Health Leaders Join Forces to Launch Women’s Health AI Consortium
On May 12, Willow Innovations and Ema EQ announced the Women’s Health AI (WHAI) Consortium, the first industry body dedicated to AI standards in women’s health. The group brings together leaders such as Clue, Thrive Global, Oura and Willow to set ethical, bias‑reduction and transparency benchmarks. With 60% of pregnant women already using AI chatbots, the consortium aims to ensure those tools are safe, accurate and culturally appropriate. Its six core commitments target clinical quality, emotional relevance, mentorship and open oversight for AI developers and users alike.
HL7 CEO Rachel Dunscombe: Going From Specifications to Scaling Up
Rachel Dunscombe, HL7’s new CEO, used the WEDI spring keynote to shift the conversation from drafting specifications to scaling interoperable solutions. She highlighted the role of FHIR accelerators such as Gravity, Codex, Vulcan and Helios in turning standards into real‑world...
Wall Street Wrap: Humana CEO Says “the Priority Is Not Growth”
Humana CEO Jim Rechtin reaffirmed that the insurer’s top priority is hitting a 3% net‑profit margin by 2028, pushing member retention ahead of growth. The company is trimming benefits to offset modest Medicare‑Medicaid rate hikes while integrating recent acquisitions, including...
Transforming Cancer Care: The Evolution of Remi, an AI-Powered Oncology Assistant
Reimagine Care, a Nashville‑based virtual oncology provider, unveiled an upgraded version of its AI‑powered assistant Remi. The new system leverages large language models and agentic AI to conduct more natural conversations, integrate NCCN‑based clinical pathways, and automatically triage 50% of...
Bridging Gaps in Rural Healthcare: How AI and Collaboration Drive Efficiency
Pivot Point Consulting has teamed with Microsoft to deliver the AI‑powered Dragon Copilot to rural hospitals at a 60% discount off MSRP. The solution adds ambient clinical listening, automated documentation and real‑time visit summarization, aiming to cut clinician workload and...
Cigna Getting Out of Individual ACA Market
Cigna announced it will wind down its individual ACA exchange business by the end of 2026, citing a shrinking customer base and a need to concentrate on core growth platforms. The insurer’s enrollment fell to 355,000 this quarter, down from...
WittKieffer Execs on How the Chief AI Officer Role Is Evolving
Health systems are rapidly adding chief AI officer (CAIO) positions, with the number of incumbents having more than quadrupled in the past few years. The role is shifting from back‑office AI pilots to enterprise‑wide programs that cover clinical, imaging, and...
New Report: How Consolidation Fuels the Healthcare Affordability Crisis
A new Families USA report links unchecked hospital consolidation to America’s healthcare affordability crisis, showing that corporate systems earn roughly ten times more net income than independent hospitals. The study cites system‑owned facilities generating $27.7 million annually versus $3 million for independents, and...
Developing a Learning Health System Approach to Sepsis
Stephanie Taylor, former Wake Forest chief, is now leading a sepsis learning health system at the University of Michigan. Her team created the STAR program, a tele‑health and navigator‑led model for high‑risk sepsis survivors, and is extending that framework into an...
St. Luke’s University Health Turns to Auxira for Cardiology Support
St. Luke’s University Health Network has partnered with Auxira Health to embed virtual clinical support pods within its cardiology practice. The pods, staffed by advanced practice providers, medical assistants and nurses, handle routine telehealth visits and inbox management, freeing cardiologists for...
UChicago Medicine Rolling Out Smart Hospital Platform System-Wide
UChicago Medicine is rolling out Artisight’s smart‑hospital platform across more than 1,800 rooms, marking a system‑wide deployment of computer‑vision, voice and RTLS technology. The first three use cases focus on a Smart OR, virtual nursing workflows, and AI‑driven fall‑risk assessment....
Pennsylvania State Representatives, Chiquita Brooks-LaSure Discuss Healthcare Crisis
Former CMS administrator Chiquita Brooks‑LaSure joined Pennsylvania lawmakers to warn of a looming healthcare crisis after Republican policies eliminated ACA enhanced premium tax credits and imposed Medicaid work requirements. Premiums for 420,000 residents have more than doubled, pushing 100,000 people...
