Google Develops Passive Heart Rate Monitoring via Smartphone Camera
Google researchers have created a passive heart‑rate monitoring system (PHRM) that leverages a smartphone’s front‑facing camera to capture eight‑second facial video clips after a user unlocks the device via face recognition. An on‑device deep‑learning pipeline extracts subtle skin‑color changes to estimate heart rate, aggregating data into a daily resting‑heart‑rate metric. Tested on more than 350,000 clips from 700 participants, PHRM achieved heart‑rate readings within 10% of ECG across light, medium and dark skin tones and resting‑rate estimates within 4.39 BPM of a Fitbit Charge 6. The approach could democratize heart‑health tracking for the roughly five billion smartphone owners worldwide and pave the way for clinical remote‑monitoring applications.
Why AdventHealth Thinks It Can Sell an Internal Insurance Model to Employers
AdventHealth launched the Select Plan, a narrow‑network health offering for its own employees, enrolling about 11,000 members in its first year and expanding to over 18,000 after adding Colorado coverage. The plan leverages the system’s clinically integrated network, Aetna as...
OpenEvidence: 6 Things to Know About the AI Tool Used by Half of Physicians
OpenEvidence, an AI‑driven clinical reference app, fielded 30 million queries last month and is now used regularly by more than half of U.S. physicians, outpacing ChatGPT. The startup’s valuation jumped to $12 billion in January after a $250 million Series D, up from $3.5 billion...
Sutter Health’s Epic Command Center Adds 12 Beds a Day
Sutter Health launched a centralized capacity‑management command center in January 2025, using Epic’s Grand Central dashboard to monitor patient flow across its network. A three‑hospital pilot cut excess length‑of‑stay days by 27%, freeing the equivalent of 12 beds each day,...
Hospital Closure Slowdown Masks a Bigger Threat Ahead
Hospital closures in the United States slowed to three reported cases in 2026, down from 13 through the same point in 2025. Yet the overall closure count remains high, with 23 facilities shutting down in 2025, nearly matching the 25...
Illinois Nurses Union Sues Prime, Ascension over Alleged Understaffing
Members of the Illinois Nurses Association at Saint Joseph Medical Center sued Ascension and Prime Healthcare, alleging chronic understaffing that violated Illinois law and caused patient safety incidents. The lawsuit, filed in Will County, seeks compensatory and punitive damages and...
New Jersey Hospital CEO to Retire
Hunterdon Health announced that longtime executive Kristy Alfano will serve as interim president and CEO starting July 1, succeeding Patrick Gavin, who will retire on June 30 after nearly four decades in executive roles and more than seven years leading the system....
Lee Health Names Next CEO
Lee Health announced that Chief Operating Officer Ben Spence will assume the role of president and chief executive officer on October 1, 2024, succeeding Larry Antonucci, MD, who will retire after a nine‑year tenure. The board approved the appointment on June 4,...
The Rise of the Invisible Patient Experience
Health systems are abandoning the old mantra of adding more digital features and are instead aiming for an "invisible" patient experience where technology fades into the background. Leaders at UCHealth, MetroHealth, Johns Hopkins and Mayo Clinic argue that excellence is...
13 Recent Health System CIO Moves
Hospital and health‑system CIOs are experiencing a wave of moves, with new hires, promotions and retirements reshaping leadership across the United States. A 2024 WittKieffer survey found 53 % of healthcare CIOs have served three years or less, and only 39 %...
Judge Blocks Munson Healthcare’s Bid to Transfer Oracle Health Data Breach Lawsuits
A Michigan federal judge rejected Munson Healthcare’s request to move two class‑action data‑breach lawsuits to Missouri, where related Oracle Health cases are consolidated. Chief Judge Hala Jarbou found Munson’s Cerner contract insufficient to establish Missouri jurisdiction. The court also ordered...
Minnesota System Promotes COO to CEO
Ridgeview Health, a Waconia, Minnesota system, announced Ben Nielsen as its new president and chief executive officer, effective June 14. Nielsen succeeds Mike Phelps, who will retire on Jan. 2 but will remain through 2026 to aid the handoff. Nielsen brings...
