HITshow Daily Audio Newscast

Today on HITshow: Today's stories point to a clear trend: health systems investing heavily in automation at both front door and back office, while financial pressure continues to reshape workforce strategy. Mayo Clinic and Ubie launch AI-powered platform to improve patient triage, scheduling, and navigation, CommonSpirit deploys AI tools for financial operations to identify savings and detect revenue slippage, Memorial Hermann offers voluntary buyouts to manage costs, Cigna announces plans to reduce workforce by 2,000 employees globally, and in today's Bright Spot, a coalition launches AI Care Standard framework for patient-facing AI safety. HOST: RHONDA BROOKS 📍 Digital Health --- Nate Collier Mayo Clinic collaborating with digital health company Ubie to develop AI-powered platform designed to improve patient triage, scheduling, and navigation. Goal is helping patients find right level of care faster—primary care, urgent care, virtual care, or specialty services—while reducing pressure on call centers and intake staff. Digital front door has become one of most important operational battlegrounds. AI tools increasingly used to guide patients through symptoms, recommend appropriate care settings, and connect directly to scheduling systems. For large systems, improving access directly affects throughput, revenue capture, and capacity management. Access improvements often produce fastest ROI in healthcare because they increase utilization of existing capacity and reduce administrative workload simultaneously. 📍 Finance & Capital --- Teresa Vaughn CommonSpirit Health deploying AI tools to improve financial operations by identifying savings opportunities, analyzing cost patterns, and detecting areas where revenue may be slipping through cracks. Large health systems operate incredibly complex financial environments with thousands of supply contracts, reimbursement streams, and operational cost centers. AI platforms analyzing financial and operational data in near real time, allowing leaders to detect trends earlier and intervene faster. Shift reflects broader change in how hospital CFOs view technology investments—prioritizing tools that directly affect margin, productivity, and operational efficiency. Starting with larger systems due to scale and data infrastructure, but mid-size organizations watching closely. 📍 Strategy & Transformation --- Teresa Vaughn Memorial Hermann Health System begun offering voluntary buyouts to some employees as part of strategy to manage costs and improve operational efficiency. Health systems nationwide face rising labor costs, slower reimbursement growth, and ongoing inflation. Many responding by restructuring administrative roles, consolidating departments, and investing in automation. Cigna announced plans to reduce workforce by roughly 2,000 employees globally as part of efforts to streamline operations and remain competitive. These moves reflect broader shift: organizations redesigning workflows, not just trimming budgets, looking at where automation, outsourcing, or process redesign can replace manual work. Most leaders see this as structural—operating model of healthcare organizations is changing. 📍 Digital Health --- Nate Collier (Bright Spot) Coalition of healthcare leaders launched AI Care Standard, new framework to evaluate safety of artificial intelligence tools that communicate directly with patients. Initiative announced by Vital CEO Aaron Patzer with contributors from MedStar Health, HCA Healthcare, Stanford, Highmark, Indiana University Health, Hackensack Meridian Health, Children's Hospital Los Angeles, and Texas Children's Hospital, along with patient-safety advocates and nursing leadership groups. Framework provides scoring tools and principles for health systems and vendors to evaluate whether patient-facing AI tools are safe, reliable, and appropriate for clinical environments. Goal is creating practical middle ground as governance, transparency, and measurable safety standards become essential. 🎙️ Subscribe here or wherever you listen to podcasts, and if you like our show, please follow us on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/hit_show.

Today on HITshow: Hospitals are adapting to a new reality: fewer staff, more care outside the hospital, and policy changes reshaping access to care. Healthcare still carrying 700,000+ open positions nationwide with shortages especially severe in rural areas, specialty nursing, and behavioral health. Hospital-at-home programs expanding rapidly after federal waivers extended, with several large systems now treating it as core service line. Plus: CMS introduces new staffing incentives for nursing homes and long-term care facilities, price transparency enforcement tightening, federal primary-care program cancellation creates uncertainty, Alabama directs $200M in federal funding toward rural healthcare workforce, and Savvy Cooperative rebrands as Real Patients. HOST: RHONDA BROOKS 📍 Strategy & Transformation --- Teresa Vaughn Healthcare still carrying more than 700,000 open positions nationwide, with shortages especially severe in rural areas, specialty nursing, and behavioral health. Some hospitals reducing services because they cannot staff them safely. Executives no longer planning for short-term shortage but long-term constraints, accelerating investment in automation, virtual nursing, and care-at-home models. Top concern: retention and burnout. Hiring improved in some markets, but turnover still offsetting gains. Workforce stability remains top operational priority. 📍 Digital Health --- Nate Collier Hospital-at-home programs expanding rapidly after federal waivers extended. Programs now include remote monitoring, infusion therapy, and some acute-level services delivered in patients' homes. Executives say this helps manage bed shortages and improves patient satisfaction. Hospitals redesigning care pathways and staffing models to support distributed care. Several large systems now treat hospital-at-home as core service line, not pilot programs. 📍 Healthcare Policy & Advocacy --- Teresa Vaughn CMS introducing new incentives for nursing homes and long-term care facilities, including loan repayment and financial incentives to attract nurses. Hospitals watching closely because staffing shortages in skilled nursing facilities directly affect discharge timelines and patient flow. Improving post-acute capacity is one of fastest ways to relieve hospital congestion. 📍 Healthcare Policy & Advocacy --- Xavier Banks CMS continuing to increase enforcement and education around hospital price transparency rules. For executives, message is clear: compliance expectations tightening. Hospitals advised to audit files, verify data accuracy, and ensure pricing is accessible and machine-readable. Risks include fines, reputational risk, and more complicated payer negotiations. 📍 Healthcare Policy & Advocacy --- Teresa Vaughn Providers reacting to cancellation of long-running federal primary-care program, creating uncertainty in funding and care coordination. Instability in primary care often leads to more emergency visits, delayed diagnoses, and higher acuity admissions. Executives say strengthening primary care remains essential to controlling downstream costs. 📍 Strategy & Transformation --- Teresa Vaughn Alabama directing roughly $200M in federal funding toward strengthening rural healthcare workforce, including training pipelines, recruitment incentives, and infrastructure support. Rural hospitals continue to face some of the most severe staffing and financial pressures in the country. 📍 Digital Health --- Nate Collier Health systems investing in technology and care redesign focused on measurable results. Examples include population-health platforms helping reduce inpatient utilization and improve care coordination. Executives say emphasis now is ROI, scalability, and outcomes, not just pilots. 📍 Industry Update --- Rhonda Brooks Savvy Cooperative has rebranded as Real Patients, reflecting mission of bringing real lived patient experience directly into healthcare decision-making. Focus on capturing authentic patient voices, over time, in their own words, rather than relying only on indirect or incomplete data. 🎙️ Subscribe here or wherever you listen to podcasts, and if you like our show, please follow us on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/hit_show.

