• 12/05 - 19th Innovations in Healthcare ABBY Awards, in Long Beach
• 12/12 - 20th Innovations in Healthcare ABBY Awards, in San Francisco

2019
• 1/09 - Orange County Round Table*
• 1/10 - East Bay Round Table
• 1/15 - Silicon Valley Round Table*
• 1/16 - San Francisco Round Table*
• 1/18 - Los Angeles Round Table
*Round Table dates moved from usual days, due to a conflicting Holiday or JP Morgan Conference

• 85.4% of All Telehealth Users Had Mental Health Diagnosis: CMS
• In 2017, Number of Uninsured Kids Rose for First Time this Decade
• Suicide, at 50-Year Peak, Pushes Down US Life Expectancy
• "Probiotics Might Not Do Much; Focus on Fiber Instead"
• CVS Health and Aetna Close $70 Billion Merger
• Amazon to Sell EHR-Mining Software
• Apple Watch ECG Will Go Live by Year's End - Report
• From Gene Editing to AI, How Will Technology Transform Humanity?

• CMS Hospital Value-Based Purchasing Program Results for Fiscal Year 2019
• Dem Single-Payer Fight Shifting to Battle Over Medicare Buy-In

PHARMA & GOVERNMENT:
• Flashpoint: Tying U.S. Drug Prices to What Other Countries Pay
• CMS Takes Action to Lower Rx Costs by Modernizing Medicare
• Democrats Taking Key Leadership Jobs Have Pocketed Millions from Pharma

Ten of healthcare's most innovative companies are Finalists to present their health IT, digital health, diagnostic, and med device solutions, as well as innovative approaches for reducing the cost of quality care at ABL Organization's 19th and 20th Innovations in Healthcare^TM ABBY Awards Dual Events, to be held on December 5th, in Long Beach, and December 12th, in San Francisco.

AND THE FINALISTS ARE: For the Southern California Event: Advanced Pathways; Amenity Health, Inc.; Catasys, Inc.; healthPiper, LLC; and ImpediMed, Inc. For the Northern California Event: Care3, Inc.; Help-Full; Modio Health, Inc.; NEOFECT; and California Schools VEBA. At each of the events - Dec. 5th and 12th, following live presentations made by the leaders of the Finalist companies, each audience member will cast their secret ballots to determine one ABBY Awardee in Southern California and one Awardee in Northern California.

Also, at the SoCal event on Dec. 5th, a keynote presentation will be made by Robert Maloney, MD, Director of Maloney Vision Institute, and Clinical Professor of Ophthalmology at David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. Dr. Maloney has worked at the forefront of innovative vision-correction surgery for 20 years - personally performing 60,000+ vision correction procedures. He's also a brilliant medical edu-tainer and will share with attendees the inspiring backstory of one of the greatest Innovations in Healthcare of all time, and how it's played out in history and art, as well as in today's routine medical practice.

And at the NorCal event on Dec. 12th, an "ABBY Update" presentation will be made by Dave Sayen, currently a Senior VP at Gorman Health Group, and previously a CMS Regional Administrator for Region IX (CA, AZ, NV, HI, and Pacific Territories). Several years ago, Dave took home an ABBY Award on behalf of CMS's Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation - for its "Bold Experiment in Government Payment Innovation." Here, Dave will share what's happened since, lessons learned, tweaks made, and the legacy of the Innovation Center. Email [email protected] for information on attending either event!

