Health Catalyst announced June 24 that it will acquire Twistle. Twistle's SaaS-based patient engagement technology will bolster Health Catalyst's existing population health analytics technology and help provider customers in their efforts to transition to accountable care, the company said.

"Twistle is a leading healthcare technology company committed to developing software that healthcare organizations and Life Science companies need to keep patients engaged in their healthcare," said Dan Burton, CEO of Health Catalyst. "Their efforts to improve patient outcomes and reduce the cost of care are deeply aligned with our mission to be the catalyst for massive, measurable, data-informed improvements."

Seqster is joining the CommonWell Health Alliance, the company announced on June 24. Its customers now have the ability to connect and exchange health data bi-directionally with the more than 22,000 healthcare provider sites in the CommonWell nationwide network – expanding Seqster's ability to provide a longitudinal personalized health record for patients, compiling EHR and remote monitoring device wearables data.

"With real-time patient-centered data, faster diagnosis, prevention and intervention should be realized by the providers and their care team," said Seqster CEO Ardy Arianpour in a statement. "This, in turn, can lead to better outcomes, improved quality of care and an enhanced patient journey, while at the same time helping reduce costs."

CarePort, powered by WellSky, introduced CarePort Ambulatory, a new tool to help ambulatory providers – physician offices, hospital outpatient departments, ASCs, specialty clinics and urgent care centers – streamline collaboration with home- and community-based organizations and track patients across these settings. The goal is to offer health systems better insights into patients' care transitions and help connect them to home- and community-based organizations such as those concerned with home health, transportation, food insecurity services and physical therapy.

"As care is increasingly delivered outside the four walls of a hospital, physician groups and other ambulatory providers require the capabilities to support whole patient care," said Dr. Lissy Hu, founder and CEO of CarePort, in a statement. "Our newest offering enables ambulatory providers to efficiently coordinate with home- or community-based organizations and track and monitor care across settings – helping achieve the best possible outcomes for patients."

Tegria, a spinoff of Seattle-based Providence, has announced its acquisition of KenSci, which develops artificial intelligence technologies for healthcare, with roots in Microsoft's Azure4Research program and the University of Washington. KenSci, with customers including providers, payers and medical device companies, is focused on using AI-enabled analytics to improve operational, clinical and care workflows, so improving care experiences and health outcomes.

"Unlocking data to deliver insights is the key to making healthcare better for everyone," said Wasif Rasheed, chief revenue and growth officer for Providence, in a statement. "KenSci has been helping customers get more from their data for years, and they understand the vital roles invention and collaboration play in helping accelerate transformation across all facets of care. Combined with Tegria's industry experience and wide range of solutions, KenSci can have a profound impact on healthcare worldwide."

OMNY Health announced on June 23 that it has partnered with several community-based dermatology practices to create a new integrated, normalized, de-identified electronic health record data repository for dermatological research. Billed as the first effort of its kind, the assembled longitudinal data represents care delivered over the past five years by over 1,000 dermatologic providers in more than 30 states and involving more than 7.5 million unique patients, according to OMNY Health.

"As the number of specialty treatment options expands, OMNY Health provides an ideal platform for delivering scalable data solutions to life sciences companies needing to understand the care delivered by the diverse mix of providers treating patients along their care journey," said said Dr. Mitesh Rao, CEO at OMNY Health, in a statement.