News 1/9/26

Top News

OpenAI announces ChatGPT Health, which supports health conversations with encryption, isolation from model training, and connectivity to wellness and medical records applications such as Apple Health and MyFitnessPal. Access is via waitlist.

B.well is providing the health data network connectivity with its SDK for Health AI.

Reader Comments

From Vendorize: “Re: product names. You should be including our copyright and trademark symbols.” Wrong. US law does not require anyone, even the owning company, to use those symbols to create or maintain rights. I don’t trust third-party sites or LinkedIn posts that include the symbols, which runs contrary to AP Stylebook standards, just because the company itself voluntarily chose to do so. It’s also improper and possibly illegal for someone to use a trademark symbol for a name they don’t own no matter how fawning their intentions.

Sponsored Events and Resources

None scheduled soon. Contact Lorre to have your resource listed.

Acquisitions, Funding, Business, and Stock

Healthcare staffing platform vendor IntelyCare acquires CareRev, which offers a hospital shift-bidding platform. CareRev made headlines in 2023 when it reportedly laid off 100 employees following the resignation of its founder and CEO William Patterson, who departed after telling a colleague that he had delivered the company’s $50 million Series A pitch (“Uber for nurses”) while taking LSD.  

Oasys Health, which offers therapist workflow automation with wearables integration, raises $4.6 million in seed and pre-seed funding.

A Bain & Company report finds that global healthcare private equity investment hit a record $190 billion in deal value in 2025, driven by an increase in large transactions and strong activity across sectors like biopharma and healthcare IT, with buyout counts and exit values also approaching historic highs.

Sources report that private equity firm TPG is reportedly close to acquiring UnitedHealth’s Optum UK business, which supplies electronic patient record systems to most of Britain’s GPs, for $1.5 billion. Analysts speculate that TPG could combine Optum UK with its portfolio company Nextech, a US-based specialty EHR/PM vendor.

Sales

• Lifepoint Health chooses ambient documentation from IScribeHealth.

People

Lyric names Halsey Wise, MBA (Lime Barrel Advisors) as CEO.

Imprivata promotes Tom Shapiro to VP of cybersecurity sales.  

Announcements and Implementations

Dentists who have access to a patient’s shared comprehensive health record in Epic avoided 260,000 potential drug interactions in 2025, the company reports.

VectorCare launches Lyft Smart on FHIR App, which allows care teams to schedule and manage patient rides within EHRs, starting with Epic.

Government and Politics

The FDA will step back from regulating low-risk wellness technologies, including fitness apps and activity trackers. Products that only share information won’t need clearance as long as companies avoid making medical claims.

Sponsor Updates

• CereCore team members volunteer at the Salvation Army Angel Tree event.
• Black Book Research recaps 2025 research announcements and customer-related honors.
• Ellkay offers a new customer success story featuring West Feliciana Hospital titled “Empowering Rural Healthcare: From Integration to Enterprise Data Management.”
• Health Data Movers names Carl Ferguson (Healthcare IT Leaders) director of client partnerships.
• Healthmonix’s Emergency and Acute Care Clinical registry earns CMS QCDR approval for 2026.
• Infinx will exhibit at the HFMA Western Symposium January 18-21 in Las Vegas.
• Judi Health names Sara Bunn (Boston Consulting Group) chief human resources officer.
• Clearsense appoints Terry Shaw, former president and CEO of AdventHealth, as its board chair.

Blog Posts

• Current Procedural Terminology® 2026 Code Set Overview (AGS Health)
• Preparing for the New Era of HCC Risk Adjustment (Medicomp Systems)
• AI is helping nursing educators teach more effectively, and students to learn more deeply (Wolters Kluwer Health)
• A Rural CNO on Why Most Healthcare Innovation Fails Nurses (CereCore)
• How Insurance Discovery Enhances Hospital Revenue Recovery Rates (FinThrive)
• Why Healthcare Vulnerability Threat Management Breaks Down and How to Fix It (Fortified Health Security)
• The Value-Based Care Wake-Up Call for Health Tech CEOs (Get-to-Market Health)
• Reflections from a Doctor’s Visit (HCTec)
• December Momentum: A Look Back at 2025 and Ahead to 2026 (Health Data Movers)
• Adoption Over Implementation: Incorporating a Change Management Mindset (Impact Advisors)
• The Right Tool for the Job: An EHR Alone Isn’t Enough to Drive Efficiency (LiveData)
• Advancing health equity through data, community, and action: Insights from ACHDM leaders (Meditech)
• Top 10 Legacy Health IT Support Client Questions and Answers (Med Tech Solutions)

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