Samwise Healthcare IT Newsletter
Sunday, April 12, 2026
Signature Healthcare Cyberattack Enters Week Two as Brockton Hospital Operates on Paper
A cyberattack discovered April 6 at Signature Healthcare — a southeastern Massachusetts health system centered on Brockton Hospital — continues disrupting patient care with no resolution in sight. Emergency departments diverted ambulances to South Shore Hospital and Boston Medical Center South, chemotherapy infusions were cancelled, and retail pharmacies in Brockton and East Bridgewater shuttered. As of April 11, clinical staff are working from paper records and cannot fill new prescription orders, a situation expected to persist for two weeks. The Anubis ransomware group claimed responsibility April 9, alleging it stole 2 terabytes of patient data without encrypting systems, though Signature Healthcare declined to confirm or deny ransom negotiations.
Sources: GovInfoSecurity · SecurityWeek · DataBreaches.net
Ransomware Hits ChipSoft, Disrupting EHR Services Across 80% of Dutch Hospitals
ChipSoft, the Dutch healthcare software vendor supplying electronic health records to approximately 80 percent of hospitals in the Netherlands, suffered a ransomware attack on April 7, forcing it to disable its Zorgportaal, HiX Mobile, and Zorgplatform services. Eleven hospitals disconnected their systems as a precaution, including nine among the heaviest ChipSoft users. The company confirmed a data incident involving possible unauthorized access to patient records. Z-CERT, the Dutch healthcare cybersecurity authority, advised all institutions connected to ChipSoft to sever VPN links and monitor network traffic closely. No group had claimed responsibility as of April 9, but the incident illustrates how vendor concentration amplifies systemic risk across national healthcare infrastructure.
Sources: The Register · The Record · Security Affairs
Epic Health Systems Pioneer TEFCA Link to Social Security Administration
Healthcare organizations running Epic’s EHR are now sharing patient medical records directly with the Social Security Administration through TEFCA, the federally governed national interoperability network. The first-wave connection — achieved by 13 hospitals and 374 clinics — replaces a months-long fax-driven process with near real-time data transfer that can accelerate disability benefit determinations by up to 50 percent. Pioneer health systems include AltaMed, Citizen Potawatomi Nation Health Services, Overlake Hospital Medical Center, Saint Francis Health System, and Valleywise Health. Epic customers have historically shared more than 11 million records with SSA through older exchange networks, supporting nearly 500,000 disability applicants in 2025 alone.
Sources: HIT Consultant · MedCity News
HHS Reinstates ONC, Ending Biden-Era ASTP Dual-Office Structure
The Department of Health and Human Services on March 31 reversed a Biden-era reorganization, dropping the dual ASTP/ONC title that had expanded the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT to encompass artificial intelligence, data, and cybersecurity functions. Those responsibilities now return to the HHS Office of the Chief Information Officer, while ONC refocuses on its original mandate: health IT policy, interoperability standards, and information blocking enforcement. Ongoing programs including TEFCA, the United States Core Data for Interoperability, and information blocking regulations remain fully intact. HHS described the restructuring as a move to better coordinate AI, data, and cybersecurity policy across the entire department.
Sources: Healthcare IT News · DistilINFO
CMS Launches Medicare App Library, Debuting First Vetted Digital Health Tools for Beneficiaries
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on April 9 unveiled the first cohort of its Medicare App Library, a vetted directory of patient-facing digital health tools intended to reduce market confusion for the program’s 67 million beneficiaries. Apps must meet six criteria for listing: identity verification, Medicare connectivity, HIPAA compliance, CMS review, trial access, and permission to be featured. The inaugural wave spans three categories: tools that eliminate manual check-in processes, conversational AI assistants for care management, and applications targeting diabetes and obesity management. CMS framed the initiative as a pillar of its Health Technology Ecosystem strategy, pushing the industry toward a more connected care model.
Sources: AHA News · Fierce Healthcare
JAMA Study: AI Scribes Cut EHR Time by 13 Minutes Daily, but Full Adoption Lags
A landmark study published in JAMA, co-led by researchers from Mass General Brigham and UCSF, tracked more than 1,800 clinicians across five U.S. health systems over two years and found that AI ambient scribes reduced daily EHR time by 13 minutes and clinical documentation time by 16 minutes — relative decreases of 3 percent and 10 percent, respectively. Clinicians who used scribes for over half their visits saw twice the EHR reduction and triple the documentation savings. Yet only 32 percent of adopters reached that threshold, and after-hours charting — so-called pajama time — did not improve significantly, raising questions about the technology’s realistic burnout-relief ceiling.
Sources: Healthcare Dive · HIT Consultant
UnitedHealth Group’s $1.5B AI Push Draws Scrutiny Over Patient Care Implications
UnitedHealth Group plans to invest approximately $1.5 billion in artificial intelligence and related technologies in 2026, deploying more than 1,000 active AI use cases across its Optum and UnitedHealthcare divisions. The company’s 22,000 software engineers now build with AI assistance, with over 80 percent using AI coding tools daily. Recent deployments include Avery, a generative AI companion allowing members to check claim status, understand benefits, and schedule appointments conversationally. Patient advocates and clinicians are pressing for transparency on how AI-driven claims processing affects coverage decisions — scrutiny that has intensified since CEO Brian Thompson was killed in December 2024.
Sources: STAT News · Fierce Healthcare
Curated by JD · samwise.agency