Wellstar to Acquire 25-Bed Critical Access Hospital: 4 Things to Know
Wellstar Health System, an 11‑hospital network with over 35,000 employees, has finalized an agreement to acquire Mountain Lakes Medical Center, a 25‑bed critical access hospital in Clayton, Georgia. The deal expands Wellstar’s footprint in northeast Georgia, bringing its total hospitals...
Novant Health Saves 1,595 Inpatient Bed Days with Hospital at Home
Novant Health’s hospital‑at‑home program, launched in 2024, has treated 482 patients across its 19‑hospital network. The initiative delivered 5,378 virtual visits, saved more than 1,595 inpatient bed days, and recorded zero healthcare‑acquired infections. High patient satisfaction underscores its clinical success,...
HHS Cuts Funds for Hawaii’s Medicaid Fraud Unit
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has revoked certification for Hawaii’s Medicaid fraud control unit after it failed to secure any fraud convictions from 2022 through 2025. The loss eliminates roughly $12 million in federal reimbursements and puts additional...
Health Systems Welcome Anthropic Cybersecurity Collaboration
Anthropic has expanded its Project Glasswing cybersecurity initiative to roughly 150 additional organizations, many of which are health systems and critical‑infrastructure vendors. The effort centers on the Mythos AI model, which can autonomously uncover long‑standing vulnerabilities that could be weaponized....
Med-Metrix to Acquire Vitalware From Health Catalyst
Med‑Metrix announced a definitive agreement to acquire Vitalware, a cloud‑based revenue‑integrity and chargemaster management software firm previously owned by Health Catalyst. The purchase adds Vitalware’s mid‑revenue cycle capabilities to Med‑Metrix’s existing AI‑enabled revenue cycle platform, creating a more comprehensive end‑to‑end...
What Leaders Need to Know About the Breakthrough Pancreatic Cancer Pill
A phase‑III trial published in The New England Journal of Medicine shows Revolution Medicines' oral drug daraxonrasib more than doubles overall and progression‑free survival for metastatic pancreatic cancer patients, while tripling response rates compared with standard chemotherapy. The study sparked...
Mercyhealth Opens Retail Pharmacy
Mercyhealth, a nonprofit health system serving northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin, opened a retail pharmacy in Beloit, Wisconsin. The new location offers prescription filling, medication counseling, transfers, refills and a drive‑thru lane for faster pickup. The pharmacy expands medication access...
15 Health Systems that Have Signed Enterprise AI Deals in 2026
Health systems are accelerating enterprise‑wide AI deployments in 2026, moving beyond isolated pilots to systemwide solutions that span clinical documentation, decision support, virtual care and workforce management. Notable deals include the University of Texas System’s generative AI rollout that delivered...
Memorial Sloan Kettering Sues GE HealthCare over Imaging Tech
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center has filed a federal lawsuit against GE HealthCare, alleging that the company’s MotionFree technology embedded in PET/CT scanners infringes patents owned by the center’s physicist Adam Kesner. The patented method automatically corrects breathing‑induced motion in...
New York Attorney General Opens Probe Into Nassau University Medical Center
The New York attorney general’s office has opened an investigation into Nassau University Medical Center (NUMC) over alleged misuse of public funds for meals, travel and large exit payouts. The probe follows a June 2025 state law that transferred oversight...
Ardent Health CEO Steps Down, COO Takes Helm
Ardent Health announced that longtime CEO Marty Bonick is stepping down to pursue other opportunities, with Chief Operating Officer Dave Caspers appointed as president and CEO effective immediately. Caspers, who joined Ardent in March 2025, also joins the board of...
With $3.5B at Stake, Hackensack Meridian Races to Educate 500,000 Patients Set to Lose Medicaid Coverage
New Jersey’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act will cut Medicaid spending by about $1 trillion over ten years, potentially stripping eligibility from up to 500,000 state residents. Hackensack Meridian Health, an 18‑hospital system, warns that the loss could jeopardize roughly $3.5 billion...
Louisiana System Cuts Sepsis Mortality 24%
FMOL Health, operating ten hospitals in Louisiana and Mississippi, deployed the IntelliSep rapid sepsis test across its entire acute‑care network, achieving a 24% drop in sepsis mortality over two years. The test, co‑developed with Cytovale and LSU, delivers results in...
