InTouch Health Acquires C30 Medical Corporation, Further Expanding its Ability to Assist Health Systems Manage Physician Shortages

Herb Rogove, DO, FCCM, FACP joins InTouch Health as Chief Medical Officer

Santa Barbara, CA, January 31, 2017 – InTouch Health, the leading specialty telehealth enterprise provider, today announced the acquisition of C30 Medical Corporation (“C3O”), a physician-led telemedicine management and physician coverage provider consisting of board certified specialists in emergent Tele-Neurology and Tele-Neurocritical Care. C30’s physicians provide support into many health systems spanning six U.S. states. In conjunction with the acquisition, Herbert Rogove, DO, FCCM, FACP, Founder and President of C30, joins InTouch as Chief Medical Officer. 

Joseph M. DeVivo, Chief Executive Officer of InTouch Health, stated, “The acquisition of C30 and the appointment of Dr. Rogove to lead the clinical aspects of our physician capacity management offering underscore our commitment to expanding the solutions enabled by our enterprise-based telemedicine platform. Telehealth provides unprecedented opportunities for clinicians across any clinical service line to increase coverage, reduce costs, and improve outcomes. Following our acquisition of AcuteCare Telemedicine last summer, C30 further extends our platform to better meet the needs of our Health System partners and address physician shortages nationwide. We are extremely pleased to welcome Dr. Rogove and his team of highly trained specialists to InTouch Health.“ 

Dr. Rogove has over thirty years of experience directing and establishing ICUs and Intensivist, Hospitalist and Emergency Medicine programs in academic and community hospital settings. He has held faculty appointments at University of Southern California, University of Pittsburgh and the Ohio State University. He has also held numerous leadership and administrative positions at major tertiary care facilities throughout the United States, and joined the board of directors of the American Telemedicine Association in 2012, serving as Secretary/Treasurer from 2014 through 2016. 

“This is such an exciting time for the field of telemedicine, and truly for medicine in general as the ‘tele-‘ part of our field becomes an integrated part of the overall healthcare delivery system,” stated Dr. Rogove. “After devoting much of my career to implementing telemedicine-based healthcare programs, it is exciting to join forces with InTouch Health to expand our class-leading technology and services offerings.” 

About C30 Medical Corporation

Formed in 2008, C30 provides emergent neurology consult services to more than 30 hospitals across the country. All C3O Physicians are board certified in their specialty, possess extensive backgrounds with prestigious academic and medical institutions, and subscribe to the quality standards of The Joint Commission, the Leapfrog Group, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), and other national organizations dedicated to quality care. 

About InTouch Health

InTouch Health provides its world class 24/7 monitored InTouch Telehealth Network, comprised of FDA-cleared telehealth systems, clinical workflow solutions and software, and managed services to hospitals and healthcare systems for the delivery of clinical care, anytime, anywhere. Today, InTouch Health supports more than 130 healthcare systems, 5,800 network users, and 1600 care locations around the world as they deploy telehealth programs across their enterprises. InTouch Health has surpassed 850,000 potentially life-saving telehealth sessions over the InTouch Telehealth Network, and is forecasted to manage more than 270,000 clinical sessions in 2017. 

Corporate Contact: 

Stephen Pedroff
Vice President Communications
InTouch Health
spedroff@intouchhealth.com
(805) 562-8686, ext. 157 office
(805) 866-1962 mobile 

Media Contact: 

Allie Holmes
Executive Vice President
Edelman
Allie.Holmes@edelman.com
(214) 443-7599 office
(214) 901-1890 mobile 

GE Healthcare and InTouch Health Collaboration Delivers Enhanced Technical and Product Training Through Remote Presence

Collaboration at more than 20 sites worldwide training over 300 medical professionals

Commercialization rolling out to more than 200 additional sites in 2017

Santa Barbara, CA, November 28, 2016 – Today, InTouch Health, a leader in enterprise telehealth, and GE Healthcare’s Global Education Services division, announced commencement of Virtual Onsite Training, a remote presence training commercialization effort after successful completion of a two-year pilot. The initiative begins with establishing a total of 50 InTouch Health Tech™ remote presence devices in rotation at more than 200 global locations to support the technical and product training of clinicians, physicians, and technicians using a variety of GE Healthcare products.

During the pilot, the InTouch Health telehealth network and remote presence devices were used to connect GE experts remotely to healthcare providers across GE’s installed base around the world. More than 200 telepresence training classes occurred, involving more than 300 medical professionals, in both the proper use of GE equipment and best practices. The pilot program demonstrated that adding this remote presence training resulted in higher effectiveness than traditional training alone, and offered greater convenience to the customer through the flexibility of on-demand telepresence. The Virtual Onsite Training device replicates face-to-face training through an attached video monitor and robotics for two-way communication and interaction.

Mario Lois, General Manager, GE Healthcare Global Education Services commented, “GE Healthcare provides technology to providers and patients around the world. The users who operate those devices are as impactful, if not more so, on the actual efficiency and patient outcomes as the product itself. Therefore, GE has made it a global priority to re-imagine its training and education solutions to help users achieve and maintain optimal skills and product usage. Our collaboration with InTouch Health enables network connectivity, hands on interaction, and an intuitive user experience for their online mobile remote presence training which will be foundational to reaching this goal.”

The InTouch Health telehealth network is a single unified cloud infrastructure that includes data centers around the globe, covering the Americas, Asia, Africa, Europe and the Middle East. The network provides a regulatory (HIPAA) compliant, secure, scalable, and always available network hosting FDA Class II and Class I medical devices. The network architecture allows for the delivery of business intelligence and data analytics gathered from all data traffic managed on any connected device. This is the same network used by GE to deliver their customer on-demand Virtual Onsite Training.

Joseph DeVivo, President and CEO of InTouch Health said, “Our work with GE Healthcare is a natural extension of the clinical solutions we provide each day to thousands of practitioners, delivering seamless clinical efficiency no matter the clinical setting, location or treatment modality. The right care, at the right time, anywhere, is easily migrated to the vision of GE Healthcare of ensuring that the person using a device has the best training and support possible, whenever and wherever it’s needed. We are very excited to work with GE Healthcare in the area of data analytics to help measure and optimize the effectiveness of what so far has been a very successful program.”

Watch this video to learn more about the partnership.

About GE Healthcare

GE Healthcare provides transformational medical technologies and services to meet the demand for increased access, enhanced quality and more affordable healthcare around the world. GE (NYSE: GE) works on things that matter – great people and technologies taking on tough challenges. From medical imaging, software & IT, patient monitoring and diagnostics to drug discovery, biopharmaceutical manufacturing technologies and performance improvement solutions, GE Healthcare helps medical professionals deliver great healthcare to their patients. For more information about GE Healthcare, visit our website at www.gehealthcare.com.

About InTouch Health

InTouch Health provides its FDA-cleared InTouch Telehealth Network and Managed Services to hospitals and healthcare systems for the delivery of specialty care, anytime, anywhere. InTouch Health has helped more than 130 healthcare systems deploy telehealth programs across their enterprise quickly and seamlessly using its industry-leading combination of people, processes, and technology. InTouch Health has surpassed 800,000 potentially life-saving telehealth sessions over the InTouch Telehealth Cloud and now manages more than 200,000 clinical connections annually for over 1,500 hospital locations globally.

Quotient Limited Announces $120 Million Secured Debt Financing

JERSEY, Channel Islands, October 14, 2016 (GLOBENEWSWIRE) – Quotient Limited (“Quotient”)(NASDAQ: QTNT), a commercial-stage diagnostics company, today announced the completion of a private placement of up to $120 million of 12% Senior Secured Notes due 2023. At the initial closing of the transaction, Quotient issued $84 million of notes and received net proceeds of approximately $79 million after expenses. Quotient will issue an additional $36 million of notes to note purchasers upon public announcement of field trial results for the MosaiQ™ IH Microarray that demonstrates greater than 99% concordance for the detection of blood group antigens and greater than 95% concordance for the detection of blood group antibodies when compared to predicate technologies for a pre-defined set of blood group antigens and antibodies.

Quotient intends to use the net proceeds from this transaction, among other things, to repay all outstanding obligations to MidCap Financial Trust under its existing loan agreement and for general corporate purposes. Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC acted as sole placement agent for the transaction.

The notes bear interest at a rate of 12% per annum, payable semi-annually on April 15 and October 15 of each year, commencing on April 15, 2017. On each payment date, commencing on April 15, 2019, Quotient will pay an installment of principal of the notes pursuant to a fixed amortization schedule. The stated maturity date of the notes is October 15, 2023. The notes are redeemable at the option of Quotient at a redemption price that includes a make-whole premium until October 14, 2018 and, thereafter, at a redemption price that includes a declining premium to par over four years. The notes are guaranteed by Quotient's subsidiaries and secured by substantially all of the property and assets (subject to certain exclusions) of Quotient and its subsidiaries.

