Samwise Healthcare IT Newsletter
Wednesday, October 7, 2026
Oracle Health Breach Exposed Data of Nearly 20 Million People, Texas Report Shows
Oracle Health’s 2025 data breach compromised personal information belonging to nearly 20 million people, Becker’s Hospital Review reported, citing Bloomberg and a Texas attorney general report. The attorney general’s data breach portal lists Cerner Corp., now known as Oracle Health, as reporting almost 3 million affected Texans, with exposed data including addresses, Social Security numbers and medical information. Oracle started alerting healthcare customers in March 2025 that attackers had accessed older Cerner servers sometime after Jan. 22, 2025, before that data had been migrated to Oracle’s cloud. At least 29 hospitals and health systems have reportedly been affected, and Oracle Health faces litigation over the incident.
Sources: Becker’s Hospital Review
FTC Warns Two Dozen Hospital Operators Over Price Transparency
Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew Ferguson sent letters Monday to two dozen major hospital operators, warning of scrutiny from both the FTC and HHS if they fail to publicly post costs for their services, Healthcare Dive reported. The agency did not identify the recipients. The FTC says hospitals could violate federal law by failing to post prices or by posting incomplete pricing, such as estimates that exclude extra fees. According to Ferguson, CMS price transparency rules serve merely as a regulatory floor and do not provide safe harbor from the FTC. The letters align with a regulation finalized Monday that strengthens disclosure requirements for insurers.
Sources: Healthcare Dive
Utah Approves AI Pilots That Could Issue Prescriptions with Less Clinician Review
Utah’s Office of Artificial Intelligence Policy approved a slate of new healthcare AI pilots on Friday, Healthcare Dive reported. One will test whether Nolla Health’s dermatology app can prescribe initial medications and refills from a short list of topical drugs to adults in Utah with mild-to-moderate acne. Two physicians will initially review every prescription before it is sent, but later only after the fact. Other approved pilots include August AI renewing prescriptions for people with chronic conditions and Expect Fitness offering virtual pelvic floor therapy for women. Companies need written approval from regulators before moving into later phases with less human oversight. None of the pilots has yet launched.
Sources: Healthcare Dive
32 House Members Urge CMS to Rethink Remote Patient Monitoring Limits
A bipartisan group of 32 House members is urging CMS to reconsider proposed remote patient monitoring restrictions in the 2027 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule, Becker’s Hospital Review reported. The Oct. 2 letter to CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz, MD, was led by Reps. David Kustoff, R-Tenn., and Troy Balderson, R-Ohio. As proposed, Medicare would pay for remote monitoring only when clinical staff employed by the billing practice furnish the services, not contracted third-party companies. The lawmakers noted the HHS inspector general review behind the push flagged concerning patterns at just 0.68% of practices that routinely bill for remote monitoring. Most provisions are set to take effect Jan. 1, 2027.
Sources: Becker’s Hospital Review
ChristianaCare Completes Move From Oracle Health to Epic
Wilmington, Del.-based ChristianaCare is now live on Epic, finishing its switch from Oracle Health to a new EHR and MyChart patient portal, Becker’s Hospital Review reported. President and CEO Jenn Schwartz wrote in an Oct. 3 LinkedIn post that Epic brings clinical information, care team workflows and patient-facing tools into one connected environment. Through MyChart, patients can now view health information, message their care teams and manage appointments. More than 60 ChristianaCare pharmacists worked on the Epic medication cutover. The three-hospital system decided in 2024 to make the switch, and the effort involved more than 200 dedicated team members and over 1,000 caregivers serving on workgroups and advisory councils.
Sources: Becker’s Hospital Review
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