What You Should Know
The Shift: Wheel’s 2026 report, based on 1.4 million visits, reveals that the "land grab" phase of virtual care is over. Growth is no longer driven by first-time visits but by continuity. 69% of all visits on the platform now come from returning users.The Engine: Women’s health has emerged as the dominant growth engine, accounting for nearly half of all visits. Specifically, midlife care (perimenopause/menopause) is a critical gap that is driving high-frequency return
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Health IT | News, Analysis, Insights - HIT Consultant
Practice Makes Prepared: Why Simulated Threats Outperform Traditional Training in Healthcare
Healthcare organizations are fighting a cybersecurity battle that becomes more complex every year. Phishing emails are now crafted with AI-driven precision. Text-based “smishing” scams are being increasingly used to impersonate hospital leadership or credentialing staff. Phone-based “vishing” calls can bypass filters entirely and pressure employees into disclosing credentials in real time.
These threats are not just occasional distractions; they are continuous, evolving, and
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MEDITECH Announces Passing of Founder Neil Pappalardo; Michelle O’Connor Named Interim Chair
What You Should Know
The Loss: A. Neil Pappalardo, the founder of MEDITECH and widely considered the "father" of the Electronic Health Record (EHR) industry, passed away on January 27, 2026, at the age of 83.The Legacy: Pappalardo co-authored MUMPS, the programming language that became the backbone of healthcare computing, and pioneered the concept of "one patient, one record" long before interoperability was a buzzword.The Future: MEDITECH President and CEO Michelle O'Connor will serve as
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Beyond the Status Quo: 3 Core Pillars for Scaling a Private Practice in 2026
The most reliable methods of growing a private medical or dental practice haven’t changed much over the years. And yet they remain a well-kept industry secret.
The particulars might look a bit different from year to year, but the underlying concepts are the same. Creating a well-articulated brand, a strong system that encourages patient compliance, and having a leadership team whose strengths complement one another are the tried-and-true methods for
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VA Allocates $1B for EHR Modernization as Part of Record FY26 NRM Spend
What You Should Know
The Record: The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced a $4.8B investment for FY 2026—the largest single-year commitment to Non-Recurring Maintenance (NRM) in the agency's history.The Tech Angle: While much of the funding goes to physical repairs, a massive $1B is specifically earmarked for the maintenance and modernization of electronic health record (EHR) systems and facility preparation for future updates.The Breakdown: The spending includes $2.8 billion for
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Oracle May Cut 30k Jobs and Sell Cerner to Fund $156B OpenAI Deal
What You Should Know
The Report: Investment bank TD Cowen claims Oracle is evaluating "multiple paths" to finance its massive AI datacenter build-out, including cutting 20,000 to 30,000 jobs and potentially selling its health tech unit, Cerner, the Register reports.The Cause: The financial pressure stems from Oracle’s $300B contract with OpenAI, which requires an estimated $156B in capital spending for GPUs and infrastructure—a burden that has spooked U.S. debt investors.The Indicators: Risk
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Premise Health and Crossover Health Merge to Expand Advanced Primary Care
What You Should Know
The Deal: Premise Health and Crossover Health have signed a definitive agreement to merge, creating a unified direct healthcare entity serving over 400 organizations and millions of members.The Scale: The combined organization will operate nearly 900 wellness centers across the U.S., offering a massive hybrid footprint of onsite, nearsite, and virtual care.The Leadership: Premise CEO Stu Clark will lead the new organization, but in a rare move for mergers of this size,
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AtlantiCare to Deploy Opmed.ai to Fix Surgical Scheduling Across Enterprise
What You Should Know
The Deal: AtlantiCare, a major New Jersey integrated delivery network, has selected Opmed.ai to optimize scheduling across 50+ operating rooms and procedural spaces.The Tech: The platform uses AI and network science to scrub the "buffer" out of surgical schedules. It claims to cut case length overestimation by 40% and predict daily schedules with 96% accuracy.The Integration: Opmed.ai will deploy directly on top of AtlantiCare’s Oracle Cerner EHR, functioning as an Oracle
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CB Insights Report: Digital Health Funding Hits $22.3B as 14 New Unicorns Emerge
What You Should Know
The Rebound: According to the new State of Digital Health 2025 report from CB Insights, digital health funding rose 19% YoY to $22.3B in 2025, driven by fewer, larger checks—average deal size jumped 29% to $20.3M.The Consolidation: M&A activity surged 33% to 210 deals, ending a three-year decline. The market saw massive exits like Thermo Fisher’s $9.4B acquisition of Clario and Waystar’s $1.3B purchase of Iodine Software.The AI Moat: Artificial Intelligence was the
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KLAS 2026 Rankings: Aledade and Guidehealth Named Top VBC Enablement Firms
What You Should Know
The News: A new KLAS Research report, Value-Based Care Enablement Services 2026, evaluates the firms helping healthcare organizations transition from fee-for-service to risk-based models.The Leaders: Aledade (95.7 score) and Guidehealth (87.5 score) top the performance charts, praised for their ability to operationalize insights and drive tangible financial results.The Divide: The report reveals a sharp split in satisfaction. While ambulatory practices are aggressively
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