Today on HITshow: Forces shaping healthcare right now: workforce pressure that isn't letting up, new federal policy moves affecting costs and competition, and technology finally moving beyond pilots to deliver real operational results. Kaiser Permanente strike continues in California affecting tens of thousands of workers, while NYC negotiations produce tentative agreements at Mount Sinai and Montefiore. Plus: CMS proposes new rules on transparency and competition, ViVE conference preview shows shift toward ROI and operational efficiency, and technology delivering measurable results including Integrity Health's 16% reduction in inpatient costs and growth in value-based care networks. HOST: RHONDA BROOKS 📍 Strategy & Transformation --- Teresa Vaughn Kaiser Permanente strike continues in California affecting operations across multiple facilities with tens of thousands of workers involved in disputes over staffing levels, wages, and working conditions, forcing administrators to rely heavily on contingency staffing. In New York, negotiations produced tentative agreements at several major hospitals including Mount Sinai and Montefiore that could bring thousands of nurses back to work, though not all facilities reached agreements. Common theme: workforce shortages and retention pressures are becoming structural realities, not temporary disruptions. The longer-term concern is sustainability—even when strikes resolved, underlying drivers like burnout, competition for staff, and rising labor costs don't disappear. 📍 Healthcare Policy & Advocacy --- Peter Betterworth Federal regulators proposed new rules aimed at increasing transparency and competition while continuing efforts to control program costs. While still in rulemaking phase, proposals signal continued pressure on hospitals to demonstrate value and efficiency, particularly in areas tied to reimbursement and reporting. Regulatory expectations are not easing—compliance requirements, data reporting, and cost controls remain central priorities. Organizations that start preparing early tend to avoid biggest disruptions later. 📍 Finance & Capital --- Logan Stokes With ViVE digital health conference now two weeks away, biggest shift is change in tone. Hospital and health-system leaders increasingly focused on ROI, operational efficiency, and technologies that integrate into existing workflows rather than adding complexity. Priority list: tools that reduce workforce strain, protect revenue, and improve patient flow. Era of pilot projects without measurable outcomes is fading, executives asking tougher questions about results. 📍 Digital Health --- Nate Collier Integrity Health reported improved patient outcomes and significant reduction in inpatient costs after deploying population health platform to coordinate care and identify high-risk patients earlier. Patients managed through program saw inpatient costs averaging about 16% lower per claim, along with shorter hospital stays and lower readmission rates. Organizations like Aledade continue expanding participation among independent practices in value-based care networks. Virtual nursing programs helping extend workforce capacity by allowing experienced nurses to support bedside teams remotely. Remote patient monitoring gaining traction in chronic disease management as reimbursement pathways improve and health systems report fewer readmissions and better patient engagement. Common thread: technology adoption increasingly tied to results, moving beyond pilot projects to tools that demonstrably reduce cost, improve outcomes, or relieve workforce pressure. 📍 Closing Perspective --- Rhonda Brooks Themes becoming clear: workforce strain is part of operating environment health systems must plan for, financial discipline continues shaping decisions at every level, innovation entering new phase where tools expected to deliver measurable results, and regulation/reimbursement policy continue evolving ensuring operational strategy and compliance remain tightly linked. 🎙️ Subscribe here or wherever you listen to podcasts, and if you like our show, please follow us on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/hit_show.

Today on HITshow: Across healthcare, the pressure is rising and starting to show. Payers warning about margins, hospitals facing new scrutiny, supply chains and digital health companies forced to prove the numbers work. Molina Healthcare shares drop sharply after weak guidance citing rising medical costs and Medicare Advantage pressure, MultiCare agrees to settlement over allegations related to unnecessary procedures, and federal lawmakers advance PBM reform legislation on transparency and oversight. Plus: Cardinal Health raises earnings outlook driven by specialty pharmaceuticals, new analysis shows 700+ hospitals nationwide at risk of closure, and Carbon Health enters Chapter 11 restructuring after struggling to reach profitability despite $3B+ valuation. HOST: RHONDA BROOKS 📍 Finance & Capital --- Logan Stokes Molina Healthcare reported quarterly loss and projected earnings significantly below analyst expectations, citing rising medical costs, pressure in Medicare Advantage, and changes in Medicaid enrollment. Stock fell more than 25% in response, one of the sharpest reactions in payer sector in recent years. Executives pointed to utilization trends and reimbursement pressure as key drivers, reinforcing broader concerns that payer margins may tighten across government programs in 2026. Most analysts treating this as broader signal, not company-specific issue. For hospitals, could translate into tougher negotiations, slower reimbursement growth, and continued scrutiny of utilization and documentation. 📍 Strategy & Transformation --- Teresa Vaughn MultiCare agreed to settlement tied to allegations that some procedures were performed without sufficient medical necessity. While the organization did not admit wrongdoing, the case highlights increasing scrutiny from regulators and payers around utilization, documentation, and peer review processes. Many hospitals expanding clinical analytics and utilization review programs to identify outliers earlier and reduce risk before it becomes legal or compliance issue. 📍 Healthcare Policy & Advocacy --- Xavier Banks Federal lawmakers advanced legislation aimed at increasing transparency and oversight of pharmacy benefit managers. Proposals focus on pricing practices, rebate structures, and reporting requirements. For hospitals and health systems, changes in PBM practices could influence specialty drug purchasing, reimbursement dynamics, and employer-driven coverage decisions. Most analysts say effects would be gradual, but even incremental changes in drug pricing transparency could shift negotiations within a year or two. 📍 Finance & Capital --- Peter Betterworth Cardinal Health reported stronger-than-expected results and raised full-year earnings guidance, driven largely by growth in specialty pharmaceuticals and strong distribution performance. Executives pointed to sustained demand for high-cost therapies and continued pressure on healthcare supply chains to manage cost and inventory efficiently. Specialty pharmaceuticals continue to grow as share of spending—where much of financial pressure and opportunity is concentrating. 📍 Strategy & Transformation --- Teresa Vaughn A recent report finds more than 700 hospitals nationwide considered at risk of closure, with hundreds facing immediate financial vulnerability. Many are rural or safety-net providers where labor costs, payer mix, and declining volumes have strained margins. Trend contributing to consolidation, service reductions, and growing concern about access to care in certain regions. Some systems improving margins, but for smaller hospitals, workforce costs and reimbursement remain major challenges. 📍 Digital Health --- Nate Collier Carbon Health, once valued at more than $3B and seen as leader in hybrid virtual-and-in-person care, entered Chapter 11 restructuring after struggling to reach profitability. The trajectory reflects broader shift in digital health where investors and health systems now demand clear evidence of ROI, sustainable margins, and integration with clinical workflows. For hospital executives evaluating vendors: long-term viability now matters as much as innovation. Investment shifting toward companies demonstrating measurable outcomes and operational value. 🎙️ Subscribe here or wherever you listen to podcasts, and if you like our show, please follow us on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/hit_show.

