DIGITAL HEALTH BRIEFING: Advocate switches to Epic for EHR - Apple seeks FDA approval - Voice assistant adoption in healthcare picks up steam

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ADVOCATE SELECTS EPIC AS ITS NEW EHR SYSTEM: Health system Advocate Health Care has selected Epic Systems as its new electronic health record (EHR) vendor, according to FierceHealthcare. The transition from its current mix of EHRs, Cerner and Allscripts, is expected to take at least three years and potentially cost the system billions of dollars.

Transitioning to Epic was a logical move for Advocate as it prepares for its planned merger with Aurora Health Care, which adopted Epic in 2013. In December, the two companies agreed to terms on a merger, which would create the 10th largest nonprofit health system in the US with a combined system of 27 hospitals and annual revenue of $11 billion. However, for the merger to be successful, it's imperative that the two systems integrate their EHRs in order to put facilities and revenue-cycle management on the same system. This will help improve care coordination and operational efficiencies.

For Epic, this is an important addition that helps the firm solidify its leading position in the highly competitive EHR market. Epic controls the largest share of the US EHR market at 14%, according to SK&A data cited by FierceHealthcare. That's followed by eClinicalWorks' 10% share and Allscripts' 8%. However, Epic's pole position has been tested by its rivals in the past. For example, in January, Allscripts significantly strengthened its position by acquiring Practice Fusion, the EHR vendor that covers over 30,000 practices. This new deal not only gives Epic access to the largest health system in Illinois, but it also hurts Allscripts, which counted Advocate as one of its biggest clients.

APPLE SEEKS FDA APPROVAL FOR HEART STUDY APP: Apple is using consumer data collected from the Apple Heart study to seek FDA approval for a new "investigational device," according to MobiHealthNews. A consent form sent to study participants noted that some de-identified user data would be a part of the company's FDA submission. MobiHealthNews says it confirmed that the "device" was the Heart Study app itself, which likely includes the algorithm used to identify heart arrhythmias. The Apple Heart Study launched in November 2017 in conjunction with Stanford Medicine and telehealth company American Well. It aims to demonstrate how the Apple Watch can be used as a screening tool for Atrial Fibrillation (AFib). AFib costs the US around $6 billion annually, and is responsible for about 130,000 deaths and 750,000 hospitalizations every year, the CDC reports. If successful with its application, Apple will be able to market the Watch as an FDA-approved device and target the more than 25% of Americans over 40 with irregular heartbeats. It would also likely open the door to a range of partnerships with healthcare systems seeking better ways to track and manage undiagnosed heard conditions. And, eventually, the Heart Study data could be fed into the Apple Health app, which recently began a beta test of storing and sharing US users' electronic medical records.

VOICE ASSISTANTS BEING USED IN HEALTHCARE: AI-based voice assistants, like Amazon's Alexa or Apple's Siri, are being increasingly used within the healthcare system, with more providers trialing the technology as a potential tool, according to Healthcare IT News. Major hospitals across the US, including Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) in Boston and Northwell Health in New York, are using voice assistants to connect with patients. For example, BIDMC is using Alexa to enable inpatients to perform routine tasks, such as calling a nurse or ordering a meal. And Northwell is letting Alexa users check wait times at emergency rooms and urgent care centers near their location. Providers are clearly interested in leveraging the technology - 23% of US physicians are already using voice assistants in a professional capacity, according to a survey from Decision Resources. This growing adoption could open up major opportunities for voice app developers and voice assistant providers to enter the $3.4 trillion healthcare industry.

UNIVERSE MHEALTH LAUNCHES APP PLATFORM TO CENTRALIZE HEALTH FIRMS' SELF-SERVICE TOOLS: Last week, Universe mHealth launched its mHealth App Platform, which provides medium and large healthcare organizations with a central hub for all of their informational, clinical, and financial self-service tools, according to HIT Consultant. The platform, which is client-branded, comes with a list of pre-built features, such as health summaries, prescription refills, and appointment scheduling. It can also be customized to include client-specific features, like a hospital map, video-consultations, and remote patient monitoring. Universe mHealth hopes the platform will appeal to healthcare systems that are deploying multiple apps to provide a range of self-service tools, App Platform founder John Deutsch says.

In other news…

• Humanoo, a German employee wellness app, received over $6 million in funding led by Dieter von Holtzbrinck Venture, MobiHealthNews reports.The company plans to use the money raised to expand its platform and further develop relationships with payers.