Samwise Healthcare IT Newsletter
Thursday, October 8, 2026
Oracle Health Cerner Breach Tally Climbs to About 20 Million Patients
The number of patients affected by a 2025 hacking incident involving legacy Cerner servers has climbed to about 20 million, Information Security Media Group reported Wednesday. Bloomberg reported Monday that the Texas attorney general’s office released information showing the breach compromised health and personal information of 20 million people, including nearly 3 million Texans. As of Wednesday, the HHS breach reporting website still listed a placeholder estimate of 501 patients. Exposed data included names, Social Security numbers, diagnoses, medicines and test results. Researchers at Blackfog said a threat actor used stolen credentials to access servers not yet migrated to Oracle Cloud. Oracle faces several proposed federal class action lawsuits.
Sources: GovInfoSecurity
Anthropic Opens Tiered Access to Mythos-Class Cyber Models for Regional Hospitals
Regional hospitals and other critical infrastructure operators can now apply for tiered access to Anthropic’s most capable cyber models, including Claude Mythos 5.1, Becker’s Hospital Review reported. The AI developer said Oct. 6 that its Cyber Verification Program is absorbing Project Glasswing, which had limited Mythos to a select group. The program now has three tiers: Defense Access for security operations and incident response, Red Team Access for authorized penetration testing, and Specialized Access for organizations testing systems such as power grids. Anthropic said Glasswing partners found at least 129,000 verified software vulnerabilities from April to July. Enrolled organizations must allow data retention so Anthropic can monitor for misuse.
Sources: Becker’s Hospital Review
Utah Grants Intermountain, U of Utah Health Expedited AI Pilot Review
Utah has approved umbrella agreements with Salt Lake City-based Intermountain Health and University of Utah Health that establish expedited review pathways for future healthcare AI pilots, Becker’s Hospital Review reported. Each pilot must still be individually vetted. The Utah Department of Commerce said Oct. 5 the agreements were among five approved by the Office of Artificial Intelligence Policy. Other approvals include Nolla Health for AI-assisted acne treatment pathways, Expect Fitness for AI-enabled pelvic health physical therapy and August AI for chronic disease prescription refills requiring physician review. Participants must disclose AI use to patients. Six independent evaluators will assess technical claims and alignment with medical standards.
Sources: Becker’s Hospital Review
AHRQ Launches $7.95M Prize Challenge to Speed Evidence Reviews with AI
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality launched a $7.95 million prize initiative Oct. 7 aimed at using AI to speed medical evidence reviews and expand use of federal healthcare data. Called the Super Intelligence for Healthcare Improvement Initiative, it includes two competitions. The Clinical Evidence Synthesis Transformation Challenge offers up to $5.85 million, including a $5.35 million grand prize, for tools that could cut evidence evaluation from a year or more to hours. A second tech sprint will use AHRQ’s cost, utilization and quality databases to develop applications. Phase 1 submissions for the evidence challenge are due March 12, 2027; tech sprint submissions are due Sept. 9, 2027.
Sources: Becker’s Hospital Review
Teladoc Adds Ambient AI Scribe and Contactless Vitals Monitoring to Hospital Platform
Teladoc Health announced Wednesday it is adding artificial intelligence capabilities to Solo, its virtual care platform for hospitals and health systems, Healthcare Dive reported. SoloScribe, an ambient AI documentation feature, records and transcribes in-person and virtual visits to create clinical notes and is available now. SoloVitals tracks patients’ heart and respiratory rates without touching them by analyzing changes in facial skin color captured by camera; it is in private preview with select customers and expected to be released broadly in December. The additions come after Teladoc reported a $200.3 million net loss in 2025 and lowered its 2026 revenue outlook in July.
Sources: Healthcare Dive
Datavant Adds ID.me Identity Verification to Medical Records Requests
Health data sharing company Datavant has integrated ID.me’s identity verification technology into its Patient Request Tool, which lets individuals request and receive medical records electronically, MobiHealthNews reported Wednesday. The companies said the integration will help healthcare organizations confirm that records reach the correct person while reducing delays associated with manual identity reviews. Patients who already hold an ID.me credential can reuse their existing account. Wes Turbeville, senior vice president of federal and healthcare at ID.me, said approximately 73% of patients using ID.me through the tool are already credentialed. Alya Sulaiman, Datavant’s chief privacy officer, called the integration an important step toward faster, more secure access.
Sources: MobiHealthNews
University Hospitals Links Real-Time EMS Data with Epic in Ohio First
Cleveland-based University Hospitals has expanded its partnership with ESO to bring prehospital intelligence capabilities to fire departments and EMS agencies transporting patients to its facilities, according to an Oct. 7 news release reported by Becker’s Hospital Review. The implementation is the first of its kind in Ohio and builds on ESO Health Data Exchange, which has connected UH’s 21 hospitals with more than 300 agencies across 16 counties since July 2025. The platform connects prehospital clinical data with Epic and returns encounter data to EMS teams. ESO’s prearrival indicators will surface estimated acuity, likelihood of admission, anticipated resource needs and expected length of stay.
Sources: Becker’s Hospital Review
Vitalize Raises $31M for AI Hospital Staffing Platform
San Francisco-based Vitalize, an AI platform for hospital staffing and capacity management, announced $31 million in Series A funding led by Oak HC/FT, MobiHealthNews reported Wednesday. Norwest, .406 Ventures, Y Combinator, Rock Health Capital and MemorialCare Innovation Fund also participated. The company will expand its growth and deployment teams and develop AI models to improve patient flow. Its platform combines staffing, scheduling, patient flow and capacity management and integrates with electronic medical record, timekeeping and payroll systems. In Vitalize’s announcement, St. Luke’s Health reported a 54% reduction in overtime and agency labor spending after 12 weeks, and Rochester Regional Health reported 50% less manual staffing time.
Sources: MobiHealthNews
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