AdventHealth Posts 9.3% Adjusted Operating Margin in Q1
AdventHealth posted an adjusted operating income of $555 million in Q1 2026, yielding a 9.3 % operating margin, down from 10.9 % a year earlier. Total operating revenue rose 11.3 % to about $6 billion, driven by same‑store volume growth, capacity expansion, and advanced services. Expenses...
UVA Medical Center COO to Lead UNC Hospitals
UNC Health announced that Min Lee, former chief operating officer of UVA Medical Center, will become president of UNC Hospitals effective July 20. Lee brings more than 15 years of leadership experience across academic health systems, including prior roles as...
Delaware Taps Thomas Jefferson University for State’s 1st Medical School
Delaware announced a partnership with Thomas Jefferson University to launch the state’s first four‑year medical school, a Sidney Kimmel Medical College regional campus. The Delaware Medical School Consortium will deliver the entire curriculum in‑state, with preclinical instruction in New Castle...
6 Newly Formed Health Systems
Six new health systems debuted across the U.S. after mergers, bankruptcy exits, and nonprofit turnarounds. The entities range from Memorial Health System of Southwest Oklahoma’s 464‑bed merger to Hudson Regional Health’s $120 million‑backed restructuring of four New Jersey hospitals. Centralus Health...
New York Health System to Shutter ASC Amid Declining Patient Volume
Catholic Health System announced it will close the Sterling Surgical Center in Orchard Park, New York, citing a sharp drop in patient volume over the past year. The outpatient facility, which once performed about 8,600 surgeries annually with a staff of 28,...
Northwell Built a Medical School without Grades or Class Rank. Here’s Where It Stands, 15 Years In
The Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine, launched in 2011 by Hofstra University and Northwell Health, abandoned grades and class rank, replacing traditional exams with essays, oral assessments, and high‑fidelity simulations while immersing students in clinical work from day...
HCA Hospital in Tennessee Names COO
HCA Healthcare announced that Sam Younger, PhD, MSN, will become chief operating officer of TriStar Summit Medical Center in Hermitage, Tennessee, effective June 1. Younger previously served as COO of TriStar Greenview Regional Hospital in Bowling Green, Kentucky, also an HCA facility....
Vandalia Health CFO Begins New Role as CEO
Jeff Sandene, previously executive vice president and CFO of Vandalia Health, assumed the role of president and chief executive on June 1. The promotion, originally slated for July after Dave Ramsey’s retirement, was accelerated when Pat Keel was appointed as the...
Arkansas Children’s Taps Chief Research Officer, Institute President
Arkansas Children’s announced that Dr. Tamara Perry will assume the role of senior vice president and chief research officer, effective July 1, while also becoming president of the Arkansas Children’s Research Institute. Perry, a longtime employee with nearly two decades at...
Ahead of Becker’s ASC: Kathy Saunders on Denials, Underpayments and Scaling RCM in Orthopedics
Kathy Saunders, SVP of revenue cycle management at Redefine Healthcare, explained how denials, underpayments and staffing pressures are reshaping revenue cycle management for orthopedics groups using athenahealth. She highlighted that the Adonis analytics platform enables proactive, batch‑level denial detection and...
Operationalizing AI at Scale: A Practical Framework for Enterprise-Scale Success
Healthcare AI is moving beyond isolated pilots, with 43% of organizations testing agentic AI, yet only 4% have scaled solutions enterprise‑wide. UiPath proposes a four‑step framework—data ingestion, analysis, entry, resolution—augmented by intelligent document processing, agentic AI, RPA, and a human‑in‑the‑loop....
Data, Cross-Training, and Pipeline Development: How Health Systems Are Rethinking OR Staffing
Health systems are abandoning fixed operating‑room rosters in favor of dynamic, data‑driven staffing models. Leaders cite predictive analytics, AI‑based scheduling and real‑time case‑load monitoring to match staff levels with surgical demand. Cross‑training across nursing, anesthesia, and tech roles creates a...
