Samwise Healthcare IT Newsletter
Sunday, May 24, 2026
Health systems push to be ‘at the table’ on Anthropic’s Mythos
Healthcare system leaders are pushing for a seat at the table as Anthropic withholds its powerful new Claude Mythos model — which can detect and exploit cybersecurity vulnerabilities — from public release. Instead, the AI startup launched Project Glasswing, granting private access exclusively to big tech and cybersecurity firms. The Baptist Health South Florida chief digital and information officer warned that “healthcare systems need to be at the table,” noting hospitals already face a surge in zero-day exploits. As AI accelerates threat actors’ ability to probe for weaknesses, healthcare’s exclusion from the partner list raises serious concerns about sector-specific protections in critical digital infrastructure.
Sources: Becker’s Hospital Review
Trump halts signing of AI executive order
President Trump abruptly postponed a White House signing ceremony for a landmark AI executive order, saying “I didn’t like certain aspects of it.” The order — which would have authorized the government to pre-evaluate AI models for security vulnerabilities — faced pushback from tech leaders including Elon Musk, Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg, and former Trump AI adviser David Sacks. Healthcare organizations tracking the order had hoped it would establish clearer federal AI governance guidelines. With a revised draft now expected in the third quarter of 2026, hospitals and health systems face continued uncertainty over how federal AI policy will shape clinical and operational technology deployments.
Sources: Becker’s Hospital Review
VA seeks $4.2B for Oracle Health EHR modernization
The Trump administration’s proposed fiscal year 2027 budget includes $4.2 billion for the Department of Veterans Affairs to continue its years-long Oracle Health EHR modernization effort. The request comes as VA restarts deployments after a three-year pause, with 13 medical centers scheduled to go live in 2026. Total lifecycle costs for the program have ballooned to an estimated $37 billion, up from the original 2018 contract of $10 billion. The House FY2027 VA funding bill, which separately allocates $3.4 billion, includes performance contingencies, reflecting ongoing congressional concern about implementation pace, outcomes, and the program’s escalating cost trajectory.
Sources: Becker’s Hospital Review
Microsoft thwarts healthcare ransomware threat
Microsoft’s Digital Crimes Unit, partnering with cybersecurity firm Resecurity, has disrupted Fox Tempest — a threat actor operating a malware-signing-as-a-service platform that enabled Rhysida ransomware attacks against healthcare organizations globally. The takedown interrupted a supply chain of malicious software used to target hospitals, education institutions, financial services firms, and government agencies across multiple countries. Rhysida has been linked to several high-profile healthcare cyberattacks in recent years. Microsoft’s action marks one of the more significant proactive disruptions targeting healthcare-adjacent ransomware infrastructure, as the sector continues to rank among the most frequently attacked industries in the cybersecurity threat landscape.
Sources: Becker’s Hospital Review
Cleveland Clinic co-develops cardiac MRI AI model with 99% accuracy
Cleveland Clinic and Carnegie Mellon University have co-developed a cardiac MRI artificial intelligence model that achieves 99% accuracy for select conditions, outperforming general-purpose AI tools by more than 35% in certain scenarios. The model was trained on more than 13,000 de-identified patient studies from Cleveland Clinic — encompassing over one million images — and supports natural language prompts for case retrieval. The research has been published in Nature Communications. The findings demonstrate how domain-specific models trained on curated, institution-level clinical datasets can produce measurably superior diagnostic performance compared to broader, generalized AI approaches.
Sources: Becker’s Hospital Review
Staff mistakes plague healthcare cybersecurity: Verizon report
Healthcare recorded 1,438 breaches in Verizon’s 2026 Data Breach Investigations Report — covering November 2024 through October 2025 — with human error driving 54% of incidents. System intrusion, miscellaneous errors, and social engineering together accounted for 81% of breaches. Staff-level mistakes — including misdelivery of records, physical loss of devices, and system misconfiguration — topped the error categories. External threat actors were responsible for 81% of incidents, nearly all financially motivated (99%), and 32% of attacks traced back to third-party vendors. The findings underscore longstanding vulnerabilities in healthcare’s operational security posture, particularly as workforce turnover and complex vendor ecosystems continue to expand the attack surface.
Sources: Becker’s Hospital Review
Health systems strengthen IT workforces with long-term investments
Health systems are shifting from reactive hiring to sustained investment in technology workforce development as digital transformation accelerates. In one notable example, Care New England partnered with Rhode Island College to train professionals in cybersecurity, AI, and Epic EHR systems — reflecting a broader trend of academic–health system collaboration. Organizations are expanding AI leadership roles and building internal expertise pipelines to meet growing demand. However, smaller and rural systems struggle to compete against higher-paying tech-sector employers. As AI and cybersecurity become inseparable from care delivery strategy, industry analysts note that workforce development is increasingly treated as a long-term competitive imperative, not merely a staffing response.
Sources: Becker’s Hospital Review
MetroHealth to roll out 500 smart rooms
Cleveland’s MetroHealth System plans to deploy Artisight’s smart room platform across 500 patient rooms at five facilities over the next two years. The technology — encompassing virtual nursing, virtual sitting, AI-powered fall monitoring, and voice-command capabilities — will roll out at MetroHealth’s new Glick Center and hospitals in Brecksville, Cleveland Heights, Parma, and an Old Brooklyn rehabilitation institute. The public safety-net health system cited staffing efficiency, cost reduction, fall rate improvements, and enhanced HCAHPS scores as key selection criteria. The deployment signals growing institutional adoption of AI-powered ambient care tools as hospitals navigate ongoing workforce shortages and patient safety priorities.
Sources: Becker’s Hospital Review
St. Joseph’s saves $7.2M with Oracle Health: 4 notes
Paterson, New Jersey-based St. Joseph’s Health has saved $7.2 million through a blood management program embedded in its Oracle Health EHR. An Oracle case study covering May 2020 through January 2026 found the system administered 7,690 fewer red blood cell transfusions and 1,365 fewer platelet transfusions over 45 months. The EHR tool automatically surfaces near-real-time lab results and prompts clinicians with evidence-based guidelines before ordering blood products. Direct cost savings totaled $2.7 million, with total savings reaching $7.2 million when accounting for associated transfusion costs. St. Joseph’s chief medical information officer called the results a model for aligning clinical workflows with the latest evidence.
Sources: Becker’s Hospital Review
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