Alvaka Networks will present a live webinar - Software Patching: The First and Most Important Step in Securing Your System - on several dates in December 2018 and January 2019, including Dec. 7, 14, 21 and 28. The webinar will run from 10-11 a.m. each time. Says Alvaka: "The majority of security threats you face today; viruses, worms, spyware and other malware utilize some unchecked vulnerability in your software to compromise your system. Patches fix the 'holes' in the code. A recent study found 98.8% of breaches can be stopped by good patching practices." (Oli Thordarson, Orange County)

David Williams, CEO of Care3, shares The Top 5 Things I Learned at the National PACE Association Annual Conference, after his company attended and sponsored the recent PACE (Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly) event, which is dedicated to helping seniors live in their homes while receiving outstanding medical care. In his blog post, David discusses: 1. Communications between staff, participants, and family mean everything. 2. PACE is "radical." 3. Gifts don't always come wrapped with a bow. 4. PACE has a "blind spot." And 5. New PACE programs are coming. (David Williams, Los Angeles)

On the evening of December 5, Linda Trowbridge and the leadership team from the Center for Elders' Independence (CEI), one of the nation's largest and oldest PACE providers, will discuss what it takes to manage a high-risk population and how each team supports the interdisciplinary care model, how new technologies and innovations are leveraged to improve care, and how the community and start-ups can collaborate. This panel discussion will take place at the Aging 2.0 San Francisco event, which is a free event. (Linda Trowbridge, Bay Area)

Ceresti CEO Dirk Soenksen and Chief Commercial Officer Chris Selecky co-authored an article in the American Journal of Managed Care - Impact of Dementia on Costs of Modifiable Comorbid Conditions. The writers conclude that Alzheimer's disease and other dementias have a substantial impact on the prevalence and costs of certain comorbid conditions that may be modifiable by care management. (Dirk Soenksen & Chris Selecky, both Orange County)

Choice in Aging has created a 30-second video advertisement that is playing before every movie at two theaters in Concord, California - the Veranda LUXE Cinema and Brenden Theatres, for an entire year. Also, Choice in Aging has unveiled a two-minute video that showcases its Young at Heart Intergenerational Program. (Debbie Toth, Bay Area)

Cigna is collaborating with Annum Health to offer an innovative, digital health support solution to help people reduce alcohol consumption. Program participants will use a digital app and have a personal support team comprised of health coaches, physicians, and licensed therapists to help each individual meet their goals. Also, Cigna is adding Happify Health's Happify and Prevail Health's iPrevail evidence-based digital platforms to help customers build greater resilience, as well as cope with stress, anxiety, and depression. They will be available as part of the Cigna Total Behavioral Health program. And, Cigna has launched its new Cigna Healthy Pregnancy app to better connect individual customers to Cigna's suite of health benefits, including the Cigna Healthy Pregnancies, Healthy Babies maternity health engagement program. (Chris De Rosa, Orange County)

Saint Anthony Hospital is implementing GeBBS Healthcare Solutions' Healthcare Information Management Compliance Audit & Coding Solutions. The acute care, community hospital, which serves residents of Chicago's west and southwest sides, selected GeBBS because of the depth of their coding and compliance audit expertise in addition to their robust processes and proprietary technology. (Nitin Thakor, Los Angeles)

As a Comprehensive Stroke Center, Good Samaritan Hospital in Los Angeles, has already performed 65 of these advanced procedures, called a thrombectomy, so far this year. This procedure, which is transforming stroke care in America, can be used to treat the most severe stroke patients - but timing is critical. Various studies show that severe stroke patients fare better if taken directly to a thrombectomy hospital instead of waiting for a transfer to one. In many severe stroke cases, a patient who waits more than an hour for a thrombectomy has lower chances of a full recovery. Since most hospitals don't do thrombectomies, transfer sometimes is necessary. If so, faster is better. (Read Article: Wall Street Journal, 11/28/18, supplemented by Good Sam's Shauna Pearce) (Andy Leeka, Los Angeles)

On December 13, Gorman Health Group will present a webinar - 2019 Star Ratings Performance Trends and Landscape Evolution, from 10-11 a.m. Pacific, providing an in-depth look at the trends of the recently released 2019 Star Ratings and their implications. Meanwhile, in Dave Sayen's recent blog post - Patients Over Paperwork is Real, he shares that this particular government campaign is primarily about cutting red tape and reducing administrative burdens, with a particular focus on improving the beneficiary experience and maximizing the time patients and providers spend together. And, in Medicare Advantage 2020 Proposed Rule, Dave discusses telehealth, Star Ratings, and using extrapolation in the Risk Adjustment Data Validation audits. (Dave Sayen, Bay Area)