Additionally, Quotient has sold a royalty right to the note purchasers, representing a right to receive an aggregate 2.0% royalty payment on net sales of MosaiQ™ instruments and consumables in the donor testing market in the European Union and the United States. The royalty will be payable beginning on the date that Quotient or its affiliates enters into a contract for the sale of MosaiQ™ instruments or consumables in the donor testing market in the European Union or the United States and ending on the last day of the calendar quarter in which the eighth annual anniversary of the first contract date occurs.

For more information regarding the terms and conditions of the notes, please refer to the Current Report on Form 8-K filed today by Quotient with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy these securities, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to the registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. The securities have not been and will not be registered under the
Securities Act of 1933 or any state securities laws, and unless so registered, may not be offered or sold in the United States except pursuant to an exemption from the registration requirements of the Securities Act of 1933 and applicable state securities laws.

About Quotient Limited
Quotient is a commercial-stage diagnostics company committed to reducing healthcare costs and improving patient care through the provision of innovative tests within established markets. With an initial focus on blood grouping and serological disease screening, Quotient is developing its proprietary MosaiQ™ technology platform to offer a breadth of tests that is unmatched by existing commercially available transfusion diagnostic instrument platforms. The company's operations are based in Edinburgh, Scotland; Eysins, Switzerland and Newtown, Pennsylvania.

Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements include statements regarding the intended use of proceeds from the secured debt offering and the issuance of the additional notes. Such statements are based on current assumptions that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual outcomes and results to differ materially. These risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control, include the risks and uncertainties associated with the application of the net proceeds from the secured debt offering as well as the other risks set forth in the company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. Quotient disclaims any obligation to update these forward-looking statements.

The Quotient logo and MosaiQ™ are registered trademarks or trademarks of Quotient Limited and its subsidiaries in various jurisdictions.

CONTACT: Stephen Unger, Chief Financial Officer — stephen.unger@quotientbd.com; (212) 228-7572

SonaCare Medical Paves the Way with the First HIFU Device Cleared by the FDA for Prostate Tissue Ablation - A Year in Review

CHARLOTTE, N.C., Oct. 5, 2016 -- SonaCare Medical, leading developer and manufacturer of High Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU) Technologies, reports over 40 acquisitions of Sonablate® technology since the device received FDA clearance on October 09, 2015.

This Sunday marks the 1-year anniversary of the Food and Drug Administration's decision to clear Sonablate for sale and use in the United States for the ablation of prostate tissue. Within its first year in the U.S. market, 43 physicians have started offering Sonablate as an alternative to surgery or radiation, and 10 more doctors are in the process of completing their training.

As a core strategic initiative, SonaCare Medical has established a significant presence among top-tier academic institutions across the United States including respected universities located in California, Indiana, Maryland, New York, and Texas.  Their adoption of Sonablate for tissue ablation has not only validated the utility of Sonablate technology in addressing the prostate but has also created a unique teaching and training environment for the next generation of urologists.

"Urologists at these institutions have done their research and clearly appreciate the versatility of the technology and the international studies, demonstrating successful clinical outcomes for over 10 years," comments Kevin Alverson, Vice President of Sales. "Our dominant presence in the U.S. HIFU prostate ablation market, and notably at academic centers within the United States, speaks a great deal to the caliber of physicians at these institutions.   We are proud to work with doctors who clearly value patient safety, quality of life, and clinical outcomes."

SonaCare Medical attributes much of its success in the prostate tissue ablation market to several unique Sonablate software features, including the use of MRI/US fusion to precisely target regions slated for ablation. In addition, Sonablate provides the feedback data required by the physician to assess how the prostate is responding to energy deposition, and the tools required to modify that energy to achieve complete ablation. These multiple and unique features all play a role in providing the accuracy, consistency, and safety required for the delivery of focused ultrasound energy into the prostate.

Sonablate was the first device to receive regulatory authorization from the FDA for the focused ultrasound ablation of prostate tissue. Since its introduction over 15 years ago, Sonablate technology has been used around the world on 15,000 patients in over 30 countries, including approximately 4,000 U.S. men who have had this procedure performed outside the U.S.

About SonaCare Medical, LLC

SonaCare Medical is a world leader in minimally invasive focused ultrasound (HIFU) technologies. SonaCare Medical is committed to developing focused ultrasound related technologies that support precise and innovative procedures for the treatment of a range of medical conditions. SonaCare Medical, with its subsidiary Focus Surgery, Inc., designs and manufactures medical devices, including the following: Sonablate®, which has 510(K) clearance in the U.S. under a De Novo regulatory classification; Sonablate® 500, which has CE Marking and has obtained regulatory authorization in more than 49 countries outside the U.S.; Sonatherm® laparoscopic HIFU surgical ablation system, which has 510(K) clearance in the U.S., has CE Marking and has obtained regulatory authorization in more than 30 countries outside the U.S.

For additional information, visit www.SonaCareMedical.com

Forward Looking Statements. 

The Company's forward-looking statements are based on management's current expectations and assumptions regarding the Company's business and performance, the economy and other future conditions and forecasts of future events, circumstances and results. As with any projection or forecast, forward-looking statements are inherently susceptible to uncertainty and changes in circumstances. The Company's actual results may vary materially from those expressed or implied in its forward-looking statements. Any forward-looking statement made by the Company speaks only as of the date on which it is made. The Company is under no obligation to, and expressly disclaims any obligation to, update or alter its forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, subsequent events or other factors.

Sharecare Acquires Virtual Reality Company To Transform Patient Engagement and Medical Education

BioLucid’s Revolutionary Human Body Simulation Platform Positions Sharecare As Leader in Visual Health, Paves Way For Medical Record of the Future

ATLANTA/NEW YORK–September 29, 2016– Sharecare, the digital health company helping people manage all their health in one place, today announced at Advertising Week 2016 that it is acquiring BioLucid, the leading developer of virtual reality and immersive healthcare technology, including the YOU® VR experience available for HTC VIVE[1]. The acquisition and resulting launch of the Sharecare Reality Lab position Sharecare as the leader in visual health, empowering its users and their loved ones; healthcare providers and patients; educators and students; and pharmaceutical companies and their customers to better communicate and understand medical diagnoses, treatments and patient journeys.

Though virtual reality is being used in some niche areas of healthcare—and related hardware is increasingly user-friendly and affordable—the need to purchase additional equipment will continue to be a barrier to entry for many consumers. Therefore, in addition to making the YOU® VR experience available on other virtual reality platforms in the near future, Sharecare is leveraging BioLucid’s health content across its web and mobile applications so people can view–with or without a VR headset–immersive and accurate anatomical simulations of the human body, including disease states, and related treatments and therapies.

“Visual storytelling technologies–particularly virtual reality blended with 360-degree video–have boundless potential in healthcare and patient engagement, yet consumer-facing innovation in VR has been limited mostly to entertainment and gaming,” said Jeff Arnold, chairman and CEO of Sharecare. “By differentiating our platform with BioLucid’s immersive simulation of the human body, we can turn data into actionable, visual intelligence, and make a transformative impact on patient engagement, health literacy, medical education and therapy adherence.”

Sharecare will combine BioLucid’s real-time simulation of the human body with 360-degree video and augmented reality to help patients and providers better understand what each is experiencing by telling the story of patient journeys through scientifically accurate, deep visualizations of conditions, disease states and therapies. From first awareness of symptoms through all stages of treatment and follow-up, these interactive experiences will enable you to view the perspectives of the patient, caregiver or provider at each step in their healthcare journey, fostering empathy and understanding among all healthcare constituents.

Sharecare also is offering its partners–from educational institutions to medical device manufacturers and pharmaceutical companies, and providers–ways to maximize opportunities to obtain unprecedented visual context to discuss healthy physiology, disease and treatment. For example, an Ivy League institution has licensed the BioLucid platform and content so educators can teach students anatomy and physiology in a much more visual and experiential way. Pharmaceutical and medical device marketers can also license the platform and content to create their own custom materials, and sponsor existing information related to organs, treatments and therapies. Finally, for providers who license the platform and content for patient education, the potential is powerful, as more informed patients have better recoveries, reduced readmissions and improved satisfaction; and the visual nature of the platform transcends language barriers for non-English speaking patients.

“As a neurosurgeon, it’s not sufficient simply to tell a patient what’s happening inside their brain, or how a course of treatment will improve their health or even save their life; rather, in many cases, they need to see it to believe it–much less understand it,” said Sanjay Gupta, MD, a practicing neurosurgeon and CNN’s chief medical correspondent. “I’ve long been fascinated with technology’s ability to fuel human optimization, and patient education is an area in which we can greatly improve–that’s why I was immediately intrigued by what Sharecare can achieve with BioLucid’s interactive simulations. I’m looking forward to seeing how visual health can make a positive impact on episodic care, and potentially alter the course of a person’s health journey every day.”

