• 8/07 - Orange County Round Table
• 8/08 - East Bay Round Table
• 8/13 - Silicon Valley Round Table
• 8/14 - San Francisco Round Table
• 8/16 - Los Angeles Round Table

GOVERNMENT HEALTHCARE NEWS
• Expanded Transparency in Proposed Rule Meets Trade Association Backlash
• Administration Weighs Allowing Drug Imports for Cheaper Prescriptions
• CMS Proposes Adding Total Knee Replacements to ASC-Covered Procedures List, Increases Payment Rates
• Proposed Rule Would Increase Medicare Reimbursements to Home Health Agencies
• President Issues Executive Order Aimed at Kidney Health
• Move to Shift Patients' Chronic Illness Costs to Insurers
• California Cites AmerisourceBergen for Failing to Flag Huge Sales of Opioids to Pharmacies


HEALTHCARE ORGANIZATION NEWS
• John Muir Launches "Comprehensive Relationship" with Optum
• CVS Health's New Platform Connects At-Risk Aetna Plan Members to Social Services
• Rite Aid Launches In-Store Telehealth Kiosks
• Amazon Alexa to Provide Access to NHS-Verified Health Information
• Phreesia's Strong Opening Sets Tone for Upcoming Digital Health IPOs
• Soom Launches App to Alert Patients, Providers to Medical Device Recalls


TRENDS IN MEDICINE & TREATMENTS
• Company Describes AI Pathology Technology with Clinical-Grade Accuracy
• How Drug Companies Are Using Your DNA to Make New Medicine
• Implanted Drug Could Someday Prevent HIV Infection
• Google's SMILY Is Reverse Image Search for Cancer Diagnosis
• Flaws in Hospital Anesthesia & Respiratory Devices Allow Remote Tampering


PERSONAL HEALTH
• U.S. Adults Sit for 6.4 Hours a Day, Study Finds
• Study: Fewer Health Events in 4 Years Following a 12-Week Behavior-Change Program

Choice in Aging (CiA) took part in the planning and implementation of the recent Senior Rally Day in Sacramento, and reported that participants "demanded a Master Plan for Aging and Governor Gavin Newsom heard us and issued an Executive Order calling for exactly that!" This video shows highlights from the event, including remarks from CiA CEO Debbie Toth. Meanwhile, CiA's 2nd annual Bedford Block Party will take place September 21, in Antioch, an event which supports the Bedford Center for Adult Day Health Care, the only adult day center serving East Contra Costa County. (Debbie Toth)

Following up on their recent announcement that the average rate change for California's individual market will be 0.8% in 2020, which is the lowest premium increase since 2014, Covered California has released regional rate data. Many regions across the state will see little to no change in their underlying rates (such as West Los Angeles, San Diego County, and the Inland Empire), others will see an average rate decrease (such as parts of northern counties and parts of the Central Valley), and some will see modest increases (such as parts of the Bay Area and the Central Coast). In addition, CoveredCA announced that the average rate change for consumers who shop and switch to the lowest-cost plan in the same metal tier is -9.0%, which means that many Californians' premiums will be even lower than their current premiums while maintaining the same level of benefits. Consumers in L.A., Orange, San Diego, and Santa Clara counties, as well as the Inland Empire, could see average rate reductions of over 10% if they shop and switch. (Kathy Keeshen)

San Francisco Suicide Prevention has now merged into Felton Institute, uniting two of the most enduring mental health and crisis intervention agencies in Northern California. This innovative merger places suicide prevention in a broad continuum of care and extends the reach of both agencies to serve communities in need. Felton Institute is celebrating 130 years of providing 50+ transformative mental health and social service programs to children, youth, families, adults, and seniors. San Francisco Suicide Prevention, founded 57 years ago, today receives 300+ calls a day, saving lives with 24/7 hotlines, outreach and trainings, and support services for those affected by suicide. (Al Gilbert)

On August 21, from 10-11:30 a.m. Pacific, King & Spalding (K&S) will present a webinar - Medicare Litigation Opportunities after Allina and Kisor – in response to the Supreme Court's two major recent decisions that give healthcare providers new tools to challenge Medicare payment policies. This webinar will explore the possibilities. And, on September 5, K&S will hold its 12th Annual Medical Device Summit, in Chicago. Meanwhile, K&S has published key takeaways from its recent West Coast Pharmaceutical & Medical Device University event, which covered emerging issues and hot topics for leaders in life sciences industries. (Marcia Augsburger, JD, & Travis Jackson, JD)

Walt Vernon, CEO of Mazzetti, shares that AcademyHealth, with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, has hired Mazzetti to help them learn and implement the principles of human-centered design to re-think the paradigm through which we design, conduct, and disseminate research that improves human health. This will be a two-year initiative; they recently launched a series of teams focused on redesigning different elements of the system. If you would like to follow along or get involved, visit www.academyhealth.org/paradigmproject, where you can learn more about AcademyHealth, the project, and/or join a reactor panel to provide feedback throughout the process. (Walt Vernon)

