A new face is lighting up hospitals and nursing homes across the country. It's an animated, cartoonish persona displayed on a digital screen roughly the size of an iPad, mounted on top of a robotic torso shaped like an elongated traffic cone. It slowly rolls around from place to place, cracking jokes with patients, making silly faces, and playing small games.
Steven Sharp, 55, says on the first morning of a six-week stay at Diablo Valley Post Acute rehabilitation center, he was mistakenly given about five to six ounces of a solution containing bleach with about 12 pills. Per Bay Area News Group, he immediately told staff he'd been given bleach and was feeling burning in his esophagus and stomach. According to the lawsuit, after 45 minutes of Sharp asking staff to call 911, an employee came in and apologized for what happened.
Located in Lone Pine, a town at the base of Mt. Whitney with just 1,300 residents, Southern Inyo Healthcare District is the only hospital within a nearly 60-mile radius. It's the closest stop for injured hikers and dehydrated tourists visiting Whitney or nearby Death Valley, which regularly receives over 1 million visitors per year. Without it there would be a 136-mile stretch between the next closest hospitals in the eastern Sierra Nevada.
On January 23, 2025, the Bian Lian ransomware gang added the Medical Associates of Brevard ("MAB") to its dark web leak site. At the time, they listed the types of data they claimed to have acquired, but did not provide any screenshots or proof of claims. Months later, BianLian went offline. What happened to any data they may have exfiltrated is not currenlty known to DataBreaches, but on September 5, 2025, MAB notified HHS that 246,711 patients were affected by the incident.
On his first morning, a staff member handed him a clear plastic cup holding five or six ounces of clear liquid to go with about a dozen pills, and he drank it down with the medications, the lawsuit filed last week alleged. Sharp felt immediate burning in his mouth and throat, the lawsuit said. He alerted the staff that they had given him bleach' to drink, and that his mouth and esophagus were burning, the lawsuit claimed.
Regulatory frameworks such as HIPAA, GxP, GDPR and 21 CFR Part 11 are not optional; they are the guardrails that protect sensitive health data, ensure scientific integrity and maintain public trust in healthcare systems. Yet, I repeatedly observed that while these frameworks provided critical safeguards, they often slowed the momentum of digital transformation initiatives, particularly those involving artificial intelligence. Early AI projects faltered not because the models lacked accuracy or relevance, but because the underlying data architectures were not designed to satisfy regulators from the outset.
Healthcare groups are reacting to CMS' proposed 2026 Physician Fee Schedule mainly with concern, arguing that it needs significant revisions in order to avoid destabilizing providers and undermining value-based care momentum. The proposal, issued in July, seeks to establish two new conversion factors - one for physicians in advanced alternative payment models (APMs) and another for those who aren't. CMS plans to increase the APM rate by 3.83% in 2026, while the non-APM rate would go up by 3.62%.
Healthcare is a long-term industry. It's about long-term health. It's about maintaining people's health over decades. Private equity's business model just inherently is short-term based. They are looking to get a company, profit off of it, exit the company in whatever way that is, whether it be bankruptcy or IPO or selling it off to another private equity firm," said Matt Parr, communications director of the Private Equity Stakeholder Project, a nonprofit that has been tracking private equity moves.
Archie Mayani is the chief product officer at GHX, a global supply chain company that uses data and cloud-based technologies to connect healthcare providers like hospital systems and their suppliers. For more than 20 years, Mayani has worked on clinical and supply-chain health technologies at companies like Change Healthcare and United Health Group. At GHX, Mayani works to ensure that the company develops technology that can help hospitals procure patient supplies - like implants and IV fluids - as seamlessly as possible.
Centene's recent stock drop is closely linked to a combination of higher-than-expected medical costs amid challenging trends in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) market and anticipation of the scheduled end to enhanced ACA subsidies at the end of 2025. While shares jumped earlier this week after Centene affirmed its guidance, which was higher than analysts' estimates, it faces an uncertain road ahead.
Retirement remains a far-off - and in some cases, unattainable - goal for many Americans. About one in four adults over age 50 said they expect to never retire, according to an AARP survey. That's perhaps not surprising given that Americans believe they'll need $1.26 million to retire comfortably, per Northwestern Mutual. Related: Are You on Track for Your Age? Here's When You Should Save for Retirement, Make 6 Figures and Buy a Home, According to a New Survey.
NHS England said many more patients were coming forward for treatment and a doctors' strike in July left 50,000 appointments cancelled. The Royal College of Surgeons said the system was coming under severe strain and called for more money for new operating theatres in the autumn budget. "Crumbling hospital buildings are leading surgeons to have to compete for space, directly contributing to delays and leaving patients waiting for the care they need," said the organisation's vice president Prof Frank Smith.
Richard Brodsky, the founder of software company Sandata and founder and chairman of Mobile Health, saw a problem when it came to hiring more home care aides. It took time to clear them medically and get approvals from their doctors. So in true entrepreneurial spirit, he rolled out mobile and then fixed clinics to test prospective aides, getting results within two days while developing CareConnect, a company to train aides, so those who qualify could get to work.