HIPAA Security Rule Updates: What Healthcare Administrators Need to Know
The Department of Health and Human Services will finalize a revised HIPAA Security Rule by May 2026, turning many previously addressable safeguards into mandatory requirements. Key updates mandate access controls, visitor management, network segmentation and a comprehensive risk‑analysis process. HHS estimates...
How BJC HealthCare Got Better at Advanced Care Planning Discussions
BJC HealthCare, a 14‑hospital system, built a machine‑learning algorithm to flag patients at high risk of dying within 30 days and trigger opt‑out advanced care planning (ACP) conversations. By standardizing provider training and embedding the workflow across inpatient, ICU, primary‑care...
Why Value Alignment Is Becoming Healthcare AI’s Defining Issue
Healthcare leaders are confronting a deeper issue than model accuracy: aligning AI with real‑world care delivery. Panels at a NEJM AI virtual event highlighted that global models often falter without local validation, prompting collaborative governance networks. Companies like Microsoft and...
Zócalo Health Finds Growth in Medicaid Managed Care Partnerships
Zócalo Health closed a $15 million Series A round, bringing total capital to $22.75 million, to scale its virtual primary‑care platform for underserved Latino patients. The company has moved beyond its California launch, now serving Medicaid members in California, Texas, Washington and expanding...
Addressing Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities: Insights From the 2026 Commonwealth Fund Report
The Commonwealth Fund’s 2026 State Health Disparities Report shows racial and ethnic gaps in access, quality and outcomes exist in every U.S. state. The data, reflecting system performance through 2024, warn that recent policy shifts—such as Medicaid funding cuts and...
UnitedHealth’s Next Big Business Line? It Could Be AI Tools and Services
UnitedHealth Group is pouring roughly $1.5 billion into artificial‑intelligence initiatives this year, with a third earmarked for commercial software and services. Its Optum Insight unit already offers products such as Optum Real, which handles half‑billion transactions and aims for 2.5 billion by...
Great Work Deserves to Be Seen: 2026 Innovator Awards Now Open
The Healthcare Innovation Innovator Awards Program has opened nominations for its 2026 cycle, inviting teams from hospitals, health systems, payers, and other providers to showcase technology‑driven improvements. The contest emphasizes team‑based recognition, allowing participants to submit concise stories that the...
Collaborative Develops AI Vendor Disclosure Framework
The Health AI Partnership (HAIP) has published an AI Vendor Disclosure Framework in NEJM AI, offering a free, publicly‑available tool for health‑system leaders evaluating AI solutions. The framework outlines five core domains—system capabilities, performance, data stewardship, integration requirements, and lifecycle management—to...
Working to Reduce Low-Value Preoperative Testing in Michigan
A new study by Michigan Medicine’s MPrOVE program revealed that pre‑operative testing rates for low‑risk surgeries varied dramatically across the state, ranging from 8% to 88%. By analyzing local data, the team identified that Michigan Medicine was in the top...
How Northwell Health Engages Specialists in Value-Based Care
Northwell Health, overseeing 29 hospitals and 800+ ambulatory sites, is tackling the specialist‑centric gap in value‑based care. While most ACO contracts focus on primary‑care metrics, specialists account for the bulk of utilization costs and patient complexity. To bridge this, Northwell...
Legislative Efforts to Curb Prescription Drug Prices Gain Momentum Across the U.S.
Virginia’s General Assembly is holding a special session to vote on the Affordable Medicine Act, a bipartisan bill that would extend Medicare‑negotiated drug prices to state‑regulated health plans. The legislation follows successful price‑cap measures in Maryland and Colorado, which have...
AcademyHealth: AHRQ Is ‘Funded But Frozen’
AcademyHealth testified that the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) has been “funded but frozen,” with $345 million appropriated for FY2026 yet no grants issued since September 2025. The agency has lost most of its staff, halting core research functions...
First Set of Research Teams Announced in Effort to Transform Behavioral Health
The Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA‑H) unveiled the first cohort of research teams under its EVIDENT initiative, allocating up to $139.4 million to accelerate rapid‑acting behavioral‑health therapies. At least $50 million is reserved to match state investments in psychedelic studies...