Today on HITshow: Revenue-cycle consolidation meets patient privacy concerns as JPM Week continues. EnableComp acquires H/ROI to create a comprehensive platform for complex revenue, Epic and several major providers sue over alleged misuse of patient records in the TEFCA ecosystem, and JPM Week signals shift from AI demos to credible ROI. Plus: federal policy reinforcing interoperability accountability, and a Bright Spot on solving patient identity to finally get rid of the clipboard. HOST: RHONDA BROOKS 📍 Finance & Capital --- Teresa Vaughn EnableComp is acquiring H/ROI (Human Resources Optimization) to create a comprehensive platform for complex revenue including denials, DRG validation, and complex claims recovery. EnableComp CEO Frank Forte says a typical VA claim that takes 90 minutes manually can be 90-95% automated and completed in minutes or seconds. The deal signals revenue-cycle tech is consolidating around platform plays as margin pressure continues. 📍 Healthcare Policy & Advocacy --- Peter Betterworth Epic, along with OCHIN, Reid Health, Trinity Health, and UMass Memorial Health, filed a federal lawsuit alleging Health Gorilla and a network of companies improperly accessed and monetized patient medical records. The lawsuit is essentially one TEFCA participant taking another to court, alleging bad actors exploited national health information exchange pathways by requesting records under the appearance of legitimate care purposes for profit instead of treatment. 📍 Healthcare Policy & Advocacy --- Anika Shah (JPM Coverage) Federal policy is showing up directly inside JPM conversations, with senior government leaders reinforcing that the next phase isn't just talking about interoperability but proving it works at national scale with real accountability. Health systems should expect more scrutiny around how data is accessed, governed, and used. 📍 AI & Machine Learning --- Jade Romero (JPM Coverage) JPM announcements are shifting from shiny tech to operational adoption. Revenue cycle is becoming an AI battleground focused on automation that takes work off teams' plates. Provider partnerships are being framed as clinical workflow plus data plus outcomes, not just new tech. Wearables are inching closer into clinical workflow when data can be incorporated in ways clinicians can actually use. 📍 Finance & Capital --- Logan Stokes (JPM Market Read) JPM Week compressed months of strategy talk: AI is everywhere but the bar has moved from cool demo to credible ROI, real anxiety around public funding and Medicaid dynamics is shaping growth conversations, and executives are watching payer behavior closely. For hospital leaders evaluating technology: treat every AI pitch like a budget conversation asking what cost disappears, what risk drops, and what capacity returns to the workforce. The winners are tying AI to measurable operational relief and proving it can live inside real workflows. 📍 Digital Health --- Jalen Cross (Bright Spot) Verato is solving patient identity to eliminate the clipboard moment. Clay Ritchey explains the most common experience health systems get wrong is lack of context at every touch of the care journey, forcing patients to re-explain themselves repeatedly. Only 25% of millennials or younger have a primary care physician compared to 80% of those 65+, making micro-moment experiences more important. Younger generations are 3x more likely to switch providers because they expect better consumer experiences. 🎙️ Subscribe here or wherever you listen to podcasts, and if you like our show, please follow us on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/hit_show. Presented by: Ovatient | Verato | Spare Tire

Today on HITshow: Continuing JPM week coverage from San Francisco where the big theme is practical: healthcare AI is getting closer to the work, the visit, the record, and the back office. Breaking: NYC nurses strike enters second day with roughly 15,000 nurses walking out across multiple private hospital systems. Plus: HCA and MEDITECH announce Expanse is now live across 43 HCA hospitals, Owkin unveils agentic infrastructure trained on multimodal patient data, Hippocratic AI acquires Grove AI for clinical trial operations, Abridge and Availity team up for real-time prior authorization, and OpenAI reportedly acquiring Torch for around $100M. HOST: RHONDA BROOKS 📍 Breaking News --- Rhonda Brooks A major NYC nurses strike is now in its second day, with roughly 15,000 nurses walking out across multiple private hospital systems. Hospitals are working to maintain services with contingency staffing, and state leaders have taken emergency steps to give hospitals more flexibility to bring in temporary workers. Both sides continue to urge patients not to delay care. 📍 Health IT --- Peter Betterworth HCA and MEDITECH announced MEDITECH Expanse is now live across 43 HCA hospitals, described as the first large-scale wave of an enterprise rollout. The foundational move sets up standard workflows, cleaner data, and a clearer runway for future automation and decision support. 📍 AI & Machine Learning --- Nate Collier (JPM Coverage with Interview) Owkin unveiled agentic infrastructure trained on multimodal and multi-omics patient data, connecting pathology, imaging, clinical context, and other signals at the per-patient level. Owkin's Dinesh Divakaran explains patients will soon walk into visits with their own AI-generated summaries, just like clinicians use transcription. For hospital leaders, this means governance matters: who validates summaries, where do they get stored, and how do they influence decision-making without creating risk? 📍 AI & Machine Learning --- Jade Romero (JPM Coverage) Hippocratic AI acquired Grove AI as it expands into life sciences and clinical trial operations. Grove built an always-on, multilingual AI agent called Grace that supports trial participant engagement across voice, text, and email, plus a participant relationship management platform with oversight and regulatory alignment. 📍 Finance & Capital --- Teresa Vaughn (JPM Coverage) Abridge and Availity announced a collaboration aimed at real-time prior authorization tied to the clinician-patient conversation, with plans to extend across more revenue-cycle workflows. The goal is reducing lag between what's said in the visit and what the payer needs to approve care. 📍 Finance & Capital --- Logan Stokes (JPM Coverage) Multiple reports say OpenAI has agreed to acquire a small healthcare AI startup called Torch, with reporting suggesting a price around $100M in equity. The major AI platforms aren't just building models, they're looking for workflow footholds in regulated industries like healthcare. 🎙️ Subscribe here or wherever you listen to podcasts, and if you like our show, please follow us on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/hit_show. HITshow is made possible by Verato, EnableComp & Spare Tire