As an extension of Sharecare’s vision to lead in visual health and put all your health in one place, the company is exploring how it can pave the way for the medical record of the future by enabling people to see what’s happening inside their own bodies. Today, even if a patient successfully obtains their medical record, they learn quickly that the two-dimensional stack of paper lacks context and is too clinical for the average patient to understand.

To counter that, as part of each user’s Sharecare profile, the newly formed Sharecare Reality Lab is prototyping a unique “living avatar” that dynamically changes as a person does. Whether it’s an improvement in RealAge, a migraine identified in an AskMD consultation, the seasonal allergies that prompted a telehealth visit, or frictionless data–like heart rate or stress level–captured by sensors and trackers on a smartphone, your avatar will be a comprehensive three-dimensional model of you, detailing how your actions and habits are impacting your health at a micro and macro level–and, in the future, could become your living, breathing medical record.

As part of the deal, BioLucid’s co-founders Jeff Hazelton, Lawrence Kiey and Dale Park are joining Sharecare, and will retain their office in Sarasota, Florida, under the name Sharecare Reality Lab. Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

About Sharecare

Sharecare is a health and wellness engagement solution providing people with personalized resources to help them live their healthiest lives. Nearly 41 million people have shared more than 6 billion data points about their health status and habits with Sharecare, which uses that information to create a comprehensive health profile allowing users to access all of their health resources in one place, and dynamically connect to the knowledge, evidence-based programs and health professionals they need.

[1] VIVE is a first-of-its-kind virtual reality platform developed by HTC and Valve for total immersion in virtual worlds. Designed from the ground up for room-scale VR and true-to-life interactions, VIVE delivers on the promise of VR with technology that’s game changing and content that’s best in class. VIVE has been recognized with over 65 awards and wide critical acclaim since its unveiling in 2015. For more information, please visit www.vive.com.

PeriGen and WatchChild Combine Forces

Combination to Support Currently Installed Systems and Introduce New Technology and Services to Clients

PRINCETON, N.J., Sept. 27, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- PeriGen®, the leading developer of fetal surveillance systems using artificial intelligence (AI) for clinical and operational benefit, today announced that Perigen has acquired the WatchChild® Fetal Monitoring System from Hill-Rom Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: HRC). The combination creates the most comprehensive perinatal safety platform available, and marks a new era in obstetric solutions.

Users of both the PeriGen PeriCALM® and WatchChild systems will continue using their current systems with full contracted support. Going forward customers will have access to incremental clinical tools, analytics, increased enterprise management and interfacing libraries as well as a telemedicine infrastructure. Together PeriCALM and WatchChild count many of the nation's leading health systems and clinicians as clients, development partners, and research collaborators.

PeriGen's AI-driven clinical decision support (CDS) tools are FDA-cleared and its pattern recognition software was validated inan independent study published by the NICHD. The tools provide valuable clinical, financial and operational benefits to users and will be made available to WatchChild customers.  

Additionally, the company will take advantage of unique and significant advances that WatchChild has made in Enterprise Software Management, electronic health record (EHR) integration and immediate access to maternal/fetal data.  The combined investments in research and development as well as personnel will also result in expanded clinical, implementation and customer support teams.  

The go-forward entity will be led by PeriGen chief executive officer Matthew Sappern. The management team will include senior executives from both companies, including the appointment of Brian Bishop, currently the general manager of WatchChild, as chief product officer responsible for product strategy and development.

"When the PeriGen and WatchChild teams came together to discuss a combination, we shared a vision to provide a suite of clinical and IT management tools that go far beyond basic fetal surveillance and EHR interfacing," said Sappern. "Our respective customers are demanding a strategic solution rather than just a utility that digitizes the fetal strip; they want more clinical, financial and operational control and impact."

Steven Clark, M.D., professor of maternal fetal medicine at Baylor College of Medicine commented, "I've had the pleasure of working independently on research projects with the PeriGen team and seeing how well the technology can augment nursing to the benefit of patients, clinicians and research teams. As a current WatchChild customer, I am excited about this combination."

"All of us on the WatchChild team are enthusiastic about what this means for our customers in the way of innovation, resources and commitment to advances in patient safety and operational excellence," said Bishop. "Building on these two platforms, sharing ideas and experience, is an exciting opportunity for the company, our customers and, ultimately, patients."

In conjunction with the WatchChild acquisition, PeriGen has closed an investment round led by Ambina Partners that includes participation by existing PeriGen investors Galen Partners and Trident Capital. As a result of this investment, Greg Share, Ambina Partners' founder, will join PeriGen's board, together with John Gomez, CEO of cyber security firm Sensato and former CTO of Allscripts.

Together PeriCALM and WatchChild own a sizable footprint in the market with hundreds of clients and installations across the country spanning academic medical centers, tertiary centers, community hospitals and critical access facilities. 

ABOUT PERIGEN, INC.
PeriGen offers innovative perinatal software solutions that incorporate artificial intelligence (AI) features to enhance clinical efficiency and standardization of care during childbirth. Led by skilled OB practitioners and IT visionaries, PeriGen has created the PeriCALM platform to provides consistent analysis and efficient display of complex data in real-time to promote better human recognition and communication about impending problems during labor. With PeriCALM clinicians can spend more time on direct patient care and less time on manual calculations and data manipulation.  To learn more, visit www.perigen.com; follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Facebook; or call 877.700.4755 or email.

ABOUT HILL-ROM HOLDINGS, INC.
Hill-Rom is a leading global medical technology company with 10,000 employees worldwide. We partner with health care providers in more than 100 countries by focusing on patient care solutions that improve clinical and economic outcomes in five core areas: Advancing Mobility, Wound Care and Prevention, Clinical Workflow, Surgical Safety and Efficiency and Respiratory Health. Around the world, Hill-Rom's people, products, and programs work towards one mission: Every day, around the world, we enhance outcomes for patients and their caregivers. Visit www.hill-rom.com for more information.

Media Contact:
Lynne Hagan
PeriGen
609.240.2209
lynne.hagan@perigen.com

Michelle Noteboom
Amendola Communications for PeriGen
512.426.2870
mnoteboom@acmarketingpr.com

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160916/408852LOGO

SOURCE PeriGen

Related Links

http://www.perigen.com

Sharecare Acquires Healthways’ Population Health Business, Secures Leadership Position in Employer and Health Plan Markets

Healthways’ Population Health Employees and Contracts Transfer To Sharecare, Increasing Revenue By Over $250 Million Annually

ATLANTA, July 27, 2016 - Sharecare, the digital health company helping people manage all their healthcare in one place, today announced it is acquiring the Population Health business of Healthways (NASDAQ: HWAY), including: Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index®; Innergy Healthier Weight, a collaboration with Johns Hopkins Medicine that provides a high-touch, personalized solution proven to sustain weight loss; its two Emerging Solutions businesses, Dan Buettner’s Blue Zones Project® and Dr. Ornish’s Program for Reversing Heart Disease™; and Healthways’ stake in Healthways Brasil Servicos de Consultoria Ltda., its Brazil-based joint venture and innovation lab with SulAmerica Servicos de Saude S.A., a subsidiary of the largest independent insurer in Brazil, Sul America S.A. (BM&FBovespa: SULA11).

“This acquisition is a pivotal move toward accelerating innovation and executing on our vision, and – with more than a quarter billion dollars in Healthways’ customer contracts annually – catapults us into a leadership position in the employer and health plan markets,”

said Jeff Arnold, chairman and CEO of Sharecare. “The Healthways team are pioneers in disease management and overall population health, and will greatly complement what our company has built at Sharecare. We also are enthusiastic about the opportunity to collaborate and innovate with Healthways’ premier customers – visionary organizations with strong leadership, dominant market share and a long-standing commitment to consumerism. Together, we stand to make a profound impact on healthcare.” 

By delivering Healthways’ scientifically validated clinical protocols through Sharecare’s proven engagement platform, customers will be able to meet their goals for efficiently scaling health and wellness initiatives across their organizations and into the future. 

Sharecare will assume Healthways’ existing population health contracts, including thosewith leading health plans like Anthem, CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield (CareFirst), and the Hawai‘i Medical Service Association (HMSA).

“When CareFirst pioneered its Patient Centered Medical Home (PCMH) model – stressing care coordination, primary care, global accountability for improved cost and quality outcomes – we selected Healthways to play an integral role in the program’s success,” said Chet Burrell, CareFirst president and CEO. “Sharecare has a shared belief in our mission, and possesses the innovative vision and technology expertise to help us foster optimal engagement for our members while supporting our business model.” 

“HMSA is unwavering in our commitment to advance the health and well-being of everyone in Hawai’i, and for more than 15 years, Healthways has been an indispensible partner toward that end,” said Michael A. Gold, HMSA president and CEO. “With Sharecare and its comprehensive engagement platform, I believe our relationship will grow even stronger and add even more value for our members as we work together to have a transformative effect on the health of Hawai’i’s people.”

