Business Intelligence

Providers utilize business intelligence to monitor referral patterns and collaborate with clinicians who order their services. Such analytics tools have also been deployed in the specialty to improve productivity, track patient satisfaction and bolster quality.

UnitedHealthcare launches generative AI ‘companion’ for patient care coordination
The new agentic program, called “Avery,” is now available to millions of UnitedHealthcare members through insurer's existing app. The company said the model will help patients find providers, understand their benefits, get updates on claims and more.
DOJ accuses New York health system of engaging in anticompetitive business practices
In a complaint filed in federal court, the U.S. Department of Justice claims NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital uses its power of “scale, breadth and configuration” to control payer contracts, making it difficult for insurers to develop low-cost plans. The health system denies any wrongdoing.
Activist investors sue UnitedHealth to force annual reporting on patient care access
Led by a Quebec-based faith organization, a coalition of investors is asking a court to force UnitedHealth to provide details on the social impacts of its history of mergers and acquisitions. The lawsuit comes after the plaintiffs, all company shareholders, failed to get the proposal passed through internal channels. The Securities and Exchange Commission has also opted not to intervene.
Novartis sued for allegedly leaking data on breast cancer patient to Google, Contentsquare
In a lawsuit seeking class action status, a woman identified as “P.M.” said she began using the website for Kisqali, a Novartis breast cancer treatment, in late 2024 shortly after being issued a prescription. Unbeknownst to her, sensitive data she shared when seeking a discount may have been shared with advertisers.
Drugmaker’s stock tumbles 20% after FDA issues formal warning to executives
ImmunityBio, the developer of bladder cancer treatment Anktiva, is accused by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration of disseminating “false or misleading information” about the drug's efficacy in an advertisement and podcast. The FDA said it’s not the first time it's sent a warning letter to the company’s executives over allegedly inaccurate claims.

FDA issues emergency alert on surgical stapler reloads after 1 death, 4 injuries

The problem is limited to surgical stapler reloads used by the da Vinci robot, specifically those manufactured by Intuitive Surgical. The FDA said it’s currently investigating why the reloads are leaving incomplete line formations. For now, they need to be pulled from all patient care settings.

Stolen data complaint against Geisinger Health, Nuance Communications settled for $5M

The caper was carried out by a former employee of Nuance Communications, a Microsoft subsidiary. According to court documents, the man used his credentials to access patient data from 1.3 million patients at Geisinger. Police said they found the trove stored on a flash drive in his car.

Telehealth company admits to sharing medical records with law firms as Epic’s lawsuit heats up

GuardDog admitted to accessing medical histories from patients stored on Epic’s platform, selling some of them to law firms engaged in unrelated civil litigation. The primary defendant in Epic’s lawsuit, Health Gorilla, maintains it did nothing wrong and accuses Epic of stifling interoperability.

artificial intelligence AI in healthcare

Microsoft launches new version of Copilot AI that draws from medical records to answer questions

Copilot Health will be able to use information such as medical histories, lab results and data from wearables to answer complicated healthcare questions. Microsoft said patients who use the app can rest assured all data shared with the AI is encrypted and can be deleted at any time.

America’s Physician Groups COO dies in scuba diving accident

Jennifer L. Jackman, 67, was vacationing in the South Pacific when the fatal incident occurred. She has been with the APG since 2019, serving as COO since 2023.

FDA merges all adverse event reporting systems into new AEMS platform

Adverse event reports for food, drugs, vaccines, dietary supplements and medical devices will soon be available in one place. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said the change will simplify reporting for consumers and allow it to react in real-time to FOIA requests.

Medical device manufacturer hit by cyberattack, possibly from Iranian-backed hackers

Stryker, a Michigan-based company that manufactures surgical implants, confirmed it was experiencing a global network outage. Employee devices reportedly displayed the logo of a pro-Iran cybercrime cell.

Medicare Advantage fraud allegations against Aetna settled for nearly $118M

The U.S. Department of Justice said the insurer upcoded patient diagnoses to boost risk-adjusted payments it received from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. The company did not admit to wrongdoing, despite agreeing to the payout.

Business Intelligence

UnitedHealthcare launches generative AI ‘companion’ for patient care coordination

DOJ accuses New York health system of engaging in anticompetitive business practices

Activist investors sue UnitedHealth to force annual reporting on patient care access

Novartis sued for allegedly leaking data on breast cancer patient to Google, Contentsquare

Drugmaker’s stock tumbles 20% after FDA issues formal warning to executives