Today on HITshow: The 44th Annual JP Morgan Healthcare Conference kicks off in San Francisco, running January 12-15 at the Westin St. Francis with 8,000+ attendees. This year's agenda shows 22 not-for-profit health systems presenting on day one. Breaking news: thousands of NYC nurses on strike at multiple major hospitals. Plus: Imagine Pediatrics expands into four more states, Tampa General and Mass General Brigham launch joint ambulatory network in Florida, and major AI announcements including Anthropic's Claude for Healthcare, personal health records connecting into AI via HealthEx partnership, and Abridge plus Availity bringing real-time prior authorization. HOST: RHONDA BROOKS 📍 Healthcare Policy & Advocacy --- Anika Shah (Breaking) Thousands of nurses are on strike today at multiple major New York City hospitals after contract talks failed. The union says the core issue is safe staffing and that promises from the last strike haven't translated into unit-level reality. Hospitals argue they've made significant offers but union demands are too costly. The timing adds pressure during heavy flu season with hospitals hiring temporary nurses and adjusting operations. 📍 Strategy & Transformation --- Teresa Vaughn Imagine Pediatrics is expanding into four more states (Georgia, Missouri, North Carolina, and New York) and moving into the commercial health plan market. The 24/7 model combines virtual care with in-home support for children with special healthcare needs, now serving more than 70,000 kids with population doubling over the past year. 📍 Finance & Capital --- Logan Stokes Tampa General Hospital and Mass General Brigham are launching a joint ambulatory care network on Florida's East Coast, focused on expanding primary care, specialty services, and surgical care across Martin, St. Lucie, and Palm Beach counties. The template: brand plus ambulatory access plus referral control. 📍 AI & Machine Learning --- Jade Romero (JPM Coverage) Anthropic rolled out Claude for Healthcare with HIPAA-ready infrastructure for providers and payers, targeting documentation support, policy and coverage lookups, and generating drafts for review with stronger guardrails around health data handling. The executive question is shifting from "can it write?" to "can it plug into our governance and operations without creating new safety problems?" 📍 AI & Machine Learning --- Jade Romero (JPM Coverage) HealthEx and Anthropic partnered to let certain Claude subscribers securely connect medical records from tens of thousands of provider organizations, then ask questions grounded in their own history. Built on TEFCA (the national interoperability framework), patients will show up with AI-generated interpretations requiring health systems to have clear stances on accuracy and clinician response. 📍 Digital Health --- Teresa Vaughn (JPM Coverage) Abridge and Availity are teaming up to scale real-time prior authorization, compressing what can be a weeks-long process into something that happens during the encounter. Ambient documentation plus payer connectivity aims to move approvals from days to minutes when possible, reducing delays, reschedules, and staff time chasing paperwork. 📍 Finance & Capital --- Logan Stokes (JPM Coverage) Early JPM chatter suggests dealmakers expect a stronger year for healthcare M&A, including possibility of mega deals, helped by more permissive regulatory climate and looming patent cliffs in pharma. Consolidation shifts payer behavior, vendor pricing, and partnership options. 🎙️ Subscribe here or wherever you listen to podcasts, and if you like our show, please follow us on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/hit_show. HITshow is made possible by Spare Tire, Ovatient, and Kimmchi.

Today on HITshow: Healthcare's AI moment is turning into infrastructure, while policy and capital markets help decide what scales and what gets funded. OpenAI launches a healthcare-specific product set with enterprise controls for protected health information, the House passes a 3-year ACA subsidy extension, and Apella raises $80M for ambient AI focused on operating room performance. Plus: Walmart launches Better Care Services as a digital health front door, and dealmakers signal an active M&A year ahead as JPM Healthcare Conference gets underway. HOST: RHONDA BROOKS 📍 Strategy & Transformation --- Teresa Vaughn OpenAI is now packaging a healthcare-specific product set aimed at organizations needing enterprise controls, clearer governance, and handling of protected health information. The platform targets documentation support, care team coordination, patient communication drafts, and operational tasks. Before scaling beyond pilots, executives should demand clear data controls (what's logged, retained, and who can access outputs) and evaluation in real workflows with measurement beyond satisfaction. 📍 Healthcare Policy & Advocacy --- Anika Shah The U.S. House passed a bill to extend enhanced Affordable Care Act premium tax credits for three years, affecting marketplace coverage affordability and hospital payer mix, charity care pressure, and collections. The bill faces a tougher path in the Senate, requiring scenario planning from revenue cycle and access teams for either renewals/re-enrollment surges or coverage churn. 📍 AI & Machine Learning --- Nate Collier Apella raised $80M to expand a platform using ambient AI and computer vision to measure operating room timing, workflow steps, turnover patterns, and bottlenecks. The platform creates a single source of truth for OR operations beyond just scheduling, with health systems participating strategically in funding to influence where the category goes. 📍 Digital Health --- Nate Collier Walmart launched Better Care Services, a digital health front door connecting consumers to third-party care options including urgent care and behavioral health. The move nudges patients toward convenience-first decisions, creating potential leakage risk for systems with fragmented, hard-to-navigate entry points. 📍 Finance & Capital --- Logan Stokes As the JPM Healthcare Conference gets underway, early signals suggest 2026 could be active for healthcare M&A driven by capability gaps, margin pressure, and competitive urgency. Watch for scale and portfolio reshaping, AI and automation acquisitions (especially revenue cycle, clinical productivity, and operational analytics), and vendor consolidation that changes pricing leverage and support. Hospital executives should review critical vendor contracts for change-of-control protections and identify top five mission-critical dependencies with real contingency plans. 🎙️ Subscribe here or wherever you listen to podcasts, and if you like our show, please follow us on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/hit_show. HITshow is made possible by Spare Tire, Ovatient, and Kimmchi.

Today on HITshow: Consumer AI is moving closer to health data, and the rulebook around health tech is shifting at the same time. OpenAI introduces ChatGPT Health where users can upload medical records and connect wellness apps, while regulators signal a lighter touch for certain wearables and digital health tools. Plus: Utah launches an AI prescription renewal pilot, Mayo develops an EHR-integrated AI education agent, and healthcare leaders expect more M&A activity in 2026. HOST: RHONDA BROOKS OpenAI introduced ChatGPT Health, a dedicated health and wellness experience where users can upload medical records, connect wellness apps, interpret test results, prep for doctor visits, and track diet and fitness. For health systems, this means patients will arrive with AI-generated summaries and conclusions, requiring consistent clinical and operational approaches on validation and response. 📍 Healthcare Policy & Advocacy --- Anika Shah Regulators issued updated guidance pulling back oversight for certain wearables and digital health software, especially products positioned as general wellness tools. If devices stay out of diagnosis and treatment claims, they may avoid the same level of FDA review, with clarifications on clinical decision support software as well. 📍 Commentary --- Rhonda Brooks When consumer AI makes it easier for people to pull in records and app data, hospitals become the reality check on the back end. For hospital leaders, this creates a near-term operating issue: What patient-generated data do you trust? What do you treat as context? And what do you refuse to operationalize? 📍 Digital Health --- Nate Collier Utah launched a pilot program allowing an AI chatbot built by Doctronic to renew prescriptions for roughly 200 commonly used medications (renewals only, excluding controlled substances). The pilot puts a flag in the ground that states may create carve-outs for AI in routine care-adjacent workflows, creating pressure on health systems to modernize renewal workflows and triage. 📍 AI & Machine Learning --- Jade Romero Mayo researchers developed and evaluated MedEduChat, an EHR-integrated AI agent for personalized prostate cancer education. In a small study, patients reported stronger confidence and high usability, pointing to AI tools that support care delivery without adding to clinician workload. 📍 Finance & Capital --- Logan Stokes A new outlook survey suggests a majority of healthcare leaders expect more merger activity in 2026, with life sciences leaders even more bullish. The signal is more strategic combinations, partnership activity, and portfolio moves tied to scale, access, and technology modernization. 🎙️ Subscribe here or wherever you listen to podcasts, and if you like our show, please follow us on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/hit_show. HITshow is made possible by Spare Tire, Ovatient, and Kimmchi.