With approximately 1700 Healthways employees transitioning to Sharecare, the company will continue to operate the Population Health business from the Healthways campus in Franklin, Tenn., where the unit’s current president Sean Slovenski will become Sharecare’s president of Population Health. Healthways’ CFO Alfred Lumsdaine also will join Sharecare and report to Slovenski as chief operating and financial officer of Population Health.

Slovenski will report to Sharecare’s newly appointed executive chairman of Population Health, Ken Goulet, who joined Sharecare’s board of directors in March 2016, after spending more than 35 years growing and leading large health plan organizations. The former Anthem executive will assist the senior management team of Population Health with a variety of matters, including strategy, integration, product enhancement, and customer and vendor relations; and report into Arnold and the Sharecare board of directors.

Additionally, Donato Tramuto, Healthways’ CEO, will join the Sharecare board of directors to ensure continuity in customer support and successful growth for the Population Health business.

Tramuto said, “Over the course of Healthways’ strategic assessment, it was important that we find the right partner to help our Population Health business realize its full potential, and ensure success for the business’ customers and employees. Sharecare has demonstrated world-class expertise in digital engagement and innovation. We also believe the combination of technologies and distribution channels of this business in the hands of Sharecare will create new growth opportunities.”

Expected to close July 31, the deal also transfers ownership of the Healthways name and brand to Sharecare. Financial terms were disclosed in a regulatory filing by Healthways.

About Sharecare

Sharecare is a health and wellness engagement solution providing people with personalized resources to help them live their healthiest lives. Nearly 40 million people have shared more than 5 billion data points about their health status and habits with Sharecare, which uses that information to create a comprehensive health profile allowing users to access all of their health resources in one place, and dynamically connect to the knowledge, evidence-based programs and health professionals they need.

Tactile Systems Announces Pricing of Initial Public Offering

 MINNEAPOLIS, July 27, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) Tactile

Systems Technology, Inc. (“Tactile”) (Nasdaq:TCMD), a medical technology company that develops innovative medical devices for the treatment of chronic diseases at home, announced today the pricing of its initial public offering of 4,000,000 shares of common stock at a public offering price of $10.00 per share.

In addition, Tactile has granted the underwriters a 30day option to purchase up to an additional 600,000 shares of common stock at the public offering price to cover overallotments, if any. All shares of the common stock in this offering are being sold by Tactile. Tactile’s shares are expected to begin trading on The NASDAQ Global Market on July 28, 2016 under the ticker symbol “TCMD.” This offering is expected to close on August 2, 2016, subject to customary closing conditions.

Piper Jaffray & Co., William Blair & Company, L.L.C., and Canaccord Genuity Inc. are acting as joint bookrunning managers for the offering. BTIG, LLC is acting as comanager for the offering.

A registration statement relating to the securities being sold in this offering was declared effective by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on July 27, 2016. This offering is being made only by means of a prospectus. When available, copies of the final prospectus relating to this offering may be obtained by contacting: Piper Jaffray & Co., Attention: Prospectus Department, 800 Nicollet Mall, J12S03, Minneapolis, MN 55402, by telephone at (800) 7473924, or by email at prospectus@pjc.com, or William Blair & Company L.L.C., Attention: Prospectus Department, 222 West Adams Street, Chicago, IL 60606, by telephone at (800) 6210867, or by email at prospectus@williamblair.com.

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of,

these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to the registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.

Investor Inquiries:
Mike Piccinino
Managing Director
Westwicke Partners
(443) 213‐0500

Media Inquiries:
Kristen Weaver
Director of Marketing Communications
Tactile Medical
(612) 355‐5116

 Tactile Systems Technology

InTouch Health Announces New CEO

Santa Barbara, CA, July 19, 2016 – InTouch Health, the leading telehealth network and managed service provider, has appointed Joseph M. DeVivo as its new Chief Executive Officer.  Mr. DeVivo was most recently President, CEO and Director of AngioDynamics (NASDAQ: ANGO), a $360 million (in annual revenue) publicly traded global leader in peripheral vascular, vascular access and interventional oncology.  He brings more than 25 years of healthcare industry and leadership experience ranging from entrepreneurial to multi-billion dollar organizations, including Global President of Smith & Nephew Orthopedics (NASDAQ: SNN), a $2 billion (in annual revenue) global operation.

“I am honored to join InTouch Health at this very exciting time. I’m thrilled to be part of such an innovative, growing business that delivers market leading telehealth technologies and services to health systems around the world,” said Mr. DeVivo. “InTouch Health is at a pivotal stage and is ready to accelerate growth and scale. I look forward to leading the company’s expansion of its enterprise-wide, cloud-based telemedicine platform, while adding specialist physician led services and new clinical applications to its offering.”

Yulun Wang, Ph.D., who has been Chairman and CEO since founding the company in 2002, will remain as Chairman of the Board.  He will stay actively involved in the company’s strategic direction and operations and will assume the newly established role of Chief Innovation Officer.  Dr. Wang stated, “I have known Joe DeVivo for more than 20 years both professionally and personally, and I’m delighted to have him lead InTouch Health as our new CEO.  He brings the right kind of leadership and experience to help our customers and company achieve increasing success as telehealth expands on a global scale.”

Mr. DeVivo specializes in accelerating top-line growth and brings strong public company experience. This change reflects the growing enthusiasm and expectations for telehealth, and specifically the company’s opportunity to be a significant player in the telehealth market. Mr. DeVivo currently lives in Saratoga, NY, but will be relocating to Santa Barbara, CA, where InTouch Health headquarters will remain.  For Mr. DeVivo’s full biography, visit http://www.intouchhealth.com/about/leadership/management.

About InTouch Health

InTouch Health provides Telehealth Network and Managed Services to hospitals and healthcare systems for the delivery of specialty care, anytime, anywhere.  InTouch Health has helped more than 130 healthcare systems deploy telehealth programs across their enterprise and has enabled more than ¾ million potentially life-saving clinical sessions over the InTouch Telehealth Cloud, which now manages more than 200,000 clinical connections annually for over 1,500 hospital locations globally.

### END ###

Note to editors: For more information, news and perspectives from InTouch Health, please visit the InTouch Health Media Center at www.intouchhealth.com/media. For additional assistance, journalists and analysts may contact Roger Dong, Director, PR & Marketing Communications, 6330 Hollister Avenue | Santa Barbara, CA 93117, O: 805.562.8686 x359 or via email at rdong@intouchhealth.com.

ABRY Completes Acquisition of International Medical Group, Inc.

International Medical Group, Inc.
Past investments
Update: Thursday, 12 November 2015
 

 BOSTON, Nov. 3, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ABRY Partners ("ABRY"), a Boston-based private equity firm, has completed the previously announced acquisition of International Medical Group (IMG), a leader in the global insurance and assistance services market.

Brent Stone, partner at ABRY, said, "We are proud to welcome IMG into the ABRY family. Its outstanding leadership, sustained growth and reputation for excellence position IMG as the top player among its competitors. With our shared vision and values, we look forward to continuing our partnership and further expanding IMG's global presence."

IMG's executive management team, Board of Directors and previous private equity partners — Altaris Capital Partners and Galen Partners — approved the acquisition. The company's operations were not impacted by the ownership change.

IMG President and CEO Brian Barwick said, "We are excited to partner with ABRY, whose solid financial foundation and decades of experience investing in high-quality companies will provide the support necessary to drive additional expansion."

Greenhill, a leading independent investment bank, facilitated the acquisition. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

About ABRY Partners
Founded in 1989 and headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, ABRY Partners is an experienced and successful private equity investment firm focused on media, communications, insurance, business and information services. Since its founding, ABRY has completed more than $42 billion of transactions, representing investments in more than 450 properties.

About International Medical Group, Inc.
For more than 25 years, International Medical Group — headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S.A. — has provided global benefits and assistance services to millions of members almost every country. We're committed to being there with our members wherever they may be in the world, helping to deliver Global Peace of Mind. With 24/7 medical management services, multilingual claims administrators and highly trained customer service professionals, IMG is confident in its ability to provide the products international members need, backed by the services they want. IMG's global family of companies includes Akeso Care Management, IMG Europe Ltd., IMG-Stop LossSM, Global Response Ltd., iTravelInsured and International Medical Administrators, Inc.

Cambia Health Solutions Leads New Round of Investment in lifeIMAGE

lifeIMAGE
Information Technology & Services
Update: Friday, 05 June 2015
 

NEWTON, Mass.—May 28, 2015—lifeIMAGE announced today that it has closed a $17.5 million round of financing led by Cambia Health Solutions (Portland, Ore.), a nonprofit total health solutions company dedicated to transforming health care by creating a person-focused and economically sustainable system. lifeIMAGE, the nation’s largest and most utilized network for exchanging medical imaging, will use this financing to expand resources for its growing customer base, increase the breadth of its network capabilities and implement the next phases of its go-to-market strategy.

