of waiting until Phase III or later.

Solving the accessibility challenge in imaging

In the modern era, there is virtually no impactful medical procedure or therapy that does not have diagnostic imaging associated with it. Yet, while the healthcare industry has spent decades standardizing claims, pharmacy, lab, and electronic health records (EHRs), it has thus far failed to effectively standardize and incorporate imaging at scale.

There is a high degree of non-interoperability in clinical imaging. One contributing factor is that the science of imaging is changing rapidly, with new generations of devices appearing annually. These are important developments influencing the quality of care, but rapid change makes it difficult to maintain standardization essential for interoperable image management.

Additionally, medical images have dramatically increased in file size. An MRI might be a moving digital file composed of thousands of separate images, requiring 500 gigabytes to be transferred and stored. This is a far cry from managing a five-digit current procedure terminology (CPT) code.

Lastly, the lack of common standards made it extraordinarily difficult to access data sets of imaging biomarkers across clinical workflows and across large trial networks globally.

So, despite the recognized need, an entire industry of clinical researchers and data scientists has been built essentially without image data. Up to now, the barriers have been too difficult to surmount.

However, we have reached a point of technological maturity where it is finally possible to acquire large amounts of image data, normalize it, transmit it, store it, and analyze it. This is a definite turning point in the industry. Images can now be aggregated with all of the other data streams that go into RWE.

As of yet, the awareness of this availability of clinical imaging has not fully penetrated the community of those who manage the evidence life cycle, but it’s coming.

One reason, of course, is that the imaging must be processed, integrated, and managed in a specific way in order to be truly useful. And that requires certain hard-earned capabilities.

What is required for clinical image data to be useful for RWE?

While the medical community acknowledges that medical imaging provides high-quality data with material clinical utility, in order to be truly useful for RWE on a broad scale, imaging data must meet five requirements.

1. Come from a wide range of varied locations
   Data from one hospital network or even group of imaging centers will only provide data on a restricted patient profile with likely inherent bias. The information will inevitably be limited by population, geography, type of care, and physician expertise. Data must be available from a wide range of research and non-research sites.

2. Represent a large volume from each of those locations
   In addition to the breadth of data from various locations, there must be a large volume of imagery from each location. This is clearly a place where big data is essential. Effective algorithms, driven by deep or machine learning models, can only be developed when they have a vast number of examples to work on, and the lack of context-sensitive imaging data from a large cohort of a heterogenous population has slowed the development and training of useful models.

3. Be tied closely to the context of clinical decision making
   But in addition to the breadth and depth of data, RWE must also come in the context of clinical decisions, whether diagnosis, treatment, or follow-up—all connected intimately with all of the options, confirmations, and corrections that comprise clinical workflow. RWE’s real strength comes from how it’s generated from practical workflows, how patients adhere to therapy, and how reimbursement affects treatment.

4. Be device agnostic and fully interoperable
   Imaging has to be easily available from any capture device and in standard formats. Even when images ostensibly come in the same format, images from devices from one manufacturer can differ significantly from those from another and must be normalized to be useful. A high degree of technical interoperability, with the ability to pull data from disparate picture archiving and communications systems (PACS), dermatology cameras, PET scans, or elastography indifferently, is essential.

5. Be unambiguously indexed to a specific patient
   EHRs have a singular identification of each patient so that each piece of data and each encounter can be mapped to a specific individual. In medical imaging, each device type, storage system, and provider workflow uses different information to reconcile patients. The creation of a master patient index enabling reconciliation of patients with a high degree of confidence is essential for making imaging data available at scale.

Satisfying all five requirements enables a wide range of federated longitudinal queries on integrated, normalized, wide, and deep databases of images.

How to effectively incorporate image data into the entire evidence cycle

We are currently seeing a major consolidation of commercial health information exchange (HIE) networks, as various competitors seek to gain market dominance by becoming aggregators of healthcare data; and the drive for unique and informative data types is escalating.

But there is still no commercial source of real-world data (RWD) that fulfills all the requirements for useful medical image data and integrates into their full RWE offering. Networks that include a market-leading expert in handling large amounts of medical image data will be able to bring badly needed efficiencies to RWE. These new consortia will be able to finally provide the long-desired integration of clinical imaging into RWE.