On the evening of October 5, Mission Hospice will hold its 2019 Fall Gala - Diamonds & Denim - in Foster City. The evening will include dinner, dancing, live music, and silent and live auctions. Funds raised will support Mission's Woodside Hospice House campaign. (Lisa Deal, ScD)

Wipfli will present Critical Access Hospital and Rural Health Clinic Conference in Reno, NV, on September 10-12, where Jeff Johnson and Steve Rousso will be speakers. Sessions are intended for all levels of critical access hospital and rural health clinic professionals. Meanwhile, Wipfli was chosen by Microsoft as the winner of the 2019 MSUS Partner Award - Partner for Social Impact, for its work with Team Rubicon, a disaster relief organization. And, Wipfli has been named to the VAR 100, Accounting Today's annual ranking of the leading value-added resellers in the accounting space. (Jeff Johnson, Larry Blitz, Tony Taddey & Steve Rousso)

El Camino Health's Los Gatos and Mountain View hospitals now offer robotic-arm assisted partial knee, total knee, and total hip replacements with Stryker's Mako System. Since initially launching the system in Mountain View earlier this year, surgeons have utilized the system to perform 100+ knee replacement procedures. This advanced robotic technology transforms the way joint replacement surgery is performed, enabling orthopedic surgeons to have a more predictable surgical experience with increased accuracy. Also, the Commission on Cancer, a quality program of the American College of Surgeons, has granted Three-Year with Commendation Accreditation, Gold Level, to the comprehensive community cancer program at El Camino's Mountain View Hospital, noting that the hospital "has one of the best community cancer programs in the country as [they] have demonstrated compliance at a very high level." (Cecile Currier & Michelle McGowen, Silicon Valley)

Jiang Li, Ph.D., CEO of VivaLNK, published Medical Wearable Sensor and Software Platform Driving Healthcare Applications in Remote Patient Monitoring, in MedTech Intelligence, where he says that to remove the barriers to remote patient monitoring solutions, we need to empower application developers since diagnostic and preventive solutions will likely happen at the data analysis level - incorporating multiple data points with complex algorithms. To do this, wearable sensors need to be abstracted into a simplified and easy to integrate platform so that developers can focus on the application. Also, Jiang wrote a recent blog post for TechTarget IOT Agenda: Software development kits drive healthcare technology and competition. Meanwhile, HIT Consultant wrote about the results of a recent VivaLNK survey, which found that 64% of respondents said they would utilize a wearable health monitoring device if it meant it could reduce the number of times, they had to physically visit a doctor or hospital. (Jiang Li, Ph.D.)

Anthem Blue Cross has partnered with CareMore Health and River City Medical Group to introduce a new, first-of-its kind model of care that provides comprehensive, home-based services for Anthem Blue Cross Medi-Cal consumers in Sacramento who are chronically ill and have complex healthcare needs. Also, Anthem Blue Cross will now pay providers a monthly fee to reimburse them for their work managing patients with two or more chronic conditions. Anthem's affiliated Medicare plans have already been paying this fee for several years and found that this increased level of care coordination led to lower costs and better health outcomes, prompting the decision to expand the care coordination management fee to compensate providers who treat Anthem Blue Cross consumers with employer-based insurance or individual health plans. Meanwhile, Anthem is partnering with K Health, a consumer-focused digital health company, to create a cobranded app tool that will allow Anthem members to chat with a doctor for "less than a copay." Additionally, members will have access to K Health's existing tool, which gives users insights into how doctors have diagnosed patients with similar symptoms in the past. (David Pryor, MD)

On August 7, at 1 p.m. Pacific, CareAcademy will present a free webinar - Agency Growth Secrets: Growing Your Agency from 0 to 150 Employees - which will present some simple techniques for managing the chaos of running a home care agency while also recruiting, retaining, and onboarding caregivers, all while saving more time and money than the average agency owner. Also, several previous CareAcademy webinars are available on-demand at this link. Meanwhile, CareAcademy has been endorsed by Always Best Care Senior Services and will be used by their franchise locations, and by Visiting Angels, making it a new vendor option for their franchisees. (Helen Adeosun)

Good Samaritan Hospital is among the first hospitals in Los Angeles to offer the LOTUS Edge Valve System to high-risk patients with severe aortic stenosis. As a non-surgical alternative for these patients, often with complex anatomical challenges, the transcatheter aortic valve replacement device is delivered via a minimally-invasive procedure to restore proper valve function. The device is the only aortic valve approved by the FDA that is 100% repositionable, which enables physicians to precisely place the new valve into an optimal position in the heart, thereby helping to improve outcomes for the patient. Also, Good Samaritan has received the American Heart Association/ American Stroke Association's "Get With The Guidelines Target: Stroke Honor Roll Elite Plus Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award," which recognizes the hospital's commitment to ensuring stroke patients receive the most appropriate treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines based on the latest scientific evidence. (Andy Leeka)