Cambia and lifeIMAGE share a common goal: improving the quality of care while lowering its cost. Lack of access to imaging exams is the primary cause of unnecessary, duplicative procedures that delay care, frustrate clinicians and patients, and cost the country’s health system about $30 billion each year. lifeIMAGE helps providers improve care coordination for patient consultations, referrals and transfers by making medical imaging exams from unaffiliated hospitals, physicians and patients accessible worldwide. It interoperates with the electronic medical record systems from Cerner Corporation and Epic Systems Corporation to ensure every member of a patient’s care team has fast, electronic access to a complete imaging history.

“Cambia is committed to investing in companies that transform the health care system into one that is person-focused and economically sustainable,” said Rob Coppedge, Senior Vice President of Strategic Investment and Corporate Development at Cambia Health Solutions. ”We are excited to partner with lifeIMAGE as they work towards their goal of providing universal and seamless access to medical images for both clinicians and patients.”

“Image sharing has reached a critical inflection point. Our customers have validated its correlation to quality and cost of care, and it’s now considered part of the standard of care,” said Hamid Tabatabaie, CEO and co-founder of lifeIMAGE. “We’re excited to work with Cambia to increase the mainstream focus and adoption of medical imaging interoperability. With the added capital and Cambia’s support, lifeIMAGE will scale up and demonstrate how innovative health plans can take advantage of our network to bring value to their providers as they adopt a value-based approach to managing the health of their patient populations.”

Cambia’s strategic investment in lifeIMAGE is part of a new round of equity that also includes participation by existing lifeIMAGE investors Cardinal Partners, Galen Partners, Long River Ventures, Mass Ventures, and Partners Innovation Fund. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. acted as exclusive placement agent for lifeIMAGE.

The lifeIMAGE network consists of more than 120 multi-site health systems that include academic medical centers, pediatric facilities, certified trauma centers, oncology centers of excellence and imaging providers. Recent additions to the network include Cedars-Sinai Medical Center (Calif.), Emory Healthcare (Ga.), University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (Tex.), Children’s Hospital of Orange County (Calif.), Baptist Health Jacksonville (Fla.), University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics (Iowa), City of Hope (Calif.), and Bayfront Medical Center (Fla.). These organizations join existing clients such as UCLA Health System (Calif.), Ohio State University Medical Center (Ohio), Lurie Children’s Hospital (Ill.), Stony Brook University Medical Center (N.Y.), Yale New Haven Health System (Conn.), University of Maryland Medical System (Md.), UMass Memorial Health Care (Mass.), University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics (Wis.), University of New Mexico (N.M.), University of Rochester (N.Y.), Northwestern Memorial Hospital (Ill.), University of Missouri Healthcare (Mo.), MD Anderson Cancer Center (Tex.), Mount Sinai Medical Center (N.Y.), Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare (Tenn.), Geisinger Health System (Pa.), Boston Children’s Hospital (Mass.), University of Washington Medical Center (Wash.), Baylor Health Care System (Tex.), Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (Pa.) and University of Michigan Hospital (Mich.).

About lifeIMAGE

lifeIMAGE provides a medical image exchange platform that is deployed at hundreds of leading healthcare organizations to facilitate the secure, e-sharing of medical imaging information among hospitals, radiology groups, physicians and patients. Our services are helping providers improve the quality and timeliness of care, expand referral business, and eliminate wasteful spending. www.lifeimage.com

About Cambia

Cambia Health Solutions, headquartered in Portland, Ore., is a nonprofit total health solutions company dedicated to transforming health care by creating a person-focused and economically sustainable system. Cambia’s growing family of companies range from software and mobile applications, health care marketplaces, non-traditional health care delivery models, health insurance, life insurance, pharmacy benefit management, wellness and overall consumer engagement. Through bold thinking and innovative technology, we are delivering solutions that make quality health care more available, affordable and personally relevant for everyone. To learn more, visit cambiahealth.com or twitter.com/cambia.

Technology to Play a Bigger Role in Hospital Care

FUTURE OF HEALTHCARE

InTouch Health, Inc. 
Medical Devices & Technology

Update: Thursday, 13 September 2012
By Amber Dance, Special to the Los Angeles Times

The robot, sitting quietly in a corner, suddenly hums to life and rolls down the hospital corridor on three wheels.  Perched atop the sleek machine is a monitor showing the smiling face of Dr. Paul Vespa, the physician who's piloting the rover from miles away.  He can pull up to a patient's bedside, ask questions, observe symptoms and even use a stethoscope.

"People forget that you're on the robot, and you forget that you're on the robot," says Vespa, a neurocritical care specialist at UCLA who uses the device to consult in other hospitals and check on UCLA patients from home.  "You really are there."

Robotic stand-ins are just one emerging technology poised to make a hospital stay safer, shorter, more satisfying and less expensive.

Hospitals can use technology to promote a modern, patient-focused approach to healthcare, says Dr. Rasu Shrestha, Vice President of Medical Information Technology at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.  Hospital beds will become the center of a digital network encompassing information as varied as your heart rate and dietary restrictions to vast stores of data that will help predict how you'll respond to treatments.

Patients need to stay connected to all the doctors, nurses, dietitians and physical therapists managing their care.  To keep the team informed, the Pittsburgh Medical Center is developing "a Twitter for healthcare," as Shrestha calls it.  A patient's medical "followers" might receive updates on his blood pressure or temperature, for instance.  Helping everyone stay up-to-date can streamline care and prevent errors when new nurses come on duty, Shrestha says.

The medical center is also using modern technology to battle an old scourge:  the spread of infections.  The best prevention is still simple hand washing; it's getting everyone to stop by the sink that's a challenge.

In Shrestha's hospital, nurses and doctors wear electronic ID tags that are recognized by sinks and hand sanitizer machines.  "We actually know if you've washed your hands or not," he says. The hospital goes after clinicians who skip the sink.

Other digital assistants are being designed to give more complex medical advice.  IBM, for example, is developing a program called Watson that will be loaded with medical literature.  "Watson is your pal who helps you do the reading that you would love to do if you had the time and the memory," says Dr. Martin Kohn, Chief Medical Scientist at IBM's Westchester, N.Y., facility.

Watson is currently being trained at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York to understand medical records and treatments.  Someday anyone, not just doctors, might be able to query a Watson system and receive personalized advice, Kohn says.

While Watson is still in its version of medical school, robots are already performing tasks ranging from delivering lunch to assisting in surgeries.  The type of robot Vespa uses at UCLA, made by InTouch Health of Santa Barbara, roves the halls of nearly 600 hospitals worldwide.

Becky Robelotto says the robot helped her family stay in touch with Vespa last summer when he was caring for her nephew — even during nights and weekends "We were always able to connect with [the doctor], instead of just once a day on rounds," she says.

For their part, doctors call on the InTouch network when they need to make quick decisions, such as when a patient arrives at the emergency room after a stroke.  The clot-busting drug called tissue plasminogen activator, or tPA, can help some people, but only if given quickly.  In other cases, the medicine may do harm.

Small hospitals may not have the right specialist to judge the situation, and most patients who could benefit from tPA don't get it.  On average, just 2% to 4% of the people who could benefit from the medication actually receive it, estimates InTouch CEO, Yulun Wang.  With an expert on call via robot, that number rises to approximately 25%, he says.

The InTouch robots are just one type of technology that enables telemedicine, in which the doctor and patient are in different locations.  Telemedicine can help hospitals keep tabs on patients after they're discharged, making sure they follow instructions and avoid the need to be readmitted.

"In 20 years, telemedicine will be a dominant form of healthcare delivery," Wang says.

But will robots and computers make medicine impersonal?  Not at all, says Dr. Ashish Jha of the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston.  With a computer assigned to sift through scientific studies or calculate the right dose of medication, Jha will have more time to sit at the foot of a bed, hold someone's hand, and have a real conversation.

Sharecare Announces Acquisition of Bactes

Sharecare Inc.
Information Technology & Services

Update: Tuesday, 02 July 2013

SHARECARE ANNOUNCES ACQUISITION OF BACTES

ATLANTA, July 1, 2013 – Sharecare, the leading online health and wellness engagement platform founded by Jeff Arnold and Dr. Mehmet Oz, today announced the acquisition of BACTES, a provider of Release of Information and audit management services. BACTES is a leader in fulfilling medical record requests for thousands of healthcare providers across the United States, from small medical practices to large hospital systems.

Jim Bailey has been appointed General Manager of the BACTES division of Sharecare, effective immediately. Bailey most recently served as Vice President, Strategic Solutions, at Autodesk, and, prior to that, COO of Alchip. BACTES founder and CEO William (Bill) Bailey is retiring to further pursue philanthropic endeavors. The company will retain its operation in San Diego with 16 regional locations around the country.

