What You Should Know:

– CVS Health announced plans to expand COVID-19 testing
services by offering rapid-result testing at select CVS Pharmacy locations and
through the company’s return to work COVID-19 testing solution, Return Ready.

– Rapid-result tests can help to slow the spread of the virus, especially when combined with other preventive measures including social distancing and “mask-wearing” because it provides patients with the opportunity for a quick diagnosis, appropriate treatment, and care which can help minimize community spread.

As part of CVS Health’s
ongoing effort to increase access to COVID-19 testing
and help slow the spread of the virus, the company today announced plans to
expand COVID-19 testing services currently offered at select CVS Pharmacy
locations to include rapid-result testing at nearly 1,000 sites by the end of
the year.

Rapid-result COVID-19 diagnostic tests are available at no cost to patients who meet the Centers for Disease Control … Read the rest

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What You Should Know:

– Human API, the consumer-controlled health data platform
announced it has closed a Series C round of $20M+ this week.

– Human API’s consumer-controlled platform gives users a
streamlined means of accessing and sharing their personal health records with
physicians, trusted startups and enterprises, and insurers.

– The platform harnesses a machine learning-powered data pipeline
that structures health data into a consistent format, making it easier for
medical researchers and scientists to use actionable data more quickly and
efficiently while ensuring that patients remain in full control of who their
personal data is being shared with.

Human API, a San
Mateo, CA-based company empowering consumers to connect and share electronic
health data with companies they trust, announced today that it has raised over
$20 million in Series C funding. The round includes participation from Samsung
Ventures, CNO Financial Group, Allianz Life Ventures, and Moneta VC, as … Read the rest

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What You Should Know:

– Intermountain Healthcare and Sanford Health sign a letter of intent to merge that will created a combined health system employing more than 89k people at 70 hospitals and 435 clinics across seven states.

Intermountain Healthcare and Sanford Health, one of the nation’s leading systems in rural health care delivery and clinical research, have signed a letter of intent to develop a strategic partnership. The boards of both not-for-profit organizations approved a resolution to support moving forward with the due diligence process. The organizations will enter this activity with the goal to sign a merger agreement that will bring both health systems together as a model for improving access to high-value healthcare across the U.S. The merger is expected to close in 2021 pending federal and state approvals.

The combined organization will employ more than 89,000
people, and operate 70 hospitals, many in rural communities. … Read the rest

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What You Should Know:

– The World Health Organization (WHO) and the Wikimedia
Foundation forms collaboration to expand public access to reliable, trusted information
about COVID-19.

– The collaboration is part of a shared commitment from
both organizations to ensure everyone has access to critical public health
information surrounding the global coronavirus pandemic.

The World Health Organization
(WHO) and the Wikimedia Foundation, the nonprofit that administers
Wikipedia, announced today a collaboration to expand the public’s access to the
latest and most reliable information about COVID-19. The
collaboration will make trusted, public health information available
under the
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike license at a time when
countries face continuing resurgences of COVID-19 and
social stability increasingly depends on the public’s shared understanding of
the facts. 

Through the collaboration, people everywhere will be able to
access and share WHO infographics, videos, and other public health assets
on Wikimedia
Commons, a digital library … Read the rest

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The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) created the Direct Contracting Model to expand opportunities for more diverse providers and healthcare organizations to participate in value-based care arrangements for Medicare fee-for-service (FFS) beneficiaries.

The goal of the new model is to create the next generation of risk-sharing arrangements to improve outcomes for patients, lower costs, and ensure high-quality care. In developing the Direct Contracting model and associated payment options, CMMI decided to build on lessons learned from accountable care initiatives, in particular, the Next-Generation ACO (NGACO) Model, as well as Medicare Advantage and other innovative private payers. The new model specifically aims to attract providers new to Medicare FFS and Innovation Center models: “the payment model options appeal to a broad range of physician practices and other organizations because they are expected to reduce burden, support a focus on beneficiaries with complex, … Read the rest

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