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Thanks to everyone who came out to the Philly event! 🥳
This community is all about connecting, learning from each other, and having fun. We were capped on space this time, but we’ll be hosting more soon for those who couldn’t make it. See you then! Event recap here.
Here’s this weeks lineup:
How the country’s largest for-profit hospital chain is deploying AI
Why patients are asking AI before doctors
Maryland taps AI to improve access to care and benefits
10 new tools/partnerships, 12 funding updates, new AI jobs & link-worthy content
Read time: 5 minutes
Our Picks ✨
Highlights if you’ve only got 2 minutes…
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How the country’s largest for-profit hospital chain is deploying AI
HCA Healthcare, the largest for-profit hospital chain in the U.S., is rolling out AI across its 191 hospitals, with CFO Michael Marks saying the system is still in the “early innings” but already seeing real clinical and financial value. On the clinical side, HCA is partnering with Google to overhaul the 400,000 weekly nurse shift handoffs by using AI to synthesize charts and reduce one of nursing’s riskiest workflows. It is also working with GE Healthcare on an FDA-submitted model that reads fetal heart monitoring strips in labor and delivery.
Operational AI is further ahead: nearly 100 hospitals now use AI-driven scheduling and staffing tools, though implementation has been harder than expected. Administrative AI (across revenue cycle, HR, supply chain and IT) has delivered the fastest returns, with millions of transactions now automated. HCA says digital transformation will remain a core strategy as it prepares for policy uncertainty around ACA subsidies and Medicaid reforms. (link)
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Why patients are asking AI before doctors
More people are turning to AI for health questions not because they distrust doctors, but because the medical system often leaves them waiting, unheard, or without answers in the moment they need them. A new NYT report shows how patients now rely on ChatGPT for everything from interpreting lab results to preparing for appointments or navigating recovery when clinicians are unavailable. Roughly 1/6 adults now use ChatGPT or similar tools for health questions, and that number is climbing. The appeal is clear: chatbots are instant, always on, and unusually good at sounding empathetic.
That said, in another NYT piece, experts warn of overtrust and oversharing. Chatbots still hallucinate, are not covered by HIPAA, and often miss the follow-up questions a real clinician would ask. The safest approach is to practice on low-stakes topics, give context without identifying details, ask the model what it is unsure about, and always double-check with trusted sources or your doctor. For privacy-conscious users, clinicians point to tools like Counsel Health, Doctronic, and others.
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Maryland taps AI to improve access to care and benefits
Maryland is rolling out a major AI initiative with Anthropic and Percepta to modernize how residents access public services, from benefits to housing. The state hopes AI can cut paperwork bottlenecks and make it easier for people to get support quickly. Anthropic’s Claude will power chatbots across agencies to help residents apply for Medicaid, food assistance, and cash aid, and will assist caseworkers with eligibility checks and policy questions. Percepta will streamline housing development permits and licensing.
On the healthcare side, this could meaningfully improve Medicaid access and enrollment, reduce administrative delays, and help caseworkers handle complex benefits questions faster and more accurately. Maryland has already used AI to distribute children’s food assistance and is now expanding that approach across health and social services. (link)
Tools & Partnerships 🔧
Latest on business, consumer, and clinical healthcare AI tools and partnerships…
TOOLS
CMS picks six vendors for WISeR prior auth pilot: CMS selected Cohere, Genzeon, Humata, Innovaccer, Virtix, and Zyter to power WISeR, an AI-driven prior auth model focused on low-value procedures. Critics warn incentives tied to averted spending could risk inappropriate denials. (link)
Elon Musk says Optimus could deliver “superhuman” surgical care: Musk described a future where Tesla’s Optimus robots perform highly precise medical procedures, claiming they could provide top-tier surgical care to anyone by scaling expertise through manufacturing rather than human workforce limits. (link)
