News Briefs
Physicians Seeing Major Benefits to Using Ambient AI Scribes
Ambient AI scribes are being hailed by physicians as a game changer that helps free them to focus on their patients rather than their computer keyboard. By releasing doctors from the onerous and time-consuming task of documenting what happens during every patient encounter, early studies show, AI scribes may help reduce physician burnout and after-hours "pajama time" catching up on work in the evening.
(Source: KFF Health News, 2026-01-27)
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Report Says Cyberthreats Aimed More at Patient Extortion
Today's cyberthreat actors are moving away from simple encryption methods and toward individual patient extortion, service disruptions, and affiliate models, Trellix said in a new threat intelligence report. Trellix based its report on 54.7 million detections across multiple Trellix security products installed in healthcare settings and found about 75 percent of the detections originated from U.S.-based customers, highlighting the aggressive targeting of U.S. healthcare organizations.
(Source: TechTarget, 2026-01-28)
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DOL Proposes Rule to Make PBM Compensation More Transparent
The U.S. Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration issued a proposed rule aimed at increasing transparency around fees and compensation collected by pharmacy benefit managers. The move, which follows a directive under President Donald Trump's executive order on lowering drug prices, seeks to clarify PBM business practices that affect employer-sponsored health plans covering millions of Americans.
(Source: Reuters, 2026-01-29)
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Health Systems Seek Stronger Oversight of Data Sharing Networks
More than 75 health systems sent a letter to federal officials calling for stronger oversight of nationwide data sharing networks, flagging issues with "bad actors" gaining access to patients' medical information. The health systems, including AdventHealth, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, The MetroHealth System, NYU Langone, UMass Memorial Health, Stanford Health Care, and Sutter Health, are calling for more centralized oversight and governance for the nationwide health data exchange frameworks, including the Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement (TEFCA) and Carequality.
(Source: FierceHealthcare, 2026-01-29)
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FTC to Address Physician Noncompetes, But Won't Seek Blanket Ban
Physicians described how restrictive noncompete agreements have hurt their careers and their patients during an online workshop hosted by the Federal Trade Commission. FTC Chair Andrew Ferguson said the agency plans to address anticompetitive noncompete agreements, while at the same time making it clear that the FTC had no interest in pursuing a blanket ban -- something the Biden administration tried and failed to implement.
(Source: MedPage Today, 2026-01-29)
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Patients Discouraged Over Electronic Health Record Usage
Patients aren't frustrated with just the cost of healthcare; they're tired of the technology, as well. According to a recent survey of 1,000 people with medical conditions by Software Finder, more than 60 percent of those surveyed have given up trying to find something in their patient portal, spending an average of 20 minutes trying to navigate through the platform.
(Source: HealthLeaders Media, 2026-02-02)
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Change in Title Could Give Physician Assistants a Bigger Role
In Oregon, New Hampshire, and Maine, P.A. now means "physician associate," and other states may follow this year. "Assistant" versus "associate" might sound like a trivial semantic debate, but to many practitioners, and to the American Academy of Physician Associates (which changed its own name in 2021), it's an important part of the expanding role of P.A.s in healthcare.
(Source: The New York Times, 2026-01-31)
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CMS Seeks to Incentivize Hospitals to Buy U.S. Medical Supplies
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is looking at ways it could incentivize hospitals to purchase supplies and medications made in the U.S. -- including via a potential new "Secure American Medical Supplies" designation within the Medicare program. The agency put out the call for public feedback, inviting stakeholders to weigh in on how such a designation "could facilitate the creation of new, streamlined payment policies to support hospitals in their efforts," according to an advance notice of proposed rulemaking.
(Source: FierceHealthcare, 2026-01-30)
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Aging Doctors Have Some Health Organizations Requiring Screening
In 2005, more than 11 percent of doctors who were seeing patients were 65 or older, the American Medical Association said, and last year the proportion reached 22.4 percent, nearly 203,000 older practitioners. A few health organizations have responded by establishing late-career practitioner programs mandating that older doctors be screened for cognitive and physical deficits.
(Source: The New York Times, 2026-01-31)
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2025 Healthcare Bankruptcies Declined, But Hospitals' Rose
Healthcare bankruptcies declined in 2025, even as the sector faces financial headwinds on the horizon, according to an analysis by restructuring advisory firm Gibbins Advisors. The industry recorded 45 bankruptcy filings for debtors with liabilities of at least $10 million last year, down 21 percent from 2024 -- and a steep drop from the 79 cases logged in 2023. But hospital bankruptcies rose.
(Source: Healthcare Dive, 2026-02-02)
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Digital Health Startups Raised Record $14.2 Billion in 2025
Unstable market conditions didn’t deter U.S. digital health startups from delivering a funding rebound in 2025 that exceeded expectations and reached levels not seen since the post-pandemic boom, according to a report by Rock Health. Annual funding for digital health startups reached $14.2 billion last year, representing a 35 percent increase over 2024's $10.5 billion and marking the highest total tracked by the venture fund and advisory firm since 2022.
(Source: HealthLeaders Media, 2026-01-27)
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