Today on HITshow: We're celebrating our 100th episode! A huge thank you to Executive Producer Dennis Dailey, our incredible team of reporters, and all of you for trusting us with your time every day. Today's news: HHS withholds more than $10B in child care and family assistance funding from five states, RWJBarnabas Health to acquire Englewood Health, and Covenant Health's breach impact rises to 478,000 patients. Plus: telehealth prescribing flexibilities extended through 2026, FDA clarifies wellness wearables guidance, and a Bright Spot featuring PharmStars bridging the gap between pharma and digital health startups. HOST: RHONDA BROOKS 📍 Strategy & Transformation --- Teresa Vaughn The Department of Health and Human Services is withholding more than $10B in child care and family assistance funding from five states, citing fraud and documentation concerns. When families lose reliable support services, health systems often see knock-on effects including missed appointments, delayed care, and added strain on community partners. 📍 Finance & Capital --- Logan Stokes RWJBarnabas Health has signed an agreement to acquire Englewood Health in New Jersey, including its hospital and broad outpatient footprint, pending state and federal approvals. The deal aims to strengthen referral patterns, service lines, and negotiating leverage in the competitive northern New Jersey metro market. 📍 Cybersecurity --- Anika Shah Covenant Health revised its breach notification with the impacted patient count now at roughly 478,000, a dramatic jump from earlier figures. The ransomware incident creates operational drag through patient notifications, call center support, legal workflows, and reputational impact while teams conduct forensic work and tighten controls. 📍 Digital Health --- Nate Collier Federal officials extended certain telehealth prescribing flexibilities for controlled substances through the end of 2026, preventing an abrupt return to pre-pandemic rules. The extension provides continuity for stable patients receiving care via telehealth, especially in behavioral health, while permanent rules are finalized. 📍 Healthcare Policy & Advocacy --- Peter Betterworth The FDA is reinforcing that low-risk wellness tools like fitness tracking and general lifestyle guidance typically won't be treated like regulated medical devices, as long as they don't claim to diagnose, treat, or prevent disease. The guidance sharpens the line between "wellness" and "medical decision support." 📍 Digital Health --- Jalen Cross (Bright Spot) PharmStars, led by Naomi Fried, connects digital health startups with pharma companies to bridge the "pharma startup gap" where fundamentally different operating speeds, cultures, and risk appetites create friction. The accelerator has supported 102 startups that have collectively raised over $1B in funding, and is now building venture funding to support graduates. Current focus includes agentic AI tools for clinical trial modeling, patient identification, and faster trial execution. Applications open through January 25 at pharmstars.com. 🎙️ Subscribe here or wherever you listen to podcasts, and if you like our show, please follow us on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/hit_show. HITshow is made possible by Spare Tire, Ovatient, and Kimmchi.

Today on HITshow: AI is moving from innovation into real operational friction, and governance is catching up. Medicare launches a new AI-driven model to review outpatient procedures, Oracle's breach fallout widens to include AdventHealth, and OpenAI says 40 million people are using ChatGPT daily for healthcare questions. Plus: Corewell and Quest form a major lab joint venture, New York nurses issue strike notices covering 15 hospitals, and a Bright Spot on Epic and Penn Medicine's smarter clinic collaboration. HOST: RHONDA BROOKS 📍 Healthcare Policy & Advocacy --- Peter Betterworth Medicare is officially testing the WISeR Model, using AI and machine learning paired with human clinical review to assess certain outpatient procedures. The model runs January 1, 2026 through December 31, 2031, launching across six states: Arizona, New Jersey, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas, and Washington. Hospitals should expect new workflow realities including documentation requirements, turnaround times, and algorithmic triage at the front door. 📍 Strategy & Transformation --- Teresa Vaughn Oracle's breach fallout is widening, with new reporting indicating AdventHealth has been ensnared and multiple health systems affected. The incident highlights third-party vendor risk, with leaders needing to quickly confirm integrations, validate access logs, and review patient-notification playbooks. 📍 Digital Health --- Nate Collier OpenAI says more than 40 million people are using ChatGPT daily for healthcare-related questions, with about 1 in 4 weekly users prompting about healthcare. Clinicians are increasingly spending visit time validating, correcting, or reframing what patients read from AI, creating both risk (misinformation driving unnecessary utilization) and opportunity (building trusted digital front doors and better triage). 📍 Finance & Capital --- Logan Stokes Corewell Health and Quest Diagnostics are forming a lab joint venture called Diagnostic Lab of Michigan, with Quest holding 51% and Corewell 49%. Quest will manage lab operations across all 21 Corewell hospitals, with plans for a 100,000 square-foot centralized laboratory targeted for Q1 2027. 📍 Healthcare Policy & Advocacy --- Jade Romero About 21,000 New York nurses have issued ten-day strike notices covering 15 hospitals, with a potential strike date of January 12. Even if a strike is avoided, preparation is disruptive with staffing contingency plans, potential delays to elective procedures, and pressure to keep critical units stable. Epic and Penn Medicine are working on a smarter clinic collaboration aimed at practical improvements: fewer friction points for patients, smoother scheduling and communication, better coordination across care teams, and less administrative drag for clinicians. 🎙️ Subscribe here or wherever you listen to podcasts, and if you like our show, please follow us on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/hit_show. HITshow is made possible by EY, Ovatient, and Kimmchi.

That's a wrap on 2025! This is our last show of the year. From everyone at HITshow — Rhonda, Anika, Teresa, Logan, Jade, Nate, Jalen, Peter, and the whole team — happy holidays and happy New Year! Thank you for an incredible first year of listening, sharing, and building this community with us. We're taking a brief holiday break and will be back in full weekday production on Tuesday, January 6, 2026. While we're away, swing by hit.show to catch up on our industry video interviews and features. Take care of your people, get some rest, and we'll see you in the new year with all the latest healthcare business news! 🎙️ Subscribe here or wherever you listen to podcasts, and if you like our show, please follow us on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/hit_show. HITshow is made possible by EY, Ovatient, and Kimmchi.