HHS leaders push faster rollout of AI and data tools: CMS officials say the government should set guardrails and let industry drive innovation. Plans include an interoperability framework, a vetted app store, and AI chatbots, with results expected in early 2026. (link)
Survey shows growing GenAI use in revenue cycle: An Omega Healthcare survey found 51% of executives exploring GenAI for tasks like eligibility checks and denial prevention, with many considering strategic partnerships and end-to-end outsourcing. (link)
Neuralink patient controls webcam using brain implant: Brad Smith, an ALS patient and one of just 12 Neuralink recipients worldwide, used the brain-computer interface to control a webcam directly through neural signals. (link)
Mayo Clinic uses AI and genetics to spot early heart disease: Mayo researchers used an AI model and PKP2 genetic data to detect subtle ECG signals linked to arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy, enabling early monitoring with smartwatches for at-risk patients. (link)
Vital launches AI platform for urgent care updates: Vital released Vital Urgent Care, a mobile-friendly system that gives patients real-time wait times and guidance through automated EHR-integrated messaging. Early sites report 60–78% adoption, higher Google ratings, and 25% more follow-up care. (link)
PARTNERSHIPS
OpenEvidence + NCCN: OpenEvidence is integrating NCCN’s oncology guidelines into its clinician-facing AI platform to enhance evidence-based cancer care. (link)
Microsoft + INBRAIN: Microsoft partnered with INBRAIN to develop real-time, AI-powered brain-computer interface therapies for neurological disorders. (link)
Penn State Health + Epic: Penn State Health is adopting Epic’s full AI suite to advance clinical decision support, documentation, and operational efficiency. (link)
Deal Desk 💰
Spotlight on latest capital raises, M&A, and investments…
FUNDING
Iambic Therapeutics, a San Diego-based AI drug discovery company, raised $100M in new Series B funding from Abingworth, Alexandria Venture Investments, Alumni Ventures, ARK, and more. (link)
Beacon Biosignals, a Boston, Mass.-based AI-powered brain health company, raised $86M in Series B funding from Innovia, Google Ventures, Nexus NeuroTech Ventures, and others. (link)
Clairity, a Boston-based breast cancer risk prediction startup, raised $43M in Series B funding. ACE Global Equity and Santé Ventures led, joined by the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. (link)
Tavus, an SF-based developer of AI companions designed to handle tasks proactively and interpret human body language, raised $40M in Series B funding. CRV led and was joined by Scale Venture Partners, Sequoia Capital, Y Combinator, HubSpot Ventures, and Flex Capital. (link)
Amae Health, an AI-powered precision-care platform for SMI, raised a $25M Series B. The round was led by Altos Ventures. (link)
Lumonus, an Australian radiation oncology workflow company, raised A$25M in Series B funding. Aviron Investment Management led, joined by Oncology Ventures. (link)
Evidium, a clinical reasoning startup, raised $22M in Series A funding. Health2047 and WGG Partners led and joined by others. (link)
Olli Health, an AI-native, home health coding and quality review platform, raised $10M in Series A funding. Industry Ventures led the round. (link)
Robyn AI, an SF-based emotional AI support assistant, raised $5.5M in seed funding led by M13. (link)
Preveta, an LA-based AI-powered care navigation platform designed for specialty care, raised $2.4M in a Series A extension. Navigate Ventures and Sovereign Capital led. (link)
Planbase, a workforce-management startup, raised $2.1M to launch an AI-native employee-management platform for healthcare. (link)
MERGERS & ACQUISTIONS
Fabric + UCM: Fabric, a leader in care delivery and consumer experience, acquired UCM Digital Health (UCM), a leading digital health and telehealth provider. The acquisition expands Fabric's services to about 400 new employer and payer customers, adding 1 million covered lives. (link)
Luma + Tonic: Luma Health, an AI-native patient experience platform, acquired Tonic Health from R1, a leader in digital intake, e-consents, and patient-reported outcomes, expanding Luma’s reach to 1,000+ health systems and 100 million patients and strengthening its support for Oracle Health EHR customers. (link)
as of 11/16/25
Other Relevant News 🔍
News, podcasts, blogs, tweets, resources, etc…
AI Job Opportunities 💼
Contact us to feature roles in our newsletter…
Visuals of the Week 📸
Funny memes, cool pics, and interesting data from around the web…
That’s it for this week friends! Back to reading — I’ll see you next week.
Stay classy,
PS. I write this newsletter for you. So if you have any suggestions or questions, feel free to reply to this email and let me know
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