Together – through a greatly expanded hospital and physician provider client base – Sharecare and BACTES will be able to deliver tailored programs to enhance patient data management while extending reach for clients to participate in meaningful connections with health-seeking consumers, and provide consumers with highly personalized health engagement products by integrating and ‘activating’ their patient data.

"The union of BACTES data and Sharecare knowledge will create a great opportunity for better user engagement which we believe will result in better health," said Jeff Arnold, Chairman and CEO of Sharecare. "Similar to the credit report industry, we will be able to store, update and share personal health records creating a unique service for healthcare providers and patients. And, additionally, with a patient’s consent, we will be able to pre-populate an individual’s health record within the safe, social platform of Sharecare and deliver personalized recommendations including targeted information, actionable evidence-based programs and online support based on that individual’s specific health and wellness needs."

Said Jim Bailey, "BACTES will be able to quickly leverage Sharecare’s capabilities and offer new products and innovative services to our thousands of healthcare clients across the United States. We’re excited to be a part of Sharecare's impressive vision of leveraging new technologies to improve care and to create a measurable impact on our healthcare system."

About Sharecare

Sharecare is the leading online health and wellness engagement platform providing millions of health-conscious consumers with a personal, results-oriented experience by connecting them to the most qualified health resources and programs they need to improve their health. Sharecare's one-of-a-kind experience includes the popular, scientifically-based health risk assessment the RealAge® Test taken by more than 30 million people since its inception in 1998, and a unique, social Q&A format that provides the collective wisdom of thousands of health and wellness experts to greatly simplify the search for quality information. Created by Jeff Arnold and Dr. Mehmet Oz in partnership with Harpo Productions, Sony Pictures Television and Discovery Communications, Sharecare allows people to ask, learn and act upon questions of health and wellness, creating an active community where knowledge is shared and put into practice—simply said, sharing care. Launched in 2010, Sharecare is based in Atlanta, GA.

Dakim, Again, Shown to Boost Memory!

Dakim, Inc.
Information Technology & Services

 
Update: Thursday, 23 May 2013
 

We are very pleased to share this latest clinical trial of Dakim BrainFitness by Elizabeth Hudak, PhD., of the University of South Florida. The report was recently posted in the Scholar Commons, USF's virtual showcase for research. Once again, the Dakim BrainFitness program again showed significant improvement in memory as measured by the three standardized neurologic tests used in the trial.
 
And on another high note, Dakim's first peer reviewed clinical trial, performed by UCLA, is scheduled to be published in the July issue of the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry!  
 
Our sophisticated cognition program is helping older Americans improve cognitive performance, stay mentally sharp, and lead fuller, richer, independent lives. In addition to being the #1 cognitive exercise program in North America's senior communities, Dakim BrainFitness is now being used in Area Agencies in Texas, Washington, California, Kentucky, and Minnesota, and is listed on the US Department of Health and Human Services Administration on Aging website as an evidence based program.  
 
Contact us
For more information on Dakim’s award-winning cognitive exercise program visit our website at www.dakim.com or contact Rick Sill, Vice President of Sales:
888-693-2546 or rick@dakim.com

Dakim is an Edison Award Winner!

Dakim, Inc.
Specialty Pharmaceuticals

 
Update: Wednesday, 01 May 2013
 

Clinically tested Dakim BrainFitness has been named a Silver Award winner in the Personal Wellness category for the 2013 Edison Awards!

Given the rapid growth of our aging population and the escalating incidence of cognitive decline, the Edison Award judges clearly saw the value and innovation in Dakim’s solution—helping individuals to improve cognitive performance and fend-off memory loss.  

Being recognized with an Edison Award is one of the highest accolades a company can receive in the name of innovation and business. The awards are named after Thomas Alva Edison (1847-1931) whose inventions, new product development methods and innovative achievements literally changed the world. 

“Our judges recognized Dakim BrainFitness as a true innovator out of the many products in its category,” said Frank Bonafilia, executive director of the Edison Awards.  “We are honored to have been recognized for our innovation among so many game-changing products and services, and to be the only brain fitness product ever to receive an Edison Award,” said Dan Michel, CEO of Dakim, Inc.

The Edison Awards is a program conducted by Edison Universe, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization dedicated to fostering future innovators and are sponsored by Nielsen, Discovery Communications, Science Channel, and USA Today. 

Contact us

For more information on Dakim’s award-winning cognitive exercise program visit our website at www.dakim.com or contact Rick Sill, Vice President of Sales:  The Edison Awards is a program conducted by Edison Universe, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization dedicated to fostering future innovators and are sponsored by Nielsen, Discovery Communications, Science Channel, and USA Today. 

For more information on Dakim’s award-winning cognitive exercise program visit our website at www.dakim.com or contact Rick Sill, Vice President of Sales:  888-693-2546 or rick@dakim.com

PeriGen Congratulates Banner Health Instituting Successful Care Quality Initiative Reducing Unnecessary Early-Term Deliveries by 22 Percent

The Arizona Quality Alliance Award Recipient Used Perinatal Electronic Health Record Data to Facilitate Medical Practice Change Across 19 Facilities

PeriGen, Inc.
Information Technology & Services

 
Update: Monday, 29 April 2013
 

 PRINCETON, NJ - ( PeriGen, the global leader in applying real-time clinical decision support to perinatal systems, applauds Banner Health for successfully reducing elective deliveries of babies at less than 39 weeks and earning a Showcase in Excellence Award from the Arizona Quality Alliance. Banner Health is one of the largest nonprofit healthcare systems in the country.

Avoiding unnecessary early-term deliveries is a best practice advocated by obstetrical professional organizations and national quality organizations. Research demonstrates that elective deliveries before 39 weeks increase the risk of newborn respiratory problems and lengths of stay for mothers and babies.

Banner Health used both historical and real-time data gathered from PeriBirth®, PeriGen's electronic health record (EHR) designed specifically for obstetric (OB) care. The captured data helped the health system establish a baseline and monitor ongoing compliance of the new protocol across 19 hospitals. As a result of this quality initiative, the number of elective deliveries at less than 39 weeks decreased by 22 percent over the first six months, representing more than 2,600 more babies per year being delivered at term.  

"We are thrilled to play a part in Banner Health's success as they pioneer system-wide adherence to a widely endorsed obstetrics best practice," said PeriGen Chief Executive Officer Matthew Sappern. "Our company's mission is to deliver the most medically relevant information at the most relevant time to help clinicians make knowledge-driven decisions. We commend Banner Health for using this information to further its commitment to data-driven, evidence-based practice safeguarding the delivery of healthier infants."

Implementing Evidence-based Best Practice Enterprise-wide

An organization recognized nationally for using technology to improve care quality, Banner Health leveraged its established system of clinical performance groups (CPGs) to drive this initiative. Once the groups identified elective deliveries before 39 weeks as its target standard, clinicians and staff members developed a process that could be deployed enterprise-wide to evaluate the medical necessity of such a delivery before scheduling a patient for an early induction or cesarean section.

A key step in the protocol's implementation was to pull several years of historical data from the PeriBirth system into an enterprise data warehouse. From this data, the team was able to pinpoint each hospital's current and historical rate of elective deliveries before 39 weeks and gaps in documentation. The CPG was able to establish a baseline for measuring future performance and to identify which hospitals would require more education and attention.

As the health system implemented the new protocol, PeriBirth played a key role in helping the CPG track each facility's and provider's compliance.

"Data from PeriBirth was hugely instrumental in giving us a true reading of data rates to quickly determine who was following the protocol," said Barbara LaBranche, MBA, B.S.N., R.N., senior director of clinical informatics at Banner Health Corporate and co-leader of the initiative. "Up until now we've relied on coded data four to six weeks after the fact. With our new system, we're able to give physicians feedback in as near to real time as possible, which is much more effective for prompting practice change. It's hard to argue with numbers."

Banner Health has now developed a dashboard for monitoring this perinatal standard. The dashboard extracts data from PeriBirth and its reporting tool nightly to give care providers and administrators near real-time information. The data outcomes enable OB managers to review and compare compliance with quality measures at the system, facility, unit and physician level.

About Banner Health
Headquartered in Phoenix, Banner Health is one of the largest, nonprofit health care systems in the country. The system manages 23 acute-care hospitals, the Banner Health Network and Banner Medical Group, long-term care centers, outpatient surgery centers and an array of other services including family clinics, home care and hospice services, and a nursing registry. Banner Health is in seven states: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Nebraska, Nevada and Wyoming. For more information, visit www.bannerhealth.com.

About PeriGen, Inc.
PeriGen, Inc., is an innovative provider of fetal surveillance systems employing patented, pattern-recognition and obstetrics technologies that empower perinatal clinicians to make confident, real-time decisions about the mothers and babies in their care. PeriGen's customer-centric team of clinicians and technologists builds the most advanced systems available to augment obstetric decision-making and improve communications among the clinical team at the point of care, while supporting data flow between healthcare IT systems.