Today on HITshow: Three big forces collide: AI is moving from pilot to production in revenue cycle operations, New York puts more than $300M into hospital health IT and cybersecurity, and payers are tightening reimbursement rules. Plus: Northwell Direct lands a major contract covering 170,000 participants, UnitedHealthcare narrows RPM coverage starting January 1, and a Bright Spot on how Tendo is making bundled care shoppable. HOST: RHONDA BROOKS 📍 Finance & Capital --- Teresa Vaughn A new survey shows 8 in 10 health systems are now exploring, piloting, or implementing generative AI tools for revenue cycle management, with leaders targeting faster throughput, fewer denials, less manual work, and relief on staffing pressure. The fastest CFO wins are in denials and under-coding—anything that turns into dollars quickly with a clean audit trail. 📍 Healthcare Policy & Advocacy --- Anika Shah New York is awarding more than $300M to 22 hospital projects through the state's facility transformation programs, focusing on expanding electronic medical records, strengthening cybersecurity and patient data security, and expanding telehealth services. Cyber readiness and IT modernization are being treated like essential infrastructure alongside bricks and mortar. 📍 Finance & Capital --- Logan Stokes Northwell Direct and the 32BJ Health Fund announced a direct healthcare agreement covering about 170,000 participants, cutting out a layer of third-party administration. The fund estimates meaningful first-year savings, signaling that large purchasers want more predictable pricing and control over where care is delivered. 📍 Digital Health --- Jalen Cross UnitedHealthcare has a new RPM medical policy effective January 1, 2026, making coverage more restrictive. For health systems and provider groups running RPM at scale, this is a "check your cohorts" moment to map current patients against new criteria and build transition plans for anyone who no longer qualifies. 📍 Quick Roundup --- Nate Collier Humana is lining up a leadership transition in its insurance business, bringing in a former Amazon healthcare executive. Banner Health is transitioning facilities to a cashless payment model with completion targeted by March 2026. Bayhealth has a proposed $2.5M settlement fund tied to a patient data breach pending court approval. Evernorth's Behavioral Care Group is highlighting expansion and access improvements with more growth planned into 2026. 📍 Digital Health --- Jade Romero (Bright Spot) Tendo is combining performance insight for providers with a marketplace that lets employers and care navigators shop bundled episodes with upfront pricing and quality signals. Co-CEO Kevin Riley says the platform saves consumers an average of $740 per service with a 92% five-star rating, signaling employers want predictable prices and providers want channels that reward quality. 🎙️ Subscribe here or wherever you listen to podcasts, and if you like our show, please follow us on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/hit_show. HITshow is made possible by EY, Ovatient, and Kimmchi.

Today on HITshow: Pressure is coming from multiple directions. The VA moves to eliminate tens of thousands of unfilled positions while reorganizing management, enhanced ACA premium subsidies set to expire in two weeks with no extension in sight, and Humana faces renewed Medicare Advantage scrutiny. Plus: a new analysis suggests some hospitals may have been overpaid through Change Healthcare relief, and a Bright Spot on virtual cancer care at Tampa General that hints at where hybrid oncology is heading. HOST: RHONDA BROOKS 📍 Strategy & Transformation --- Teresa Vaughn The VA is moving to eliminate tens of thousands of unfilled positions and pair that with a management reorganization aimed at reducing bureaucracy and pushing more authority to local leaders. The ripple effect hits the same labor markets where the VA operates, potentially shifting competition, wage pressure, and retention dynamics in nearby communities. 📍 Healthcare Policy & Advocacy --- Peter Betterworth A new House Republican healthcare plan does not include an extension of the enhanced Affordable Care Act premium subsidies currently set to expire on December 31. If the cliff hits, many consumers could see meaningful premium increases starting January 1, potentially leading to more coverage churn, self-pay exposure, and strain on front-end financial counseling. 📍 Healthcare Policy & Advocacy --- Anika Shah Humana is facing renewed scrutiny after an investigation raised questions about how the company used internal research and selective framing in arguments supporting Medicare Advantage benefits. The scrutiny lands in a broader climate where MA is being examined more aggressively around utilization management, denials, coding, and value claims. 📍 Finance & Capital --- Logan Stokes A new analysis suggests some hospitals may have been overpaid through CMS accelerated and advance payments meant to stabilize cash flow during the Change Healthcare disruption. If policymakers decide relief mechanisms overshot in certain cases, that could lead to conversations in 2026 about recoupment, audit attention, or rethinking disruption relief structure. 📍 Digital Health --- Jalen Cross (Bright Spot) Tampa General Hospital Cancer Institute is partnering with Reimagine Care on a virtual cancer care model designed to support patients between visits, reduce avoidable hospitalizations, and strengthen day-to-day navigation through treatment. The model extends hospital-based specialty care into the home with virtual touchpoints, symptom monitoring, and faster escalation paths. 🎙️ Subscribe here or wherever you listen to podcasts, and if you like our show, please follow us on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/hit_show. HITshow is made possible by EY, Ovatient, and Kimmchi.

Today on HITshow: Stability is getting expensive across healthcare. The VA plans to eliminate up to 35,000 healthcare positions, 57 health systems push back on proposed cybersecurity rules, and Cencora takes majority control of OneOncology in a $7.4B deal. Plus: Connecticut approves a hospital acquisition with strict access guardrails, and Philips moves to acquire SpectraWAVE for AI-enabled coronary imaging. HOST: RHONDA BROOKS 📍 Healthcare Policy & Advocacy --- Anika Shah The Veterans Affairs system is planning to cut up to 35,000 healthcare positions, largely roles currently unfilled. The concern for hospital leaders isn't just federal belt-tightening but second-order effects: if VA capacity tightens or hiring slows in certain markets, pressure could shift into community care through ED volume, outpatient access, and specialty bottlenecks. .📍 Cybersecurity --- Peter Betterworth A group of 57 health systems is urging HHS to rescind a proposed cybersecurity rule, arguing the requirements and timelines could be financially and operationally unrealistic. If the rule moves forward as written, it could force faster spending decisions on controls, audits, documentation, and staffing, landing on clinical uptime, third-party risk, and enterprise governance. 📍 Finance & Capital --- Logan Stokes Cencora is taking majority control of OneOncology in a deal valuing the business at about $7.4B. The practical message for health system leaders is that the community oncology ecosystem keeps getting more organized and better-capitalized, affecting referral dynamics, site-of-care strategy, infusion economics, and partnerships. 📍 Strategy & Transformation --- Teresa Vaughn Connecticut regulators approved Hartford HealthCare's acquisition of Manchester Memorial and Rockville General with specific conditions, including keeping the Rockville emergency department open 24/7 for at least three years and maintaining inpatient behavioral health services within a set radius. States are increasingly writing access guarantees and service-line protections into M&A approvals. 📍 Digital Health --- Nate Collier Philips agreed to acquire SpectraWAVE, adding technology focused on coronary intravascular imaging and physiological assessment with an emphasis on AI. Vendors are stacking capabilities to own more of the interventional workflow, including imaging, interpretation support, and decision guidance. 🎙️ Subscribe here or wherever you listen to podcasts, and if you like our show, please follow us on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/hit_show. HITshow is made possible by EY, Ovatient, and Kimmchi.