Inglewood Imaging Center (IIC) has expanded its working hours for MRI and PET/CT to Monday through Saturday, 6:30 a.m. until 7:00 p.m., noting that PET/CT is generally rare on weekends due to the isotope/medication requirements. And thanks to IIC's "smashing radiology group and impressive internal IT network," the center anticipates same-day turnaround times for MRI reports, with PET reports to be finalized on the following business day. (Brad Schmidt)

Nelson Hardiman (NH) Partner Harry Nelson was interviewed on The Courage to Change: Recovery Podcast, where he discusses the role that chronic pain plays in the opioid crisis and how his recent book explores the history of the opioid crisis and recent innovations in addiction treatment. Also, Forbes recently published Harry's article about national litigation - The Opioid Litigation: Settlements, Winners, and Losers. Meanwhile, NH published a Client Alert: California Medical Board Seeks to Clarify Authorized Supervision Mechanisms for Physician Assistants. And, NH has been ranked #6 nationally for Best Law Firms for Minority Attorneys (20-149 Lawyers) by Law360. (Harry Nelson, JD)

OneLegacy will move its corporate office from downtown Los Angeles to a 4.45-acre property it has acquired in Azusa, which includes a 98,000-square-foot, three-story commercial building. Plans call for the construction of an additional 50,000-sf structure that will connect to the existing building and will house a state-of-the-art transplant recovery and research center. This facility will be roughly triple the size of the company's existing Transplant Recovery Center in Redlands, which last year performed 1,000+ donor recoveries, saving and healing 75,000+ lives. (Tom Mone)

Alvaka Networks will host a live and interactive webinar - Software Security Patching: "Why you are struggling with this essential task?!", on multiple dates in August and September. This webinar will take a deep dive into this complex security dilemma, what the risks are, and how you can start to solve this problem. (Oli Thordarson)

Ceresti Health presented two posters at the recent Alzheimer's Association International Conference 2019 in Los Angeles. Dirk Soenksen, CEO of Ceresti, explained, "The first poster details initial findings from a pilot study that shows how the combination of (i) personalized caregiver education, coaching and support and (ii) daily remote monitoring of the patient-caregiver dyad reduces medical costs for the person living with dementia at home. The second poster details our novel disease progression framework which aligns medical cost savings with better patient care and is a central theme throughout our intervention." (Dirk Soenksen)

Cigna and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) have started a program that aims to enhance care for people receiving chemotherapy to treat any type of cancer. The program is part of Cigna Collaborative Care, a value-based model that engages healthcare professionals and helps drive improved health, affordability, and patient experience. MSK has designated an oncology-certified RN as the oncology care coordinator who will assist MSK patients covered by Cigna and ensure their care is properly coordinated. Cigna will also provide a single point of contact who will assist MSK's oncology care coordinator with information about a Cigna customer's benefits. Cigna will provide oncology case management services for customers and their families who might need additional education or coordination of resources outside of the oncology practice. (Chris De Rosa)

Recent articles from SAVI Group include How New Technology is Improving Health, which delves into medical billing outsourcing, remote health monitoring, wearable health tech, telehealth and telemedicine, and EMR vs EHR: An In Depth Guide on Everything You Need to Know, which discusses the differences between the two. (Sumit Mahendru)

On the evening of October 11, in Huntington Beach, Share Our Selves (SOS) will present its 29th Annual SOS Celebrity Chef Dinner, a fundraising event to benefit the many services SOS provides to meet the basic needs of homeless and low-income residents of Orange County. Take in stunning ocean views while enjoying hors d'oeuvres, beer and wine tastings, live music, silent and live auctions, and a three-course dinner in the ballroom with outstanding chefs pairing up to prepare each course. (Karen McGlinn)

Catasys, Inc., a leading AI and technology-enabled healthcare company that solves the hidden, high-cost problem of untreated behavioral health conditions, has been added to the Russell 3000 and 2000 Indexes, effective July 1, 2019. The annual Russell Indexes reconstitution captures the 4,000 largest U.S. stocks at the close of the market on May 10, 2019, ranking them by total market capitalization. Approximately $9 trillion in assets are benchmarked against Russell U.S. Indexes. (Rick Anderson, West Los Angeles Technology)

On the evening of August 15, John Tanner, Ph.D., CEO of Tanner Research, will present a free Nutrition Science workshop, where he will share his story about how he suffered a near-fatal cardiac arrest in 2009. Since then, he has studied intensely the causes of heart disease, and found that it can be completely avoided through a proper diet - and cancer, stroke, diabetes, high blood pressure, and about 30 other diseases can be reduced, avoided, or reversed by this same diet. John will field questions and participants will continue nutrition discussions in small groups. The workshop includes a meal and your choice of one of the top books on nutrition science. (John Tanner, Ph.D., Monrovia Technology)