PeriGen's unique fetal surveillance products provide dynamic visual cues that direct clinicians to the most essential patient information displayed on the screen. Unlike legacy fetal monitoring devices and software from non-specialist companies, PeriGen Visual Cueing™ provides an instant view of the mother's and baby's current status and trends over time to avoid errors, increasing patient safety and reducing risk for clinicians and hospitals. For more information, please visit us at www.PeriGen.com.

lifeIMAGE Completes $15 Million Series C Round

The leading medical image and information exchange network closed a new round of capital to fund growth and operations.

lifeIMAGE
Information Technology & Services

 
Update: Monday, 22 April 2013
 

Newton, MA - lifeIMAGE, the leading network for securely sharing medical images and related health information, announced today that it recently closed a $15 million Series C round of financing. Continuing to support lifeIMAGE, Cardinal Partners (Princeton, N.J.) and Galen Partners (Stamford, Conn.), the company’s largest existing investors, led the round with participation from all other existing venture funds and strategic investors. The proceeds will be used to fund growth and operations.

“lifeIMAGE is a great example of how electronic exchange of patients’ health records contribute to better care, while reducing unnecessary expenses,” said Thomas McKinley, partner at Cardinal Partners. “As the leader in image sharing, lifeIMAGE is well-positioned to make significant and innovative contributions to the e-health and patient engagement movements.”

lifeIMAGE, recently featured in a Wall Street Journal article, has been used by more than 29,000 people in 68 countries to share over 410 million medical images. Approximately 180 of the largest hospitals in the US have engaged lifeIMAGE to facilitate the secure, electronic exchange of x-ray, computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), nuclear medicine, echocardiography, ultrasound, and other types of diagnostic imaging exams in and out of their health care enterprise. Physicians use its simple workflow to provide remote consultations and second opinions to other physicians and patients anywhere, and also conveniently import the information into their local electronic medical record (EMR) systems.

“lifeIMAGE has consistently delivered on an ambitious blueprint for technology development and marquis customer acquisition,” said David Jahns, Managing Partner at Galen Partners. “As a nation, we cannot sustain spending nearly 18 percent of our GDP on healthcare. We have to wring out inefficiencies, and lifeIMAGE has very effectively demonstrated the role of technology and innovation in accomplishing that goal.”

At $120 billion per year, medical imaging is the second highest healthcare cost element in our nation. Its utilization is expected to grow as technological advances continue to make it a strategic clinical tool in expanding areas of care, and as our population ages. To address concerns over the cost, inefficiency and harmful radiation associated with unnecessary, duplicative procedures, accountable care organizations (ACO), health information exchange (HIE) projects, and other risk-based entities are increasingly adopting medical image sharing capabilities. Some estimate this can deliver as much as 30 percent savings by providing access to patients’ histories, facilitating virtual consultations, and making referral processes more efficient.

About lifeIMAGE
lifeIMAGE provides a broad set of solutions for universal e-sharing of diagnostic imaging information. These products securely connect hospitals, radiology groups and physicians to their patients everywhere and are currently deployed at many of the nation’s leading healthcare institutions and academic medical centers. The goal of the lifeIMAGE platform is to help avoid duplicate exams and eliminate unnecessary patient exposure to excessive radiation.

Contact:
Jackie Walsh
lifeIMAGE
(617) 990-2262

SonaCare Medical Successfully Launches New Products at European Association of Urology (EAU)

Global Launch Generates Strong Support for SonaCare Medical's Urology Platform Technology to Provide HIFU Surgical Ablation Systems for a Wide Range

SonaCare Medical
Medical Devices & Technology

 
Update: Thursday, 04 April 2013
 

CHARLOTTE, N.C., April 4, 2013 - SonaCare Medical, a leader in minimally invasive high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) technology, successfully launched two new products at the recent European Association of Urology (EAU) Congress in Milan, Italy.

Generating significant interest in its platform technology to provide HIFU surgical ablation for a wide range of urological indications, SonaCare Medical showcased the updated Sonablate® 500 with a redesigned software interface featuring new treatment planning and enhanced simulation capabilities along with the new FDA 510(k) cleared laparoscopic soft tissue ablation device, Sonatherm® HIFU Surgical Ablation System. SonaCare Medical experienced record attendance at its EAU booth where physicians were able to plan simulated treatments using Sonatherm's new high frequency simulator showcasing the technology's ability to treat a cubic centimeter of tissue per minute with +/- 1mm precision.

"Sonatherm's ability to be introduced via a standard laparoscopic port, in conjunction with its easy-to-use intuitive single screen control interface, drew significant attention from laparoscopic and robotic users alike. The number of physicians without prior HIFU experience who came by to examine the system also was impressive," says Alex Gonzalez, Vice President of International Operations for SonaCare Medical. "Featured alongside our flagship product, the new Sonablate® 500, Sonatherm was well received and will continue to build the installed base for the company. With FDA clearance in the U.S. for laparoscopic or intraoperative soft tissue ablation, we have immediate ability to take orders and deliver Sonatherm."

Hosting dozens of European key opinion leaders (KOLs) from multiple urology disciplines at its international HIFU users group meetings, the company reviewed its HIFU platform technology vision to develop HIFU surgical ablation systems for a wide range of urological indications.

Participating in one of the clinical advisory panel meetings focusing on potential new indications, Dr. Arnulf Stenzl, Professor and Chairman, Dept. of Urology, University Medical Clinic Tuebingen and Director, Scientific Office European Association of Urology said, "I was impressed with SonaCare Medical's leadership in bringing together a variety of leading European urologists, engineers and scientists in the meetings to discuss the future of HIFU and how it can be applied to a variety of clinical indications. With the ability to implement tissue conserving therapy with focused HIFU, the SonaCare Medical technology could be transformative for the treatment of bladder cancer."

SonaCare Medical's vision is to develop HIFU surgical ablation systems for a wide range of urological indications, in addition to prostate cancer, that allows for tissue targeting techniques. SonaCare Medical's HIFU surgical systems are the only ablative technologies to utilize T3 Technology™, which enables physicians to: target selected tissue with customized planning and sophisticated localization tools; treat targeted tissue accurately and reliably with robotic precision, while sparing tissue outside the ablation zone; and track the HIFU procedure with advanced real-time ultrasound imaging and unique tissue monitoring technologies.

Thermal ablation has significant advantages over standard "cut and remove" surgical approaches including reduced bleeding, reduced patient treatment time, reduced collateral damage, and potentially real-time imaging, but its use has been limited due to difficulties in delivering the ablative energy to the desired target.

"Sonatherm represents a major advance in this respect," said Mark Carol, M.D., Chief Development Officer for SonaCare Medical. "It combines ultrasound imaging and therapeutic focused ultrasound delivery capabilities into a package that is delivered in a sterile manner through a standard 12 mm robotic surgery access port. Unlike other forms of thermal ablation, such as radiofrequency, microwave, and cryo, Sonatherm does not require puncturing the target with a needle, which can cause bleeding, and its use of on-board US imaging for targeting and monitoring of the treatment is a capability not present in these other forms of ablation.

"Unlike any other HIFU technology available currently, Sonatherm allows urologists to add HIFU to their surgical practice with only a minimal learning curve. Easily understood by urologists with an extensive range of potential indications, the response we've received from urologists has been extremely positive with great excitement about adding it to their practices," Dr. Carol added.

"During our extensive meetings with European users and key opinion leaders throughout the EAU, we saw significant interest in HIFU and the development of a common technology platform designed to support multiple HIFU probes for a wide variety of urological indications," said Mike Klein, CEO for SonaCare Medical. "Built on the foundation of our proven HIFU technologies that have been used to treat more than 12,000 patients worldwide, the SonaCare Medical urology platform will enable us to deploy new applications regardless of which system users currently have. This not only offers customers the ability to rapidly expand their clinical capabilities, but also offers significant economic efficiencies and practice development opportunities by enabling multiple physicians within a group to implement treatment services on a wider array of clinical applications."

About SonaCare Medical
SonaCare Medical, a privately held, venture-backed healthcare company is a world leader in minimally invasive high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) technologies. SonaCare Medical is committed to developing technologies for urological indications that offer precise and innovative procedures that can control cancer and reduce potential quality of life altering side effects. SonaCare Medical, with its subsidiary Focus Surgery, Inc., designs and manufactures high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) medical devices, including the following: Sonablate® 450 which is investigational in the U.S. and being studied in a pivotal FDA clinical trial as a possible treatment for recurrent prostate cancer in patients treated previously with external beam radiation therapy; Sonablate® 500 which has CE Marking and is, or has been, approved for use to treat prostate cancer in more than 30 countries outside the U.S.; and Sonatherm® laparoscopic HIFU surgical ablation system which is 510(k) cleared in the U.S. The FDA has made no decision as to the safety or efficacy of Sonablate® 450 or 500. In the event Sonablate® 450 is approved by the FDA for use in the U.S., there is no assurance that instructions for use or the specifications of the device will be the same for treatment approved or authorized in other countries outside of the U.S.