U.S. News & World Report identified the best nursing homes for the upcoming year, and HumanGood earned high recognition for several skilled nursing centers across its communities of Redwood Terrace, Terraces at San Joaquin Gardens, Terraces at Los Altos, Piedmont Gardens, Valle Verde, and Judson Park. Researchers evaluated 15,000+ nursing homes around the country, and 2,975 earned the U.S. News Best Nursing Home designation. Also, HumanGood was listed as the nation's seventh largest senior housing provider for 2018 as part of LeadingAge Ziegler's 15th annual ranking of the top 200 providers. (Tara McGuinness, Bay Area)

Kaiser Permanente Northern and Southern California health plans are the only plans in the state to receive 5 stars - the highest possible rating - for overall quality of medical care in the annual Healthcare Quality Report Card from California's Office of the Patient Advocate (OPA). In addition, KP Northern California is the only health plan in the state to earn 5 stars for overall clinical effectiveness in behavioral and mental health care. The 2018-2019 report card provides California consumers with side-by-side comparisons of the 16 largest HMOs and PPOs in the state. It rates them on national standard-of-care measures that involve treatment and prevention of a range of conditions that have significant implications for personal health. (Walt Meyers, Bay Area)

Kindred Rehabilitation Services (KRS), a division of Kindred Healthcare, announced that initial data from healthcare locations where RehabTracker is being utilized shows the application is improving outcomes for patients. RehabTracker is a mobile app developed by KRS, with which patients work with their therapy team to set personal goals and input them into the app; use their cell phones or tablets to see and track their progress in real time; share that progress with invited family and friends; and receive messages of support from loved ones. Patients at KRS-served locations using RehabTracker as of June 2018 have experienced increases in: Functional Independence Measure, discharge to community, and Program Evaluation Model score. (Adam Darvish, Los Angeles)

On December 18, King & Spalding (K&S) will present a webinar - Service Animals, Robots and Immigrants in Healthcare Settings - Diverse, Emerging Issues and How to Operationalize, from 10-11 a.m. Pacific, where they will provide tips for developing policies and procedures to address emerging issues such as relevant requirements for accommodating service animals; how robots can be used in the non-surgical ambulatory care setting; and what obligations apply to providing non-emergency care to illegal immigrants. (Marcia Augsburger, Sacramento, & Travis Jackson)

MYnd Analytics has been awarded a subcontract to incorporate its Psychiatric EEG Evaluation Registry (PEER) report within a project to develop a suicide prevention toolkit for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. By combining artificial intelligence, machine learning, and data analytics, MYnd Analytics can analyze EEG data to recognize patterns, predict outcomes, and personalize medicine; multiple studies have shown a relationship between EEG findings, medication response, and suicidality. Meanwhile, the company's PEER was featured on CBS New York by medical correspondent Dr. Max Gomez. (George Carpenter, Orange County)

Nelson Hardiman was awarded a Tier 1 ranking in Healthcare Law and Administrative/ Regulatory Law by U.S. News & World Report and, with the recent addition of three experienced healthcare attorneys, has become the largest healthcare law practice in Los Angeles. As such, the firm was featured in a recent article in the Los Angeles & San Francisco Daily Journal. Meanwhile, Harry Nelson was interviewed on KTLA5 concerning the 20th year of the opioid crisis and to discuss his latest book, The United States of Opioids: A Prescription for Liberating a Nation in Pain. (Harry Nelson, Los Angeles)

NorthBay Medical Group has earned a 5-star rating in overall patient experience - the highest rating possible - in annual survey results announced by the California Office of the Patient Advocate. The rating is the result of Patient Assessment Surveys of patients who received care in 2017, and covers six categories: care provided, communication with patients, coordination of patient care, health promotion, helpfulness of office staff, and timeliness of care and services provided. This top patient experience rating comes on the heels of an Integrated Healthcare Association award in October that honored NorthBay Medical Group as one of the top performing and most improved physician organizations in California. (Elnora Cameron, Bay Area)