The Future of Mental Health and Substance Use Treatment: Technology, Policy, and Collaboration
On April 20, HHS convened a roundtable to explore how health‑IT can close gaps in mental health and substance‑use care. Officials highlighted the SUPPORT Act reauthorization and the Great American Recovery Initiative, which together channel billions into overdose prevention and treatment....
VA Accelerates Electronic Health Record Deployment to Improve Veteran Services in Michigan
The Department of Veterans Affairs has gone live with its new Federal Electronic Health Record system at four Michigan hospitals on April 11, marking the first wave of 13 deployments planned for 2026. The accelerated rollout replaces fragmented legacy platforms and...
Boosting Behavioral Health Access Through the Collaborative Care Model
LifeStance partnered with a large primary‑care network to pilot the Collaborative Care Model (CoCM) for behavioral health. Over a year, patients in CoCM were 78% likely to attend their initial visit, more than double the 38% rate for standard referrals....
With Federal Grant, Connecticut HIE Works on Electronic Consent Management
The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy and SAMHSA awarded a federal grant to Connecticut’s health‑information exchange, Connie, to pilot an electronic consent‑management solution for substance‑use‑disorder data. United Services, a nonprofit serving 22 rural towns, will work with...
Implications of AI Chatbots Performing Poorly at Differential Diagnosis
A follow‑up study of 21 large language models shows they can deliver accurate final diagnoses when supplied with complete clinical data, but they falter at generating differential diagnoses with limited information. The researchers introduced the PrIME‑LLM metric, which scores models...
DaVita Algorithm Flags Issues With Home Dialysis Patients
DaVita Kidney Care has deployed a predictive machine‑learning tool, the Peritoneal Dialysis Loss Model, to monitor home dialysis patients. By analyzing roughly 150 data points—including vitals, lab results and machine‑generated alerts—the system flags the riskiest 10% of patients for early...
OHSU Exec Highlights the Value of Practice-Based Research Networks
During a recent AHRQ‑hosted webinar, OHSU’s Melinda Davis highlighted the Oregon Rural Practice‑Based Research Network’s (ORPRN) growth and impact on health equity. The network now collaborates with over 400 primary‑care clinics—about half of Oregon’s practices—spanning all 36 counties, and operates...
A Multi-Society Effort Is Driving Imaging Interoperability Across Healthcare
Digital pathology is expanding rapidly, but labs face a critical hurdle: making whole‑slide images interoperable across vendors and institutions. A joint webinar by the Digital Pathology Association, the College of American Pathologists, and the Society for Imaging Informatics in Medicine...
Navigating AI Adoption in Healthcare: Insights From HonorHealth's CMIO
HonorHealth’s CMIO Matt Anderson says AI delays jeopardize competitiveness, with 94% of health leaders fearing lost savings. The system relies on a single Epic instance but mixes third‑party tools, especially for ambient workflow improvements. Anderson stresses rigorous ROI measurement—both hard...
CMS Launched First Wave of Its Health Technology Ecosystem
On April 9, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) launched the first wave of its Health Technology Ecosystem, showcasing interoperable digital tools from more than 50 companies. The rollout introduces a "Kill the Clipboard" initiative, digital Medicare cards, and...
WakeMed Takes New Approach to Enterprise Clinical Asset Management
WakeMed Health & Hospitals has signed a multi‑year deal with PartsSource to consolidate visibility, service orchestration, and supply‑chain data for more than 38,000 medical devices across its three North Carolina hospitals. The new Asset Uptime platform delivers real‑time telemetry, predictive...
Algorithm Drives Blood Pressure Control Across UC Health Centers
The University of California’s six academic medical centers deployed the UC Way Hypertension Medication Algorithm, raising blood‑pressure control from 68.5% to nearly 74% among roughly 90,000 patients. A two‑year BMJ Open Quality study showed the improvement translates to about 4,860 additional...