SonaCare Medical was founded in 2004 and is headquartered in Charlotte, N.C. Additional information may be found at www.SonaCareMedical.com.

Media Contact:
Chris K. Joseph
510-339-2293
chris@ckjcomm.com

PeriGen Announces $6.4 Million in Funding and Strong Market Momentum for PeriCALM Perinatal Solutions in First Quarter of 2013

National Institutes of Health validates company’s perinatal technology

---

PeriGen, Inc.
Information Technology & Services

 Update: Wednesday, 03 April 2013

PRINCETON, New Jersey ─ April 3, 2013 ─ Continuing its strong momentum from record earnings in 2012, PeriGen, the global leader in applying real-time clinical decision support to perinatal systems, announced that it received significant industry recognition, raised $6.4 million in funding, achieved record bookings and expanded its senior management team in the first quarter of 2013.

“Our first quarter results illustrate the industry’s recognition that PeriGen solutions are best positioned to enable superior perinatal care and reduce hospital liability risk,” said Matthew Sappern, CEO of PeriGen. “Hospitals increasingly select us as their preferred perinatal vendor because our solutions provide so much more clinically relevant and actionable information than other solutions on the market.”

Labor and delivery is a high-risk service line for hospitals because obstetric injuries to mothers and newborns result in some of the largest malpractice awards. PeriGen’s suite of fetal surveillance solutions targets the most common underlying causes of preventable medical errors to help clinicians improve clinical outcomes. Equipped with evidence-based methods, these solutions deliver real-time decision support in a timely and visually intuitive way to nurses and physicians throughout the OB continuum.

In the first quarter of 2013, PeriGen was recognized for its innovative contributions to perinatal care when experts from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) validated the company’s electronic fetal monitoring (EFM) pattern recognition software, PeriCALM Patterns™. With very high levels of agreement between the NIH clinical experts and the tracing analysis by PeriCALM Patterns, they concluded that “the software can be used to efficiently evaluate stored fetal heart rate data retrospectively, as well as to screen in real time when an expert is not continuously evaluating the fetal heart rate.” This finding was published in January’s American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology and was the subject of a commentary by The New York Times reporter Steve Lohr in February.

The company also expanded its clinical leadership in Q1 by appointing Thomas J. Garite, M.D., as Chief Clinical Officer. Dr. Garite is a nationally-respected obstetrics, gynecology and maternal-fetal medicine specialist and editor-in-chief of the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. On the strength of these developments and better than anticipated earnings in 2012, PeriGen secured $6.4 million from private investors for further product development and marketing initiatives. At the same time, PeriGen expanded its market reach through a distribution agreement with leading international system integrator Helix Health Solutions, based in Dubai. In addition, a record number of hospitals ─ including Griffin Hospital in Derby, Conn., and Taylor Regional Hospital in Hawkinsville, Ga. ─ activated PeriCALM in their labor and delivery departments.

These notable achievements follow on the heels of PeriGen’s most successful year. The company increased revenue by 11 percent and signed a record number of new hospital and health system clients in 2012. Last year’s highlights included:

• The company’s patent portfolio increased by five, bringing the total of issued and awarded patents to 23.
• It began working with Epic to bring a number of shared clients live on its PeriCALM platform interfaced to Epic’s EHR. The company introduced PeriCALM Plus™, the only electronic fetal surveillance system on the market that offers real-time tracing analysis and efficient overviews of significant trends.
• In August, a study tracking the application of PeriCALM Shoulder ScreenTM over a four-year period was published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. This is the first published report of a method that was associated with both a reduction in shoulder dystocia rates and stable primary cesarean rates. During the study period, the rate of shoulder dystocia fell by 56.8 percent with no change in the primary cesarean delivery rate. This rare but serious complication of childbirth can result in permanent handicaps such as Erb’s palsy.
• PeriGen and TransRe, a leading healthcare professional liability reinsurer, formed a strategic alliance to promote PeriCALM Shoulder Screen to practicing obstetricians.

Sappern stated, “The trend of vertical integration in healthcare, where organizations own physicians, hospitals and payers, greatly benefits from tools such as PeriCALM that deliver more relevant and usable information in real time to help clinicians make knowledge-driven decisions. With our next-generation technology and financial strength, we are well positioned to accelerate growth and revenue in 2013 and beyond.”

About PeriGen, Inc.

PeriGen, Inc., is an innovative provider of fetal surveillance systems employing patented, pattern-recognition and obstetrics technologies that empower perinatal clinicians to make confident, real-time decisions about the mothers and babies in their care. PeriGen’s customer-centric team of clinicians and technologists builds the most advanced systems available to augment obstetric decision-making and improve communications among the clinical team at the point of care, while supporting data flow between healthcare IT systems.

PeriGen’s unique fetal surveillance products provide dynamic visual cues that direct clinicians to the most essential patient information displayed on the screen. Unlike legacy fetal monitoring devices and software from non-specialist companies, PeriGen Visual Cueing™ provides an instant view of the mother’s and baby’s current status and trends over time to avoid errors, increasing patient safety and reducing risk for clinicians and hospitals. For more information, please visit us atwww.PeriGen.com.

Media Contact:

Angela Jenkins
Amendola Communications for PeriGen
720.859.6930

ajenkins@acmarketingpr.com

Quotient Biodiagnostics Raises Further $5.0 Million of Growth Finance Led by Paul Cowan and Galen Partners

Quotient Biodiagnostics Holdings
Specialty Pharmaceuticals

Update: Tuesday, 26 February 2013

EDINBURGH, Scotland & NEWTOWN, Pa.

Quotient Biodiagnostics (“Quotient”), a global transfusion diagnostics group, is pleased to announce that its shareholders have invested a further $5.0 million in the company.  Over the past 18 months Quotient has raised over $19 million of new equity.

The company will use the new equity to continue development of its next generation automation platform for transfusion diagnostics.  In connection with this, Quotient is pleased to announce the appointment of Ed Farrell as the corporate President responsible for this project.  Ed joins Quotient from Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics.

Quotient is also continuing to pursue its plans to build a new facility to facilitate the expansion of its existing liquid reagent business in Scotland.

“Following the initial Galen investment in February 2012, the group has made significant advances. I am also pleased to welcome Ed Farrell on board at this key point in the next stage on the Company’s development” said Paul Cowan, Chief Executive and Founding Shareholder of Quotient. “Key business areas have experienced revenue growth exceeding 50% compared with the prior year.  Additionally, major progress has been made towards the development of the group’s next generation automation platform for blood typing, both internally and externally. With the appointment of Ed Farrell we look forward to advancing this project to commercial launch over the next few years.”

“We are pleased to invest further growth equity in Quotient” said David Azad, Managing Director of Galen Partners. “Paul and his team, in Scotland and the US, have achieved what they said they would achieve in delivering high quality, innovative products to transfusion professionals worldwide. We are excited about the direction of the company.”

About Quotient Biodiagnostics
With a proven record over the past 30 years, Quotient is a trusted leader in transfusion diagnostics. The group serves major transfusion diagnostic companies as an innovative product development and supply chain partner.  Additionally Quotient serves the blood banking and transfusion medicine community through the direct provision of high quality transfusion diagnostic products.  It is also developing a next generation automation platform for the transfusion diagnostics market, offering the ability to make better-informed clinical decisions whilst delivering major benefits over existing laboratory practices.
Based in the USA, Quotient Biodiagnostics, Inc. (the group’s North American sales and marketing business) provides the US blood banking community with trusted transfusion diagnostics products manufactured over many years outside of the US.  For more details about the full range of products offered by Quotient in the United States of America, please visit our website, www.quotientbd.com.

Alba Bioscience is the product development and manufacturing arm of Quotient.  It has a distinguished record of developing and manufacturing innovative transfusion diagnostics for Quotient and other major transfusion diagnostics groups worldwide.  For more details about the full range of products offered by Alba Bioscience and Quotient outside of the USA, please visit our website, www.albabioscience.co.uk.

About Galen Partners
Galen Partners is a leading healthcare venture capital investment firm.  The firm focuses on growth equity investments in healthcare technology and services, medical products, and specialty pharmaceutical companies.  With nearly $1 billion under management, raised through five funds, Galen has helped build more than 70 companies since our founding in 1990.  The firm continues a tradition of strategic collaboration and partnership with its portfolio company management teams to build healthcare market leaders.  For more information, please visit Galen’s web site atwww.galen.com.
 
Contact:
Quotient Biodiagnostics Holdings Limited
Paul Cowan, +44 131-536-5907
Chairman & Chief Executive Officer
or
Jeremy Stackawitz, +1 215-497-8820
President

® 2016 Galen Partners, All Rights Reserved