In PPS Final Rule Increases HHA's Payments for 2019, Select Data reports that CMS has finalized a plan to launch a budget-neutral payment model for home health that utilizes 30-day periods of care and stops using the number of therapy visits to determine payment, according to Decision Health. The Patient-Driven Groupings Model (PDGM) will launch "on or after" Jan. 1, 2020, according to the final rule. And, in CoP Interpretive Guidelines: Are You Compliant?, Select Data notes that the Home Health Agency Condition of participation (CoP) went into effect January 13, 2018, but that some agencies are still struggling with it. According to the CoP Interpretive Guidelines, to be compliant, home health agencies must have established standards of practice issued by a nationally recognized organization with expertise in the field. If your organization fails to meet these minimum standards when audited, you may be assessed a monetary fine or lose your Medicare certification. (Ed Buckley, Orange County, & Ted Schulte, Los Angeles)

Shriners Hospitals for Children - Northern California has received a gift of $198,000 to benefit its pediatric hand program. The gift was made at the direction of anonymous donors, who have a personalized charitable fund at Placer Community Foundation. This Shriners Hospital is a leading provider of pediatric hand and upper extremity care in Northern California. (Maggie Bryan, Bay Area)

VivaLNK has announced the availability of Vital Scout, the only reusable, wearable patch for the continuous monitoring of stress and recovery levels. Designed to be worn 24 hours a day over a period of two to three days at-a-time, Vital Scout offers a comprehensive picture of stress and recovery levels by analyzing the user's heart rhythm throughout waking and sleeping hours. Vital Scout uses medical grade electrocardiography sensors, and established heart rate variability algorithms to accurately measure the body's response to the physiological impacts of daily activities. (Jiang Li, Silicon Valley)

Having received the first FDA clearance for OCT Angiography technology in September 2015, the Medical Technology business group of ZEISS has now received the first FDA clearance for Swept-Source OCT imaging technology for posterior ocular structures with ZEISS PLEX Elite 9000. This powerful, cutting-edge Swept-Source OCT and OCT Angiography platform was designed for advanced retina research and is at the core of the Advanced Retina Imaging Network. (Angelo Rago, Bay Area)

Catasys, Inc., a leading AI and technology-enabled healthcare company, has entered into an agreement with Capital BlueCross, a community-based health insurer serving members in 21 counties in Central Pennsylvania and the Lehigh Valley. Beginning the first quarter of 2019, eligible Capital BlueCross commercial members will be able to take advantage of Catasys' OnTrak solution, an integrated 52-week program that identifies, engages and treats members with untreated behavioral health conditions that exacerbate chronic medical disease and result in unnecessarily higher medical costs. (Rick Anderson, West Los Angeles Technology)

In 2018, Sidebench has teamed with the WITH Foundation, a non-profit foundation dedicated to promoting comprehensive healthcare, deep empathy, and design that focuses on the needs of adults with developmental disabilities, to create a workshop that teaches tech product designers how to design for a more accessible world. In November, Sidebench and WITH hosted a second round of Universal Design Events comprised of a Universal Design Symposium on Nov. 27, and a Beta Day on Nov. 28. More information. Meanwhile, Sidebench and WITH have been selected to share their message with a larger audience in an Equitable Design for Persons with Disabilities session at SXSW 2019, in March. (Kevin Yamazaki, West Los Angeles Technology)

On the evening of December 7th, John Tanner, Ph.D., CEO of Tanner Research, will present a Nutrition Science event - Dinner and Movie Night: Eating You Alive, where he will screen a movie that takes a scientific look at the reasons we're so sick, who's responsible for feeding us the wrong information, and how we can use whole-food, plant-based nutrition to take control of our health. Attendees will also enjoy a healthy, plant-based dinner buffet in an informal setting, with free parking. (John Tanner, Monrovia Technology)