Samwise Healthcare IT Newsletter
Saturday, May 30, 2026
Coalition for Health AI Releases Eight-Element Governance Playbook for Health Systems
The Coalition for Health AI released a comprehensive AI governance playbook May 29 outlining eight elements health systems should implement to deploy artificial intelligence responsibly. The framework covers organizational AI policy, governance structure, resources, responsible AI lifecycle management, risk and impact assessments, data stewardship, third-party vendor management, and staff education and feedback systems. CHAI, whose members include health systems, universities, and technology companies, designed the guidance to give organizations a common operating language while preserving flexibility for each system to adapt governance to its own mission, risk tolerance, and operational maturity. The playbook comes as health system AI deployments accelerate rapidly across the industry.
Sources: Becker’s Health IT
House Republicans Urge FBI to Take Aggressive Action Against Hospital Hackers
House Republican leaders sent a letter May 28 to FBI Director Kash Patel urging aggressive federal action against cybercriminal groups targeting the healthcare industry. Led by Rep. Troy Nehls, the lawmakers cited a sharp rise in ransomware attacks and data breaches that jeopardize patient safety and cost hospitals millions. The letter calls for continued public-private collaboration, streamlined incident reporting, and guidance that allows hospitals of all sizes to participate in information-sharing programs without undue compliance burdens. The congressional push comes amid intensifying scrutiny of how federal law enforcement responds to healthcare cyberattacks and rising concern from hospital executives about the level of federal support available.
Sources: Becker’s Health IT
Health-ISAC: Agentic AI Is Rapidly Expanding the Healthcare Cyberattack Surface
Healthcare cybersecurity risks are expanding beyond networks and data to include employee decisions and autonomous AI agents, according to a May 26 Health Information Sharing and Analysis Center report. Staff mistakes continue to drive a disproportionate share of healthcare data breaches — aligned with recent Verizon research — and Health-ISAC recommends a human risk management maturity model covering workforce engagement and leadership alignment. The report also flags risks from agentic AI operating outside organizational walls; advanced autonomous AI models have demonstrated the ability to conduct cyberattacks independently. Health system leaders are calling for deeper collaboration with AI developers to manage the growing threat.
Sources: Becker’s Health IT
UCHealth Embedded Research Into Live Abridge AI Scribe Rollout for 250 Clinicians
Aurora, Colo.-based UCHealth and the University of Colorado embedded a research study directly into the live rollout of Abridge’s AI ambient documentation tool, tracking 250 ambulatory clinicians in real time without halting operations. Chief Medical Information Officer CT Lin described the approach as studying a live deployment without breaking it, combining Epic EHR log data with physician satisfaction metrics. The team adapted study design on the fly based on operational feedback, maintaining both rigor and care quality. UCHealth has since expanded Abridge to approximately 3,000 clinicians. The research, detailed in a May 27 blog post, offers a replicable model for AI efficacy studies at scale.
Sources: Becker’s Health IT
Mayo Clinic Challenged Its Nurses to Design AI Agents — Over 450 Entered
Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic challenged its nursing staff to design largely autonomous AI agents, receiving more than 450 entries with 33 advancing to the finalist round. Finalists are working with Microsoft to build and refine their proposed solutions. Chief Nursing Officer Ryannon Frederick, RN, said the health system has a ‘for nurses, by nurses’ approach and that nurses are ‘closest to the work.’ Proposals addressed challenges including EHR searches, staffing and scheduling, and administrative overload. One finalist concept helps nurses locate policies and procedures on the fly using an AI agent. Winners will be voted on by the entire nursing department.
Sources: Becker’s Health IT
Kaiser Permanente Ventures Joins $100M Series E Funding Round for Garner Health
Oakland, Calif.-based Kaiser Permanente Ventures has joined a $100 million Series E funding round for Garner Health, a care navigation startup that uses a proprietary dataset of more than 60 billion medical records to score and rank physicians on clinical quality. The platform partners with employers to financially incentivize workers to seek care from high-performing providers. Garner Health said its annual revenue is approximately $200 million, which has more than doubled for five consecutive years. The company’s valuation reached $2.74 billion. Health system partners include Chesterfield, Mo.-based Mercy and Morristown, N.J.-based Atlantic Health. The funding was announced in a May 29 news release.
Sources: Becker’s Health IT
Teladoc Joins Walmart Better Care Services With Urgent Care, Dermatology, and Nutrition
Teladoc Health is expanding its virtual care services through Walmart’s Better Care Services platform, giving millions of shoppers access to 24/7 urgent care, dermatology consultations, and nutrition counseling. Patients can use insurance or pay $89 cash per visit, with prescriptions routed directly to Walmart pharmacies, including same-day delivery in select locations. The urgent care service covers common conditions such as UTIs and sinus infections; dermatology consultations use photo uploads reviewed within 24 hours. The partnership builds on Walmart’s January addition of BetterHelp mental health services to its digital health platform and reflects the retailer’s continued push to become a consumer healthcare destination.
Sources: Becker’s Health IT
Georgia’s Tanner Health Deploys AI Platform for Frontline Workforce Career Support
Carrollton, Ga.-based Tanner Health has deployed an AI-powered workforce and HR support platform designed to provide frontline employees with personalized career guidance at scale. The system uses AI-enabled intake tools to prepare counseling materials and generate follow-up plans, which human counselors then review and approve. It integrates data across HR, scheduling, credentialing, and learning management platforms, creating a unified view of each employee’s profile. The technology is also intended to help health systems navigate AI-driven job transformation by updating skill profiles and connecting workers to learning resources and adjacent roles, reflecting a growing trend toward AI-assisted workforce development in healthcare.
Sources: Becker’s Health IT
Curated by JD · samwise.agency