Samwise Healthcare IT Newsletter
Saturday, August 15, 2026
Epic Launches Diagnostic Image Exchange Using FHIR and DICOMweb
Epic has made its Care Everywhere Diagnostic Image Exchange widely available, enabling health systems to share full diagnostic-quality CT, X-ray, and MRI images using FHIR and DICOMweb open standards. The feature is designed to eliminate redundant imaging—Epic’s existing duplicate-order checks had already prevented more than 21,000 repeat scans annually. Matt Doyle, Epic’s director of interoperability, said the tool puts clinical context directly in front of ordering providers. More than 90 percent of Epic users are live or implementing TEFCA, through which more than one billion patient records have already been exchanged under the framework.
Sources: Healthcare IT News
Sentara Embeds MRSA Risk Score in Epic EHR, Cutting Infections by 45%
Sentara Health has embedded a predictive MRSA risk score into its Epic EHR, triggering same-day decontamination protocols for high-risk patients admitted to intensive care or surgical units. Patients scoring six or higher automatically receive daily chlorhexidine gluconate baths and povidone iodine nasal swabs. Risk factors assessed include prior MRSA history, renal dialysis, diabetes, homelessness, and recent incarceration. Since implementation, hospital-onset MRSA bacteremia fell from 53 cases in 2022 to 29 cases in 2023—a roughly 45 percent reduction. Jill Marciano, Sentara’s senior IT specialty analyst, estimated annual cost avoidance at $120,000 to $384,000, with long-term savings approaching $2 million.
Sources: Healthcare IT News
Coalition for Health AI Launches Cybersecurity Work Group to Counter Advanced AI Threats
The Coalition for Health AI has launched a Health AI Cybersecurity Work Group, convening roughly 100 healthcare security leaders to address threats posed by increasingly capable AI models. The group will meet biweekly and aims to release three deliverables by end of 2026: an AI cyber risk assessment tool, a defensive playbook, and an offensive playbook. The initiative comes as healthcare organizations remediated only 6 percent of identified cyber risks in the first quarter of 2026, down from 23 percent in the same period a year earlier, according to Fortified Health Security. CHAI CEO Brian Anderson and Censinet CEO Ed Gaudet are among its principal organizers.
Sources: Healthcare IT News
New CHAIRS Council Presses Health Systems to Monitor AI After Go-Live
A new Council for Healthcare AI Responsibility and Safety, known as CHAIRS, is pressing health systems to extend AI oversight beyond the initial deployment decision. Waleed Mohsen, cofounder of Verbal AI Technologies and CHAIRS secretariat, argues that AI tools are rigorously evaluated before go-live but rarely monitored once interacting with patients at scale. CHAIRS’ inaugural report, “The Adherence Gap,” surveyed 30 healthcare organizations and found roughly 70 percent audited patient interactions monthly or less, 18 percent had no formal quality assurance program for virtual visits, and 96 percent relied on clinician notes rather than actual interaction records.
Sources: Healthcare IT News
Vanderbilt Health Notifies 3,298 Patients After Employee Email Phishing Breach
Vanderbilt Health is notifying 3,298 patients that protected health information may have been exposed following a phishing attack on an employee’s email account in March 2026. An unauthorized individual gained access on March 23 after the employee clicked a malicious link and may have viewed patient names, medical record numbers, admission and discharge dates, diagnoses and procedures, and provider and facility names. No Social Security numbers or financial information were involved, and the incident did not affect the electronic medical record system. Vanderbilt has reported the breach to HHS and is offering complimentary credit monitoring while enhancing email security and employee training.
Sources: Becker’s Hospital Review
AnMed Restores MyChart Access 17 Days After Malware Disrupted South Carolina Health System
Anderson, S.C.-based AnMed has partially restored MyChart patient portal access, 17 days after malware knocked out phones, internet, and computer systems across its South Carolina and Georgia network on July 26. Patients with active accounts and a mobile number on file can log in using a one-time verification code sent via text—without clicking any links or sharing additional personal information. Care teams regained full electronic health record read and write access on August 11, and patients can again reach physicians’ offices directly by phone. Not all MyChart features have been restored, and AnMed’s investigation into the incident remains ongoing.
Sources: Becker’s Hospital Review
KFF Analysis Reveals Wide Variation in Prior Authorization Denial Rates Across Insurers
A KFF analysis of the first mandatory federal prior authorization disclosure data reveals striking variation in insurer denial rates. Medicare Advantage plans denied an average of 12 percent of requests, Medicaid managed care organizations 14 percent, and ACA marketplace plans 18 percent. Individual plan denial rates ranged from 5 percent at Elevance’s Medicare Advantage to 25 percent at Centene’s marketplace plans. Two-thirds of Medicare Advantage appeals were successful, but very few patients actually appeal their denials. A 2024 CMS rule first required insurers to publicly disclose prior authorization metrics, making this comparative dataset from 2025 reporting possible for the first time.
Sources: Healthcare Dive
Epic UGM 2026 Preview: AI Agents, Cosmos Predictions, and Charité’s Germany Debut
Epic will host more than 20,000 in-person attendees at its 2026 Users Group Meeting in Verona, Wis., beginning August 18, with the General Session expected to draw over 60,000 total viewers. CEO Judy Faulkner will headline the conference, spotlighting Curiosity—an AI tool within Epic’s Cosmos research platform that answers population health questions and predicts individual patient risk—along with expanded Healthcare Intelligence analytics and Agent Factory, Epic’s platform for building autonomous AI agents. Charité, a Berlin academic medical center, will debut as the first Epic organization in Germany. In June alone, 914 million records were exchanged over Epic’s Care Everywhere network.
Sources: Becker’s Hospital Review
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