In May, 11-year-old Nathan Jachimiek's son Ian broke out in a rash. "He's never had anything like this before so this was new for us as parents," said Jachimiek. The couple gave him Benadryl and brought him to the Good Samaritan Emergency Room in San Jose out of an abundance of caution. Jachimiek says a doctor never evaluated his son, they just sort of waited, and while they did, Ian seemed to be getting better. Enough so, that the family tried to leave the ER.
This recently acquired knowledge is due to the fact that Williams was announced as the new "celebrity patient ambassador" for direct-to-consumer telehealth company Ro on Aug. 21. The goal of this multiyear campaign is to "destigmatize weight loss medication," Saman Rahmanian, co-founder and chief product officer at Ro, told Healthcare Brew. Williams was a patient first and then wanted to share her story with others, he added.
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) took a break from dismantling the US public health system this week to announce plans to take "an active enforcement stance" against health care actors [PDF] that "restrict patients' engagement in their care by blocking the access, exchange, and use of electronic health information," the agency said in a press release. "Patients must have unfettered access to their health information as guaranteed by law," acting HHS Inspector General Juliet Hodgkins said in an agency press release.
Top Boy star and rapper Dave spoke with pride after his mother's meaningful mission to help elderly patients was expanded across hospitals in south London. The scheme has now been launched at Epsom Hospital in Surrey where scores more vulnerable people will be aided. Brit Award winner Dave, 27, real name David Omoregie, was born in Brixton and plays terrifying gangster Modie in the gritty Netflix crime drama.
If you've ever daydreamed about the best places to retire in the US, you're in good company. If you're like most people, career demands dictate where you plant your roots for most of your life-then, once retirement rolls around and you no longer have to worry about a daily commute or company requirements, the possibilities are suddenly endless. Now it's time to choose your next address, but where to start?
In a post-pandemic world, healthcare facilities navigate a complex landscape of security challenges that were unimaginable just a decade ago. Protecting patients while safeguarding pharmaceuticals, managing visitor access while ensuring staff safety, and maintaining compliance while operating efficiently - all these challenges demand a level of coordination that traditional security approaches simply cannot provide. The answer doesn't lie in deploying more cameras or hiring additional staff, but rather in creating intelligent, integrated systems where every component works together.
Retta Jacobi stepped onto a metal platform that lifted her to an entrance on the side of a custom-designed semitrailer. Once inside, she lay down on a platform that technicians slid into an MRI machine. Jacobi hoped the scan would help pinpoint the source of the pain in her shoulders. The mobile MRI unit visits Southwest Healthcare Services, the hospital in Bowman, North Dakota, each Wednesday.
Medi-Cal is California's version of Medicaid. It's a program that helps people with lower incomes cover healthcare costs-like trips to the doctor, hospital stays, or even long-term care. It's a big deal for anyone who needs support to afford medical expenses as they get older. But heads up: some changes are coming to Medi-Cal that could affect you or your loved ones, so let's talk about what's happening and how you can get ready.
June Molloy, the Communications and Public Affairs Manager for the HSE Dublin and North East, said that "in the course of our quality assurance process in the hospital, we commissioned an independent look back of all histopathology slides across various specialties in relation to one consultant, focusing on a period from February to November 2024. "This review is underway and any patients in relation to whom any findings are relevant will be contacted directly by the hospital. HSE Dublin and North East has provided necessary information to the HSE in line with the National Patient Safety Briefing Protocol."
CMS announced the start of the "Crushing Fraud Chili Cook-Off Competition" on Aug. 19, calling it "a market-based research challenge" to identify emerging technologies that can "detect anomalies and trends in Medicare Fee-for-Service (FFS) claims data that can be translated into novel indicators of fraud." The agency said it is "prioritizing the use of innovative, data-driven approaches, including explainable AI/ML" that can analyze large datasets to "uncover unusual patterns, anomalies, or trends that may signal fraudulent activity."
The layoffs, which are set to take effect in October, will eliminate 41 nursing positions and one art therapist role at Kaiser's San Rafael Medical Center, according to Monday WARN filings with California's Employment Development Department (WARN documents are generally required by the state for significant layoffs). The staff reductions also include two employees in Oakland, one in Pasadena, four in Corona and eight in Pleasanton, mostly in IT consultant, engineer and environmental health specialist roles.
At Bask Health, we once forced every new patient to download a separate app just to upload their ID. Only 40% of them made it through. Six weeks of development, thousands of dollars spent, and we called it a funnel. That one decision cost us more patients than any Facebook ad ever brought in. Turns out, healthcare has a cart abandonment problem, just like ecommerce. But instead of a forgotten pair of sneakers, it's unbooked visits, lost revenue and patients who still need help.
Among all the weight loss drugs, Ozempic has become a phenomenon. With as much as $17 billion in sales in 2024 and over $10 billion in the first half of 2025, it shows no signs of slowing down, much to the delight of its Danish manufacturer, Novo Nordisk A/S ( NYSE: NVO). This Scandinavian economic behemoth is one of the highest-valued companies in Europe at over $500 billion, which exceeds Denmark's entire gross domestic product.
Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY) has quickly emerged as one of Wall Street's biggest winners, fueled by explosive demand for its new generation of weight-loss and diabetes treatments. The company's GLP-1 drugs, including Mounjaro and the newly approved Zepbound, have turned into blockbuster products, generating billions in sales and reshaping the pharmaceutical landscape. As a result, Eli Lilly's stock surged more than 50% year-to-date in 2024.