HRSA Announces $135 Million Funding Boost for Rural Health and Nutrition Services
The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) announced more than $135 million in new funding to boost nutrition services and strengthen the rural health workforce. $125 million will help over 350 health centers expand food‑based interventions aimed at chronic‑disease prevention, while $11.25 million...
Greenway Health Works With Customers to Implement Agentic AI Features
Greenway Health has launched Novare, an agentic‑AI‑powered EHR platform that rebuilds its clinical, revenue‑cycle and patient‑engagement services from the ground up. The system offers ambient note‑taking, voice‑activated chart search, intelligent coding, automated prior authorizations and real‑time benefit checks, aiming to...
Proposed Federal Budget Includes Major Cuts to Healthcare Funding
The Trump administration’s 2027 budget proposal, released on April 3, calls for sweeping cuts to federal health programs, including a $5 billion reduction for the National Institutes of Health and a $129 million cut to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Overall,...
CMS: More Flexible Plan Choices for Medicare Beneficiaries
CMS announced updates to Medicare Advantage and Part D plans for 2027, aiming to simplify star ratings, add a depression‑screening measure, and reduce regulatory burdens. The agency will streamline the star‑rating measure set, keep the Diabetes Care‑Eye Exam metric, and drop...
CMS Proposes New Transparency Measures to Strengthen Oversight of Hospice Providers
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has proposed a rule that adds unannounced site visits, revocations of non‑compliant hospices, and a new Medicare.gov icon to flag providers that fail quality‑reporting standards. A publicly available scoring system will evaluate...
How Jefferson Became the First to Achieve URAC Community Health Worker Accreditation
Jefferson Health became the first organization to earn URAC’s Community Health Worker Program Accreditation, establishing a national benchmark for CHW recruitment, training, and integration. The program has expanded from fewer than a dozen CHWs in 2023 to nearly 40 staff,...
Q&A: Duke’s Amanda Randles, Ph.D., on the Future of Digital Twin Innovation
Dr. Amanda Randles of Duke University leads the development of HARVEY, a cardiovascular digital‑twin engine that simulates patient‑specific blood flow across the entire vasculature. The platform, originally requiring the world’s largest supercomputer for a single heartbeat, now runs in minutes...
Q&A: Empowerment Over Information – Rethinking Patient Education
The piece argues that the flood of digital health information has outpaced patients' ability to evaluate and apply it, leaving many feeling overwhelmed rather than empowered. It highlights that clinicians often provide data without guiding patients toward trustworthy sources, and...
Marathon Health’s Newly Appointed CEO Looks to Maintain a Flexible Model
Marathon Health appointed Chris Pricco as chief executive officer, succeeding co‑founder Jeff Wells. Pricco said the company will keep its flexible advanced primary‑care (APC) model, tailoring on‑site or network clinics to each employer’s workforce. He highlighted three priorities: flexible service...
Could North Texas Become a Healthcare Innovation Hub Like Nashville?
North Texas is being positioned as the next healthcare‑innovation hub, drawing lessons from Nashville’s success. Nashville’s HCA family tree, Vanderbilt’s data assets, and venture firms like Frist Cressey have created a collaborative ecosystem that accelerates value‑based‑care startups. In Dallas, the...
Rapid Response: How Boston Children’s Hospital Overcame the Stryker Cyberattack
Boston Children’s Hospital faced a massive wiper cyberattack that crippled Stryker’s Vocera communication platform, prompting an immediate, coordinated response. Within 30 minutes the hospital isolated the vendor network and began dismantling the compromised system. By evening, Epic Secure Chat was...
Partners Seek to Integrate Dental Care Into Nationwide HIE Infrastructure
CareQuest Innovation Partners and federally designated QHIN Kno2 have announced a partnership to embed dental data into the nation’s health‑information‑exchange (HIE) infrastructure. The collaboration targets bidirectional data flow between dental and medical providers, aiming for a production go‑live within six...
Digital Curbside Consults Having Big Impact in Rural Maine
The Community Care Partnership of Maine (CCPM) has rolled out the PicassoMD digital curbside consult platform across its 22 member clinics, linking primary‑care providers with specialists in seconds. Since its October 2023 launch, more than 300 clinicians have completed over 5,700...