Samwise Healthcare IT Newsletter
Thursday, July 23, 2026
Epic loses three senior leaders as president and two R&D executives announce departures
Epic Systems will lose three senior leaders in the coming weeks, including President Sumit Rana, whose departure is scheduled for August 14, and Seth Hain, the company’s senior vice president of research and development and its most prominent face on artificial intelligence initiatives. A third executive, R&D leader Dave Fuhrmann, is also departing, according to a STAT News report. Epic founder and CEO Judy Faulkner, 82, said she has no near-term plans to retire. The company said four existing leaders — including EVP Seth Howard and SVP Garrett Adams — will absorb expanded responsibilities, with no external replacements announced.
Digital Medicine Society launches AI governance initiative with 30 health organizations
The Digital Medicine Society has launched a new initiative to develop practical AI governance tools for healthcare organizations, responding to research showing 82% of health systems have little or no AI oversight in place. Named “Operationalizing AI Governance in Healthcare,” the effort involves 30 participating organizations and is sponsored by Qualified Health. DiMe CEO Jennifer Goldsack said the initiative will produce its first governance resources within two months, with a complete toolkit expected by year-end. Partners include Mass General Brigham, Stanford Health, UPMC, the American Psychiatric Association and Intel. The FDA is serving as a collaborative partner.
Sources: Healthcare IT News Share ↗ ✉︎ Email 💬 Text
Samsung launches Health Assistant AI beta in US with physician-validated wellness guidance
Samsung has begun rolling out a beta version of its AI-powered Health Assistant to eligible U.S. users through the Samsung Health app, extending the company’s push into personalized digital health. The assistant, validated by physicians and certified health coaches, organizes guidance around five core pillars: sleep, activity, nutrition, mindfulness and vitals monitoring. The launch builds on Samsung’s acquisition of Xealth, a clinical digital health platform, and includes partnerships with Lark Health and Neuroscape for condition-specific coaching capabilities. Samsung said the Health Assistant is designed to provide continuous, personalized support between clinical encounters rather than replacing in-person care.
Sources: Fierce Healthcare Share ↗ ✉︎ Email 💬 Text
Candid Health raises $120M Series D as AI revenue cycle management valuation triples
Candid Health has raised $120 million in a Series D funding round led by Sixth Street Growth, with participation from Oak HC/FT, 8VC and Y Combinator. The company’s valuation tripled compared to its February 2025 Series C, which raised $52 million just five months earlier, signaling strong investor confidence in AI-driven revenue cycle management. Candid Health’s platform continuously validates and corrects insurance billing data, with the goal of reducing claim denials and administrative costs for health systems. The round puts Candid Health among the most well-funded startups competing in a market that includes Commure, recently valued at $7 billion.
Sources: MobiHealthNews Share ↗ ✉︎ Email 💬 Text
ApolloMD agrees to pay $4.02M to settle class action over Qilin ransomware breach
ApolloMD, a healthcare revenue cycle management company, has agreed to pay approximately $4.02 million to settle a proposed class action lawsuit arising from a May 2025 data breach conducted by the Qilin ransomware group. The attack allegedly exposed the records of roughly 627,000 patients and drew HIPAA-related scrutiny of ApolloMD’s cybersecurity protocols. The settlement carries no admission of wrongdoing. The outcome reflects mounting legal exposure for healthcare organizations that suffer ransomware incidents, as plaintiffs increasingly pursue class actions when sensitive patient data is compromised and restitution is sought for affected individuals.
Sources: BankInfoSecurity Share ↗ ✉︎ Email 💬 Text
Accenture: Health systems must rebuild telemedicine around FHIR-based EHR ecosystems
Health systems must stop treating telemedicine as a bolt-on technology and rebuild virtual care as part of a FHIR-based, AI-enabled interoperable ecosystem, according to Accenture clinical practice lead Asher Perzigian. Writing in Healthcare IT News, Perzigian argues that COVID-era decisions to deploy separate telehealth platforms with minimal EHR integration created fragmented workflows that now limit AI adoption and clinical coherence. He advises CIOs to require open APIs and FHIR compliance in all technology contracts, invest in shared integration infrastructure before adding applications, and measure digital health tools by patient outcomes rather than project completion. Video technology itself, he argues, is becoming commoditized; competitive advantage will come from interoperability.
Sources: Healthcare IT News Share ↗ ✉︎ Email 💬 Text
Hilo by Aktiia launches US blood pressure wearable with $19M Series B extension
Hilo by Aktiia has launched its Hilo Core blood pressure tracking system in the United States and announced a $19 million extension to its Series B round, bringing total funding to more than $119 million. The system combines a wristband using optical sensors to estimate blood pressure with an FDA-cleared upper-arm cuff for periodic calibration, generating 30 to 35 readings per day including overnight. CEO Stefan Petzinger said the product helps users observe how blood pressure patterns correlate with sleep, activity and other lifestyle factors. The wristband is positioned as a wellness tool and has not received FDA clearance for diagnostic use.
Sources: MobiHealthNews Share ↗ ✉︎ Email 💬 Text
Curated by JD · samwise.agency
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