Here are 11 recent news updates on health IT companies.
1. A Jan. 18 ransomware attack took down several of Allscripts' cloud-hosted applications, including some EMR and electronic prescribing services.
2. Amazon reportedly hired Martin Levine, MD, a physician from Boston-based Iora Health, as part of its latest move into the healthcare space.
3. Apple announced plans Jan. 25 to integrate patient health records into its Health app to make it easier for consumers to review their medical data from multiple providers.
4. A U.S. Department of Defense official clarified Jan. 18 the agency's Cerner EHR rollout is on schedule, despite recent media reports the effort had been paused.
5. Illinois recently rejected a protest filed by Cerner over a $62 million contract Chicago-based University of Illinois Health awarded to Epic.
6. Change Healthcare acquired National Decision Support Co., the company confirmed Jan. 18.
7. Epic spent about $40,000 in lobbying efforts during the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2017. Cerner paid one lobby $50,000 for health IT issues and another $70,000 for "Department of Veterans Affairs health information technology issues."
8. IBM broke its 22-quarter streak of declining revenues in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2017, according to company financial results released Jan. 18.
9. Microsoft officials plan to remove the company's HealthVault Insights app from the iOS, Android and Windows marketplaces this month, according to a statement on the HealthVault website.
10. Top executives at Practice Fusion, a San Francisco-based startup and EHR provider, are slated to pocket millions following completion of Allscripts' acquisition of the company.
11. Uber recruited a lobbyist to champion HIPAA as it relates to ridesharing, according to a recent Senate lobbying disclosure form.