MercyOne has piloted a new patient-provider matching tool that aims to make it easier for patients to connect with a primary care physician. MercyOne worked with Patient Bond, started by former Procter & Gamble employees, to develop the online tool, said Janell Pittman, chief marketing and digital strategy officer for MercyOne. The 11-question quiz was developed […]
Virtual nurse Cari Taylor at MercyOne Medical Center’s virtual nurse command office. Photo by Kate Hayden One year ago Dr. Joel Ward recalled standing on a hospital floor unit, watching his colleagues at MercyOne Medical Center endure the height of the COVID-19 emergency in health care. “You know practically everybody that you work with every […]
MercyOne announced last week it has signed an agreement with Hospital IQ, a Boston-based provider of predictive hospital operations software, to expand its use of artificial intelligence to improve coordination of patient access to care as Iowa’s COVID-19 hospitalizations and patient transfers surge. The new system provides an unprecedented level of emergency coordination between all […]
Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller joined 43 other attorney generals in a $39.5 million settlement with health benefits company Anthem over the 2014 data breach that involved personal information of 78.8 million citizens, the attorney general’s office announced this week. Iowa will receive $199,694 from the settlement. Anthem first disclosed the data breach in February […]
Five Iowa entrepreneurs have established a supply line of medical-grade personal protective equipment (PPE) for health care workers from China to the U.S., and the team is seeking more medical facilities stateside to provide for. At the start of this year, Anisul Huq, Camille Renee, Julien Duhautois, Tim Vastine and Yolanda Wei were coworking colleagues […]
In Coralville, the artificial intelligence company VIDA Diagnostics is adapting. Beyond sending the staff of about 30 home for remote work, VIDA Diagnostics also sent home a few heavy-duty computers so staff could continue processing data streaming from 35 countries. “We call it business as unusual and just accept it,” said CEO Susan Wood. In […]
Iowa startup Apollo is repurposing its online platform to aid hospitals that need increased health care workers to battle the COVID-19 coronavirus in the midst of a labor shortage — while waiving all fees associated with the platform use for the next four weeks, Apollo co-founder and CEO Jon Lensing announced Tuesday. The platform, www.apollohct.com, […]
IDx, a Coralville startup that developed the first FDA-authorized artificial intelligence diagnostics system, announced this week that the American Medical Association’s (AMA) Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) Editorial Panel has accepted a new category 1 CPT code for automated point-of-care retinal imaging. This new code, submitted by the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) with the support […]
Nurx, a San Francisco-based telemedicine startup offering birth control online, plans to launch in Iowa — after a recent report alleging company practices have put patients at risk through the handling of medication ordered in the app. Nurx (pronounced nur-ex) sells prescription drugs online, including birth control, HIV PrEP, HPV home screenings and emergency contraception […]
Veterinarians at the Hixson-Lied Small Animal Hospital at Iowa State University have a new treatment option for pet owners seeking tumor treatment: stereotactic radiation therapy (SRT), Iowa State University reports. SRT is a new treatment option for animals that have tumors and cancers for which surgery and chemotherapy are not ideal, veterinarians say. SRT’s accuracy allows […]