Wide-area transepithelial sampling with computer-assisted 3-dimensional analysis (WATS) markedly improves detection of esophageal dysplasia and Barrett's esophagus:

Analysis from a prospective multicenter community-based study

M S Smith E Ikonomi R Bhuta N Iorio R D Kataria V Kaul S A GrossUS Collaborative WATS Study Group, Diseases of the Esophagus, doy099

Summary

The 4-quadrant forceps biopsy (FB) protocol for identifying Barrett's esophagus (BE) and esophageal dysplasia (ED) suffers from poor sensitivity due to significant sampling error. We investigated the benefit of wide-area transepithelial sampling with 3-dimensional computer-assisted analysis (WATS) used adjunctively to the combination of random and targeted FB in the detection of ED, and as a secondary outcome, BE. In this multicenter prospective trial, community endoscopists at 21 sites utilized WATS as an adjunct to both targeted and random FB in patients undergoing BE screening and surveillance. Investigators alternated taking FB and WATS samples first. WATS specimens were analyzed at CDx Diagnostics (Suffern, NY) while FB samples were analyzed by each site's regular pathologists. Data were de-identified and then aggregated for analysis. Of 12,899 patients enrolled, FB identified 88 cases of ED, and WATS detected an additional 213 cases missed by FB. These 213 cases represented an absolute increase of 1.65%, raising the yield from 0.68% to 2.33%. Adding WATS to FB increased the overall detection of ED by 242% (95% CI: 191%–315%). Fewer than 61 patients needed to be tested with WATS to identify an additional case of ED. The combination of random and targeted FB identified 1,684 cases of BE, and WATS detected an additional 2,570 BE cases. The absolute incremental yield of adding WATS to FB is 19.9%, increasing the rate of detection from 13.1% to 33%. Adding WATS to FB increased the overall detection of BE by 153% (95% CI: 144–162%). The number needed to test with WATS in order to detect an additional case of BE was 5. Whether FB or WATS was done first did not impact the results. In this study, comprised of the largest series of patients evaluated with WATS, adjunctive use of the technique with targeted and random FB markedly improved the detection of both ED and BE. These results underscore the shortcomings of FB in detecting BE-associated neoplasia, which can potentially impact the management and clinical outcomes of these patients.

Read full article with images, tables and references

CVS Health, Sharecare Launch Digital Drug Discount Card

Forbes, Bruce Japsen, Senior Contributor

Digital health company Sharecare has launched a “digital pharmacy savings card” to help the uninsured and those with high deductibles get access to discounts on prescription medicines from CVS Health’s vast pharmacy network.

Known as Sharecare Rx, the discount is different than traditional drug discount cards in that consumers download Sharecare's app and can immediately search for specific medications, prices and pharmacy locations . Financial terms of the Sharecare partnership with CVS weren’t disclosed.

Though Sharecare Rx is initially being touted as for the uninsured or those who lack sufficient drug coverage, executives say it can also serve as a “second opinion” for consumers in any drug plan to compare prices and access to prescription medicines. Sharecare Rx is a new part of Atlanta-based Sharecare’s digital health platform.

“By partnering with CVS Caremark to build Sharecare Rx into our platform, we are removing barriers to empower consumers to truly manage all their health in one place,” Sharecare co-founder and CEO Jeff Arnold, who also founded WebMd, said in a statement accompanying the announcement. “We are also actively working with our health plan and employer partners to integrate their formulary coverage and pricing into Sharecare so their members can seamlessly access their prescription benefits, as well as information and tools to help them adhere to a healthier regimen.”

It’s the latest effort by startups and other new entrepreneurial entrants in the prescription business to help consumers gain better information about the costs and quality of their medicines.

ProMedica Health System to Deploy PeriGen Artificial Intelligence Solution Focused on Improving Outcomes in Childbirth

System Targets Preventable Morbidity and Mortality in Childbirth

CARY, N.C. and TOLEDO, Ohio, Oct. 2, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- PeriGen, an innovator of perinatal early warning systems, today announced that ProMedica, a not-for-profit integrated health care organization serving 30 states, plans to deploy the company's PeriWatch™ Vigilance™, an artificial intelligence-based maternal-fetal early warning system (EWS), in all of its labor and delivery hospitals. Vigilance is designed to help clinicians identify troubling trends earlier and more consistently than manual assessments and creates a common language for nurses and physicians to assess cases. 

The artificial intelligence-driven technology, developed by PeriGen, is the latest chapter in ProMedica's commitment to lead improvement in Ohio and Michigan's infant and maternal mortality and morbidity rates, which currently rank near the bottom of the nation. The software is designed to be implemented in a matter of weeks and brings an unprecedented level of monitoring to the labor and delivery floor. It does not require replacing any current systems already in place.

"While we invest significantly in training our nurses, we feel this technology will enhance our ability to provide the safest care possible," said Kent Bishop, MD, Chief Medical Officer for ProMedica Physicians and Acute Care. "Using AI to help our nurses assess and consistently identify irregularities is so logical, we considered trying to build our own solution; during our research we found a proven system that we can partner with."

Matthew Sappern, CEO of PeriGen, said that ProMedica's commitment to patient safety is profound: "ProMedica has taken a very visible leadership role in combatting infant and maternal morbidity and mortality and aspires to continuous improvement in this service line."