Today on HITshow: Leadership and capital are on the move across healthcare. AHA President Rick Pollack announces retirement after 43 years, Boston Children's lands a record $100M gift for pediatric behavioral health, and New York greenlights $1.1B to modernize SUNY Downstate. Plus: Community Health Systems locks in permanent leadership, Artera raises $65M to scale patient communication AI, and a new tool turns smartphones into sleep trackers. HOST: RHONDA BROOKS 📍 Healthcare Policy & Advocacy --- Anika Shah The American Hospital Association announced that President and CEO Rick Pollack will retire at the end of 2026 after 43 years with the organization and nearly a decade in the top job. The board has launched a national search, and Pollack will serve as president and CEO emeritus during the transition. 📍 Finance & Capital --- Logan Stokes Boston Children's Hospital received a record $100M gift from philanthropists Rob and Karen Hale to help anchor a roughly $650M pediatric behavioral health hospital on the Franciscan Children's campus in Brighton. The funding will expand inpatient and outpatient services, build out research and training, and support a 23-hospital collaborative focused on pediatric mental health. 📍 Strategy & Transformation --- Teresa Vaughn Governor Kathy Hochul's office confirmed the design phase is kicking off for a $1.1B plan to modernize SUNY Downstate's hospital and build a new annex facility in Brooklyn. Funding will be drawn from two consecutive state budgets, aiming to stabilize and reposition Downstate as a modern anchor for central Brooklyn after past attempts to downsize faced community pushback. 📍 Finance & Capital --- Logan Stokes Community Health Systems confirmed Kevin Hammons as permanent CEO and Jason Johnson as permanent CFO after both served in interim roles since October. Hammons has been closely associated with Project Empower, an ERP modernization CHS expects will generate up to $60M in savings in 2025, while the company continues divesting underperforming hospitals. 📍 AI & Machine Learning --- Jade Romero Artera raised $65M to build out autonomous AI agents for patient communication that handle scheduling, rescheduling, intake, and billing questions. The company says 94% of patient conversations are now completed without staff intervention, translating into roughly 250,000 hours of staff time saved annually for clients. .📍 Digital Health --- Nate Collier Sleep Sense uses on-device AI to analyze motion, light, and phone usage patterns overnight, turning smartphones into sleep trackers without wearables. The pitch is nearly 100% population coverage without extra hardware, subscriptions, or data leaving the device unnecessarily. 📍 AI & IT Round-Up --- Rhonda Brooks Sword Health launched MindEval, a multi-turn benchmark testing large language models through realistic mental health conversations, with early scores showing even top models struggling with severe cases. A new State of Enterprise AI report shows healthcare among the fastest-moving sectors for putting AI into daily workflows. And KLAS released its 2025 report on IT planning and assessment services, which we'll unpack in detail on tomorrow's show. 🎙️ Subscribe here or wherever you listen to podcasts, and if you like our show, please follow us on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/hit_show. HITshow is made possible by EY, Ovatient, and Kimmchi.

Today on HITshow: The financial squeeze is easing a bit, but the pressure to restructure is not—and the "front door" of healthcare is getting more AI-powered by the day. Nonprofit hospital margins are expected to see modest gains into 2026, but systems are tightening now ahead of Medicaid uncertainty. A major payer-provider combo emerges in Hawaii. CVS raises guidance and lays out a new AI platform strategy. Measurable gains from AI scribes in the emergency department. Medline sets terms for what could be the biggest U.S. IPO of 2025. Plus a Bright Spot on a milestone in the physician pipeline. HOST: RHONDA BROOKS 📍 Nonprofit Margins & Medicaid Tightening — Teresa Vaughn Nonprofit hospitals expected to see modest margin improvement through 2026, but the message is clear: don't confuse "better" with "back to normal." Systems are tightening now because of policy risk on the horizon, especially around Medicaid. The window to lock in resilience won't stay open long. 📍 Hawaii Payer-Provider Merger Talks — Logan Stokes Hawaii Pacific Health and Hawaii Medical Service Association (the state's largest payer) are exploring a possible merger or affiliation. The stated goals are affordability and access, but the real question: what changes when the biggest payer and a major provider start rowing in the same direction? Regulators and employers are watching. 📍 CVS Raises Outlook & AI Strategy — Nate Collier CVS raised 2025 guidance and is pushing a new AI-powered platform designed to unify consumer experience across pharmacy, benefits, and care delivery. The real implication: the consumer front door is becoming more automated. Payers will guide members in real time—shaping volume, routing, and patient expectations. 📍 AI Scribes Show ED Throughput Gains — Jade Romero Cabrini Health in Melbourne, Australia piloted an AI scribe with Heidi Health in the emergency department—and care wrapped up about 24 minutes earlier on average. The takeaway: AI scribes are moving from "promising" to "measurable," but only if you build governance and accountability to scale responsibly. .📍 Medline Sets IPO Terms — Peter Betterworth Medline is targeting a valuation of up to $55.3 billion in what could be the biggest U.S. IPO of 2025. Supply chain is strategy—contracts, standardization, inventory discipline are no longer "back office" topics. Expect the entire segment to sharpen. Bright Spot: U.S. medical school enrollment tops 100,000 students for the first time in the 2025–2026 academic year. Applications are also up about 5%, reversing a three-year decline. The pipeline is strengthening—essential for long-term care delivery stability. 🎙️ Subscribe here or wherever you listen to podcasts, and if you like our show, please follow us on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/hit_show. HITshow is made possible by EY, Ovatient, and Kimmchi.