‘The Most Significant Change in 20 Years’: Cancer Centers Prepare for Daraxonrasib Demand
U.S. health systems are seeing a surge in demand for daraxonrasib after the FDA issued a May 1 expanded‑access letter. The drug, a KRAS‑G12C inhibitor from Revolution Medicines, showed a 35% response rate and median overall survival of 13.1 months in...
A Smooth Handoff From Decision to Dollars: Connecting the Last Mile in Healthcare Payments
Healthcare payments face a hidden bottleneck between payer adjudication and provider cash receipt, causing revenue leakage and cash‑flow volatility. Even with optimized front‑end processes, mismatched remittance data, paper checks, and manual reconciliations stall payments for days. This friction not only...
What OU Health’s Founding CEO Learned Building a New Health System
Richard Lofgren, MD, stepped down as OU Health’s inaugural president and CEO after guiding the newly formed academic health system from a $1.6 billion revenue base and $1.4 billion debt load to nearly $3.6 billion in revenue, 22.3% higher admissions and almost 1 million...
Arkansas Hospital CEO to Step Down After 11 Years for New Role
Matt Troup will leave his role as president and CEO of Conway Regional Health System after more than eleven years, taking an out‑of‑state market president position on July 17. During his tenure, the Arkansas‑based system expanded specialty services, added outpatient...
Coalition for Health AI Unveils Governance Playbook for Systems
The Coalition for Health AI released a governance playbook outlining eight essential elements for health‑system AI oversight, including policy, structure, resources, lifecycle management, risk assessment, data stewardship, third‑party oversight, and education. The guidance aims to translate good intentions into measurable,...
Arkansas System Cuts 86 Jobs, Including Management Roles
Washington Regional Medical System in Fayetteville announced a strategic restructuring that will eliminate 86 positions, primarily management and administrative support roles. The cuts are intended to streamline operations, reduce redundancies, and improve financial performance amid rising labor, supply costs and...
HCA Texas Hospital Taps COO
HCA Houston Healthcare Northwest announced the appointment of Angela Dillon as chief operating officer, effective May 18. Dillon joins from Sunrise Hospital & Children’s in Las Vegas, where she was vice president of operations and co‑ethics compliance officer. She previously served as associate...
Integris Names Chief Hospital Executive
Integris Health appointed Mark Dooley as chief hospital executive of its Ponca City Hospital, effective immediately. Dooley joins from United Surgical Partners International, where he was regional vice president, and previously led hospitals for Community Health Systems and HCA Healthcare....
Novant Health Buys South Carolina Land to Build $25M Medical Hub
Novant Health, headquartered in Winston‑Salem, N.C., completed a $4.34 million purchase of a former automotive site in Hilton Head, S.C., to build a $25.3 million, 25,000‑square‑foot medical hub. The campus will host primary care, physical therapy and urology services, adding 15,000 sq ft of...
6 Healthcare Leaders Named to Fortune’s Most Powerful Women List
Fortune’s 2026 Most Powerful Women list highlighted six senior women in healthcare, including two health‑insurance CEOs. The rankings, released May 27, span 100 leaders across 94 companies worldwide and assess size, innovation, influence, trajectory and impact. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’ Reshma Kewalramani...
Top-Paying State for 15 Physician Specialties
Becker’s analysis, using May 2025 BLS wage data and cost‑of‑living indices, identifies the highest‑paying states for 15 physician specialties after adjusting for regional price differences. Minnesota emerges as the top‑paying state for four specialties—anesthesiology, dermatology, neurology and radiology—while Missouri, West...
The Country’s Newest Medical Schools: Where They Stand
A wave of new MD and DO programs is reshaping U.S. medical education as the Association of American Medical Colleges warns of an 86,000‑physician shortfall by 2036. Ten schools have opened or received preliminary accreditation, many backed by health systems...
Most CFOs Won’t Say This Out Loud: ‘There Is No Playbook’
Safety‑net hospitals are confronting a perfect storm of rising denial rates, soaring labor costs and looming Medicaid cuts. At the County of Santa Clara Health System, a $4 billion budget could lose roughly $1 billion annually as Medicaid funding dwindles. Deputy CFO...