ABOUT PROMEDICA
ProMedica is a mission-based, not-for-profit integrated healthcare organization headquartered in Toledo, Ohio. It serves communities in 30 states. The organization offers acute and ambulatory care, an insurance company with a dental plan, and post-acute and academic business lines. The organization has more than 70,000 employees, 13 hospitals, 2,700 physicians and advanced practice providers with privileges, 900+ healthcare providers employed by ProMedica Physicians, a health plan, and 450 assisted living facilities, skilled nursing and rehabilitation centers, memory care communities, outpatient rehabilitation clinics, and hospice and home health care agencies. Driven by its Mission to improve your health and well-being, ProMedica has been nationally recognized for its advocacy programs and efforts to address social determinants of health. For more information about ProMedica, please visit www.promedica.org/aboutus.

ABOUT PERIGEN
PeriGen offers innovative perinatal software solutions that incorporate artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance clinical efficiency and standardization of care during childbirth. Led by skilled OB practitioners and IT visionaries, PeriGen has created the PeriWatch platform to provide consistent analysis and efficient display of complex data in real-time to promote better human recognition and communication about impending problems during labor. With PeriWatch, clinicians can spend more time on direct patient care and less time on manual calculations and data manipulation. To learn how to VigilanceTM can improve situational awareness and help manage risk, visit www.perigen.com; follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Facebook; or call 984.208.4250 or email.

Media Contact for PeriGen:                                                                                       
Heather Caouette
Amendola Communications
508.579.3894
hcaouette@acmarketingpr.com

SOURCE PeriGen

Related Links

http://perigen.com

Galen Partners completes investment in SMP Pharmacy Solutions, a niche-focused, high-touch specialty pharmacy

Galen teams with SMP’s Founder / CEO and existing management to recapitalize the company

Stamford, CT (July 19, 2018) – Galen Partners, a healthcare-focused growth equity investment firm, announced today that it has completed a majority recapitalization of SMP Pharmacy Solutions. Headquartered in Miami, FL, SMP is a high-touch, service-oriented specialty pharmacy that focuses on niche and complex therapeutic areas such as fertility.  SMP differentiates itself from other specialty pharmacies through its personalized service and its ability to maintain high medication adherence amongst its patients. The financial terms of the transaction have not been disclosed.

“We are excited about the prospect of building upon SMP’s high-touch pharmacy platform,” said Philip Borden, Managing Director at Galen Partners. “Founder & CEO Armando Bardisa and the rest of the SMP team have done a fantastic job of positioning SMP for future growth within fertility and other complex therapeutic areas such as inflammatory diseases, gastroenterology, oncology, and infectious diseases like HIV.” SMP benefits from the significant expansion of specialty drugs, which has been the single biggest driver of the pharmaceutical industry’s growth.

Armando Bardisa, SMP’s Founder and CEO, stated, “We are proud of SMP’s history of delivering quality patient care through personalized service, highly trained and knowledgeable staff, advanced data and analytics, and a company culture centered on teamwork and integrity. On behalf of the entire SMP team, we are excited about our partnership with Galen, and we know SMP will accomplish even greater things with the backing and support of our new partner.”

SMP’s COO Brian Brito added, “From our first meeting with the Galen team, we knew we had met a group of individuals who had an appreciation for what we were all about. Galen Partners brought something far more important than investment capital to the table:  They brought an industry-savvy network of advisors, including Galen Special Investment Partner Michelle Hasson, as well as, a strategic framework for how we might approach building a valuable enterprise.”  Mr. Bardisa and Mr. Brito will continue to lead the SMP team.

About Galen Partners
Founded in 1990, Galen Partners is a leading healthcare-focused growth equity investment firm. With nearly $1 billion invested over six funds, Galen has invested in and helped to build more than 70 companies since the firm’s inception.  Galen continues a tradition of strategic collaboration and partnership with founders and management teams to build healthcare market leaders. Under the direction of the Managing Directors Philip Borden, David Jahns and Zubeen Shroff, Galen seeks to make investments in high-growth healthcare companies with revenues greater than $10 million and EBITDA between $0 and $9 million.  SMP represents the second investment out of Galen Fund VI.

For more information, please visit www.galen.com.

Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C. served as legal advisors to Galen. FTI Consulting served as financial advisors to Galen. Monroe Capital provided debt financing for the transaction.

About SMP Pharmacy Solutions
SMP Pharmacy Solutions is a leading high growth specialty pharmacy that provides treatments for a variety of complex disease states. Since 2003, management has grown SMP from a local retail pharmacy to a nationwide specialty pharmacy with licenses in 45 states and strategic partnerships with leading manufacturers and MSOs. SMP differentiates itself from other specialty pharmacies by its industry-leading service, combining customizable patient management and pharmacy programs with access to in-demand therapeutics. SMP has established a nationwide reputation with patients, payors, providers, and manufacturers for delivering true healthcare value to all constituents. SMP has developed specific therapeutic expertise in fertility and rheumatoid arthritis, and has strong experience in dermatology, infectious disease, gastroenterology, osteoporosis, and oncology.

Berger Singerman, LLP served as legal advisors to SMP.  FocalPoint Partners served as investment banking advisor to SMP.

For more information, please visit www.smppharmacy.com

Stacey Bauer
Office: (203) 653-6473
sbauer@galen.com