Samwise Healthcare IT Newsletter
Friday, August 14, 2026
New Healthcare AI Council Prioritizes Governance Beyond Go-Live
A new healthcare AI oversight body launched this week with a focus on the period after AI systems go live, when monitoring largely stops. The Council for Healthcare AI Responsibility and Safety, or CHAIRS, published a report finding that 70% of organizations audited their AI systems monthly or less frequently. None audited more than 5% of AI interactions, and 96% relied on staff notes rather than transcripts. The group, led by Waleed Mohsen of Verbal AI Technologies, plans to develop post-deployment governance standards. The report, titled “The Adherence Gap,” surveyed 30 healthcare organizations on their AI oversight practices.
Sources: Healthcare IT News
Epic Launches Tool to Share Diagnostic Images Between Hospitals
Epic has launched a tool enabling hospitals within its network to share full-quality diagnostic images — including CT scans, X-rays and MRIs — directly through its Care Everywhere interoperability framework. The feature uses open image-exchange standards and is immediately available to Epic customers. The launch could prevent more than 21,000 redundant imaging studies each year. The announcement came as Epic revealed that its Care Everywhere platform exchanged 914 million patient records in June 2026, and as the company continues pushing TEFCA adoption ahead of its annual Users Group Meeting next week.
Sources: Becker’s Hospital Review
CHAI Forms Health AI Cybersecurity Work Group
The Coalition for Health AI launched a dedicated cybersecurity work group Wednesday, drawing roughly 100 leaders from across the healthcare sector to address emerging threats from frontier AI models. The group plans biweekly meetings and aims to release AI-specific cyber risk assessment tools and response playbooks by the end of 2026. Organizers cited Anthropic’s recent release of new frontier models as a catalyst for the effort. A Q1 2026 analysis found U.S. hospitals had addressed only 6% of identified cyber risks. CHAI said it intends to provide practical, operationally focused guidance tailored specifically to healthcare organizations.
Sources: Healthcare IT News
Fifth Circuit Strikes Down No Surprises Act QPA Methodology
A federal appeals court struck down the government’s benchmark-payment methodology under the No Surprises Act, ruling that federal regulators improperly excluded so-called ghost rates and bonus payments from the qualified payment amount calculation. The Fifth Circuit’s ruling overturns the formula and gives providers — who currently win roughly 85% of arbitration disputes — another significant legal victory. The Trump administration said it is “actively working to clean up” the arbitration process. Insurers are expected to pass increased costs to consumers through higher premiums. The decision extends years of litigation over the 2022 law’s mechanism for resolving payment disputes.
Sources: Healthcare Dive
Epic’s UGM 2026 Preview: AI Agents, Cosmos, Germany Debut
Epic expects more than 20,000 attendees at its annual Users Group Meeting, which runs August 18 to 22 in Verona, Wisconsin. The company previewed new AI capabilities including Curiosity AI, Healthcare Intelligence and a new Agent Factory for building custom clinical AI agents. The August 18 general session is expected to center on those advances. Also revealed: Charité Berlin, one of Europe’s largest academic medical centers, will debut as the first Epic site in Germany. Epic separately noted that its Care Everywhere platform exchanged 914 million patient records in June 2026.
Sources: Becker’s Hospital Review
OpenAI Foundation Commits $100M to Boost Hepatitis C Cure Rates
The OpenAI Foundation committed $100 million Wednesday to the Common Health Coalition to fund a national initiative using generative AI to identify and reconnect hepatitis C patients who have fallen out of care. The program, called Breakthroughs to Follow-Through, will launch in Alabama, Illinois, Louisiana and Massachusetts, with eight states expected to participate within six months. The goal is to at least double cure rates in participating jurisdictions over two years. AI tools will synthesize patient records and automate administrative tasks, directing staff toward patients most likely to benefit. About two-thirds of Americans with hepatitis C remain untreated despite oral antivirals that cure more than 95% of cases.
Sources: MobiHealthNews
Illinois Critical Access Hospital Network Wins $50M for Rural Tech Modernization
The Illinois Critical Access Hospital Network secured more than $50 million in federal grants to modernize rural healthcare across the state, with the bulk of funding earmarked for technology investment including cybersecurity, telehealth expansion, EHR optimization, automation and artificial intelligence. The organization, ICAHN, will distribute funds to up to 78 rural hospitals under Illinois’s portion of the federal $50 billion Rural Health Transformation Program. Of the total, $31 million goes to technology transformation, $14 million to disease prevention and chronic disease programs, and $5 million to workforce expansion. Digital readiness assessments will precede all technology investments. The agreements run through June 2027.
Sources: MobiHealthNews
Flagler Health Raises $50M for AI Musculoskeletal Platform
Flagler Health, a New York startup building AI tools for musculoskeletal practices, raised $50 million in a Series B round led by Bessemer Venture Partners, bringing the company’s total funding to $63 million. The platform integrates with providers’ existing electronic medical record systems and operates in the background, coordinating triage, care management, billing and patient communications without requiring a separate login. The company said its technology is trained on one of the largest MSK patient datasets. SignalFire, Alumni Ventures and several other firms participated in the round. Flagler said it will use the capital to expand across MSK practices in the United States.
Sources: MobiHealthNews
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