Today on HITshow: Resilience is not optional—whether that’s patching vulnerabilities, staying operational through EHR downtime, or building the data foundation for AI at scale. CISA flags the “React2Shell” threat tied to React Server Components. Spare Tire raises three million dollars to expand EHR continuity, with perspective from co-founder Allen Alashi. HHS moves forward on an interagency AI data platform with C3. UC Irvine Health opens the nation’s first all-electric acute-care hospital in Irvine, California. And Sharecare partners with CLEAR on trusted digital identity for AskMD. HOST: RHONDA BROOKS 📍 CISA Flags “React2Shell” Risk — Anika Shah CISA has flagged a critical vulnerability tied to React Server Components, with real-world exploitation concerns. For health systems, this isn’t abstract—React-based apps sit everywhere from patient access to internal tools. The playbook: confirm exposure, patch and redeploy, and tighten monitoring for suspicious activity. 📍 Spare Tire Raises 3 Million Dollars for EHR Continuity — Nate Collier Spare Tire raised three million dollars to expand EHR continuity during cyberattacks, weather events, and planned maintenance—plus a sound bite from co-founder Allen Alashi. The executive lens: time-to-continuity is only half the battle; clean reconciliation after downtime is where hidden cost and revenue-cycle drag show up. 📍 HHS + C3 Interagency AI Data Platform — Jade Romero HHS is moving forward with an interagency AI data platform with C3 positioned as the technology partner. This is where expectations form—data governance, measurement standards, and AI-driven oversight often start here and later ripple into reporting, audits, and policy direction. 📍 Nation’s First All-Electric Acute-Care Hospital Opens — Logan Stokes UC Irvine Health is opening the nation’s first all-electric acute-care hospital in Irvine, California—built to expand capacity for Orange County’s growth while showcasing a lower-emissions infrastructure model. For operators, electrification changes long-term planning: energy strategy, maintenance models, resilience assumptions, and total cost of ownership. 📍 Digital Identity Moves to the Center of the Front Door — Peter Betterworth Sharecare partnered with CLEAR to enable trusted digital identity for the AskMD experience, with rollout described for 2026. Watch the tradeoff: reducing fraud and account takeover while keeping patient experience friction low—and deciding who “owns” identity in the consumer-to-care journey. 🎙️ Subscribe here or wherever you listen to podcasts, and if you like our show, please follow us on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/hit_show. HITshow is made possible by EY, Ovatient, and Kimmchi.

Today on HITshow: Big decisions in the background—deals that don't close, policies that reshape the market, and operational "leaks" that quietly drain health systems. Aya Healthcare walks away from its planned $615 million acquisition of Cross Country Healthcare. Hologic heads toward privatization with Blackstone and TPG acquiring the company for up to $79 per share. Federal health agencies roll out a unified AI strategy coordinating efforts across CDC, CMS, and FDA. The FDA introduces TEMPO, a new pilot pathway for digital health technologies. New research shows acute care at home can improve outcomes for rural patients. Plus a practical look at how health systems stop losing money on referral leakage. HOST: RHONDA BROOKS 📍 Healthcare Staffing Deal Falls Apart — Teresa Vaughn Aya Healthcare is walking away from its planned $615 million acquisition of Cross Country Healthcare. Regulatory scrutiny made the path too uncertain. For health systems relying on external labor partners, the vendor landscape can shift fast—expect contract leverage conversations and margin protection pushes. 📍 Hologic Heads to Private Equity — Logan Stokes Blackstone and TPG are acquiring Hologic for up to $79 per share in a roughly $18.3 billion deal. When PE commits at this scale, expect shifts in commercial strategy, contracting posture, and product investment priorities in women's health diagnostics. 📍 Federal AI Strategy Alignment — Anika Shah Federal health agencies are moving toward a unified AI approach, coordinating efforts across CDC, CMS, and FDA. Less "every agency does its own thing," more shared principles for trust and oversight. Expect more attention to auditability, governance, and cybersecurity fundamentals. 📍 FDA's TEMPO Pilot — Nate Collier The FDA is introducing TEMPO to complement CMS's ACCESS model—a structured pathway for certain digital health technologies to be used under a defined framework while evidence is gathered. The due diligence burden moves closer to the health system. 📍 Rural Hospital-at-Home Outcomes — Jalen Cross New research suggests acute care at home can improve outcomes for rural patients. The make-or-break factor: reliable escalation. Rural hospital-at-home works when the "what if the patient turns" plan is crystal clear and resourced. 📍 Stopping Referral Leakage — Peter Betterworth Health systems continue to lose money and continuity when referrals slip out of network. The fix: tighten pathways, standardize workflows, reduce manual handoffs, and track outcomes. One metric to demand weekly: closed-loop rate on outbound referrals. 🎙️ Subscribe here or wherever you listen to podcasts, and if you like our show, please follow us on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/hit_show. HITshow is made possible by EY, Kimmchi and HLTH 2025 — the epicenter of healthcare innovation, where the future of care happens.

Today on HITshow: Today's theme is pretty simple: money is moving, and resilience is mandatory. From value-based care financing to the long tail of claims disruption to cyber readiness heading into the weekend. Aledade secures a $500 million credit facility, signaling continued capital confidence in primary-care-led VBC. The Oracle Health legacy Cerner breach ripples expand, potentially reaching roughly 80 impacted organizations. A new analysis of the Change Healthcare disruption reveals uneven financial relief and teaches us about building resilience. Cyber activity continues to emphasize credential theft and rapid encryption tactics. Plus a Bright Spot on what health systems should focus on heading into 2026. HOST: RHONDA BROOKS 📍 Value-Based Care Financing — Teresa Vaughn Aledade secured a $500 million credit facility. The signal: capital still believes in primary-care-led VBC, especially for organizations helping practices succeed in risk arrangements. For health systems, the question is partner versus build—and well-funded VBC enablers move faster on practice recruitment, workflow support, and contracting strategy. 📍 Oracle Health Breach Ripples — Anika Shah The Oracle Health legacy Cerner breach ripple effects could reach roughly 80 impacted organizations. Vendor incidents become your incident fast—patient notifications, identity monitoring, call center strain, compliance burden. Pressure-test your vendor access model, data-sharing pathways, and incident escalation terms now. 📍 Change Healthcare Disruption Lessons — Logan Stokes A new analysis of the federal relief approach after Change Healthcare found financial relief didn't land evenly. For CFOs: clearinghouse concentration risk, claims routing redundancy, and cash contingency planning need to be operational disciplines, not afterthoughts. 📍 Cyber Readiness Weekend Brief — Jalen Cross Healthcare cyber activity continues to emphasize credential theft, lateral movement, and rapid encryption. The operational question: how fast can we contain and restore? Ask for a one-page weekend readiness brief—who's on point, what systems are critical, what the first 60 minutes looks like. Bright Spot: As planning season ramps up, 2026 is shaping up as a year where health systems stop treating innovation like a side project and start treating it like an operating model. Three sticky predictions: AI stops being a tool you buy and becomes a process you run. The front door matters more than the lobby. The winners won't do more projects—they'll do fewer, better projects that actually change throughput, experience, and margins. Nate Collier reports. 🎙️ Subscribe here or wherever you listen to podcasts, and if you like our show, please follow us on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/hit_show. HITshow is made possible by EY, Kimmchi and HLTH 2025 — the epicenter of healthcare innovation, where the future of care happens.