Samwise Healthcare IT Newsletter
Friday, July 24, 2026
HHS Convenes Experts on Standards for Clinical AI
The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, the Food and Drug Administration, and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology are convening experts to discuss the benchmarking and evaluation of clinical artificial intelligence, with the stated goal of arriving at “a consensus set of principles,” according to STAT News. The Department of Health and Human Services is co-organizing the effort. The initiative is structured as a one-month sprint divided into a written phase and a discussion phase, with invitations issued to participate in the expert group.
Healthcare Data Breaches Climb to 281 in First Half of 2026
Healthcare data breaches climbed to 281 in the first half of 2026, up from 270 in the same period last year, per the Identity Theft Resource Center’s H1 2026 Data Breach Report. Healthcare ranked second among all industries, trailing only financial services at 387. The U.S. recorded 1,803 total compromises in H1 2026, affecting an estimated 471.2 million individuals — already surpassing all of 2025’s 297.5 million victim notices. Healthcare’s victim count reached 11.7 million. The ITRC flagged 21 malicious insider incidents in H1 2026, more than seven times 2025’s full-year total of three, tied to tech-sector layoffs and North Korean operatives posing as remote IT workers.
Sources: Becker’s Hospital Review Share ↗ ✉︎ Email 💬 Text
Ardent Health Surpasses 1 Million Patient Encounters with Ambient AI
Brentwood, Tenn.-based Ardent Health has surpassed 1 million patient encounters supported by Ambience Healthcare’s ambient AI. Affiliated clinicians now use the tool in 87% of ambulatory encounters, well above the 40–45% industry benchmark, and providers are saving more than three hours per week in documentation time. The 1 millionth encounter was completed by Jennie Zheng, MD, a family medicine physician with UT Health East Texas in Tyler, Texas, who uses Ambience in 83% of her encounters and reduced documentation time by 53%, from 135 minutes to 64 minutes per eight-hour shift. Ardent, which has 30 acute care hospitals in six states, announced its systemwide Ambience deployment in September 2025.
Sources: Becker’s Hospital Review Share ↗ ✉︎ Email 💬 Text
Rhode Island and Hawaii Enact Healthcare AI Laws as Arizona Vetoes Similar Bill
Rhode Island and Hawaii enacted new AI healthcare laws in June and July, while Arizona’s governor vetoed a similar measure. Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee signed two bills on June 22 requiring chatbots to detect suicidal ideation, disclose non-human status at the start of every session, and bar AI from independently providing or advertising therapy services. Hawaii Gov. Josh Green signed SB 3001 on July 14, establishing comparable disclosure and self-harm response requirements. Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs vetoed HB 2311 on June 19, which would have imposed similar chatbot disclosure rules and limited enforcement to the attorney general’s office.
Sources: Becker’s Hospital Review Share ↗ ✉︎ Email 💬 Text
OpenAI Expands ChatGPT Health to All Eligible U.S. Users
OpenAI has expanded ChatGPT Health to all eligible U.S. users age 18 and older on web and iOS across its Free, Go, Plus, and Pro plans. The feature lets users securely connect Apple Health data and supported medical records from U.S. hospital systems, One Medical, or Function Health. With permission, ChatGPT draws on that information across any conversation, not just within a dedicated Health tab. In an early test, more than 70% of health-related conversations occurred outside the Health space. Connected medical records and Apple Health data are not used to train OpenAI’s models or target ads, and data is deleted from OpenAI’s systems within 30 days.
Sources: Becker’s Hospital Review Share ↗ ✉︎ Email 💬 Text
Teladoc Health Launches Teladoc One Whole-Person Virtual Care Model
Teladoc Health launched Teladoc One, a virtual care model designed to replace fragmented, condition-by-condition care with a single adaptive experience. Built drawing on more than 100 million virtual visits, the model uses Teladoc’s Pulse intelligence engine to pair a member’s clinical history with claims, pharmacy, device, and medical record data. Each patient is supported by a multidisciplinary team of clinicians, health coaches, dietitians, mental health therapists, a human care guide, and AI support. Teladoc is tying its fee payments fully to clinical outcome metrics and total cost of care improvement. Programs will launch with select clients in September 2026, targeting cardiometabolic populations first, with broader availability in January 2027.
Sources: Becker’s Hospital Review Share ↗ ✉︎ Email 💬 Text
Global Healthcare IT Market Projected to Reach $961.26 Billion by 2030
The global healthcare IT market is projected to grow from $480.49 billion in 2025 to $961.26 billion by 2030, a compound annual growth rate of 14.9%, according to a Research and Markets forecast. Key drivers include EHR adoption, government support for digital health, and demand for patient-centric care. Telehealth solutions are expected to remain the largest clinical healthcare IT segment. Healthcare providers represented the largest end-user segment in 2024 and are projected to record the highest growth rate. Asia Pacific is forecast to register the highest CAGR during the forecast period. Key players include Optum, Oracle, Philips, Cognizant, and GE Healthcare.
Sources: GlobeNewsWire Share ↗ ✉︎ Email 💬 Text
Curated by JD · samwise.agency