In a move that some analysts say may signal the return of the initial public offering (IPO) to the digital health market, revenue cycle management company Waystar said in a May 28 filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that it will seek a public exit that could raise up to $1 billion.

The digital health market has had a tough year, with no IPOs in all of 2023. Comparatively, the industry saw roughly 20 public exits in 2021. The recent slowdown in the broader IPO market is linked to several trends, including high interest rates and some high-profile bankruptcies, according to Adriana Krasniansky, head of research at digital health strategy group and venture fund Rock Health’s advisory arm.

“It’s not that easy to go public in any sector, but it’s been especially hard for companies in the digital health sector because they’ve seen other digital health players have a hard time on the public markets,” Krasniansky told Healthcare Brew

So, why now? There are a few factors at play that set the stage for Waystar to IPO now, Krasniansky said.

For one, the overall IPO market beyond digital health is starting to thaw, according to Krasniansky and other investment strategists.

Keep reading here.—MA

It’s the 21st century. We have 3D printing, blockchain, e-readers—sophisticated tech galore. The experts at Philips believe it's about time we apply sophisticated tech to the world of patient monitoring.

The key is centralizing mission-critical systems at the IDN level. What does that look like in practice? A health system that centralizes patient monitoring software and can deploy a single instance across the entire network of health facilities.

With its end-to-end monitoring solution, Philips helps care teams by providing ways to monitor and acknowledge alarms remotely. It also provides monitoring at bedsides, at the central station, and on caregivers’ smartphones.

That allows clinical teams to access patient data from more locations across the health system and gives them confidence that their patients are receiving the care they need.

Learn more about what’s possible for patient monitoring.

Artificial intelligence (AI) has become increasingly integrated into healthcare settings, but the shortcomings of the technology mean the potential for errors is more consequential than ever.

One study suggests that the AI healthcare market hit $6.6 billion in 2021. Soon, the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Division of Clinical Informatics and Digital Transformation and UCSF Health’s new, real-time and continuous AI monitoring tool—dubbed the Impact Monitoring Platform for AI in Clinical Care (IMPACC)—could help clinicians understand the efficacy, safety, and equity of this new technology in relation to their patients.

IMPACC is designed to report if AI is doing what it is designed to do, and flag any AI-powered tech that could be unsafe or widen health disparities. With the report results, healthcare leaders can then decide if they want to keep using a certain tool or phase it out altogether, Julia Adler-Milstein, professor of medicine and chief of the UCSF Division of Clinical Informatics and Digital Transformation, told Healthcare Brew.

“It’s just something that you would do with any new technology, right? Which is make sure that it’s doing what you want it to do and expect that it would do,” Adler-Milstein said. “With AI, I think there’s just such a critical need to do that in a more granular, real-time way, because we know that the models themselves, their performance can change over time. We also know that our frontline clinicians are working with AI for the first time.”

Keep reading here.—CM

Make monitoring make sense. There’s a smarter way to approach patient monitoring. Philips provides end-to-end patient monitoring solutions that centralize systems at the IDN level. This allows for standardized alarm configurations, digitized wave strips that are stored in the ERM, and more. See what else is possible.