Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/644565
63 FINANCE HEALTH IT Practice Fusion Lays Off 25% of Workforce By Akanksha Jayanthi I n efforts to become cash flow positive, EHR vendor Practice Fusion has laid off approximately 74 peo- ple, a quarter of its workforce, reports TechCrunch. e layoffs include employees in engineering, prod- uct, marketing and customer success departments, according to the report. In a company meeting, Practice Fusion CEO Tom Langan said the layoffs were necessary to be profitable, according to the report. TechCrunch suggests the layoffs are part of the com- pany's preparation to go public. Practice Fusion hired JPMorgan Chase in 2015 to explore the possibility of an initial public offering in 2017. n 3M Decides to Hold Onto Health IT Division By Akanksha Jayanthi S t. Paul, Minn.-based 3M has decided to keep its Health Informa- tion Systems business unit after considering selling it. In September 2015, 3M said it would explore strategic alterna- tives for the healthcare data and software business unit, which includ- ed spinning off, selling or retaining the business. "As part of our ongoing portfolio management process, 3M has com- pleted a comprehensive review of strategic alternatives to determine the best path to benefit 3M, its stakeholders and the Health Informa- tion Systems business," said Inge G. Thulin, 3M chairman, president and CEO. "As a result of this process, we have determined that retain- ing this business and further investing in it as a part of 3M provides the best opportunity for 3M Health Information Systems, already a healthy and rapidly growing business, to derive even greater long- term value." n Computer Glitch Slows Mountain States Health Alliance for 9 Days By Max Green A systemwide computer glitch in Mountain States Health Alliance's IT network impacted a number of clinical and IT workflows last week, according to a Kingsport Times- News report. The glitch, which has been resolved according to an email from an MSHA spokeswoman, stemmed from necessary upgrades to the hospital's Cerner EHR, the Times-News reported. "All hospitals are currently live on the system," the spokes- woman told the Times-News in an email statement. "Industry best practices were utilized in preparing for the upgrades. And prior to installation of the upgrades, the enhancements were run twice in a test environment to ensure they worked properly. Once implemented, however, the system began to experience delays, requiring hospitals to switch to standard downtime procedures to prevent backlogging of data. These downtime procedures were used at various facilities for nine days while the issues were addressed." Patients told the Times-News that during the "downtime proce- dures" they were unable to access certain electronic test results, like ultrasounds, and the emergency department experienced longer-than-usual wait times since medical staff weren't able to access existing EHRs. n Jackson Memorial Fires Employees for Inappropriately Accessing NFL Player's Medical Record By Akanksha Jayanthi T he Miami health system where NFL player Jason Pierre-Paul underwent treatment for a finger injury fired two employees who accessed the football player's medical records, reports NJ.com. In July, Mr. Pierre-Paul, a defensive end for the New York Giants, had a finger amputated at Jackson Memorial Hospital aer a fireworks accident. Previous reports indicate a hospital employee shared the news of Mr. Pierre-Paul's hospital admission with a friend, and the story ended up online. "As part of our investigation into the breach, it was discov- ered that two employees inappropriately accessed the pa- tient's health record. at finding resulted in the termination of both employees," according to a statement from Jackson Health System, obtained by NJ.com. "Protecting the privacy of our patients is a top priority at Jackson Health System." n