News 4/17/26

Top News

The Department of Justice accuses telehealth startup Zealthy of widespread fraud, including issuing prescriptions using doctors’ identities without consent, using deceptive billing practices, and misusing customer data.

The DOJ seeks an asset freeze and receivership, adding to its original 2024 complaint. Regulators warn that financial penalties and required consumer refunds could exceed the company’s resources and may force it into bankruptcy.

Zealthy CEO Kyle Robertson was fired from Cerebral in 2022 after the company was fined for unauthorized distribution of Adderall, and prosecutors allege that “Robertson’s lawbreaking is only becoming more brazen and dangerous.”

Reader Comments

From Front Door Fred: “Re: digital front doors. Hospitals spent millions on them, and now vendors are inserting an AI receptionist in front of them to direct the patient. Why turn that over to a third party?”

From Oiler: “Re: ChatGPT health advice. If patients are skipping visits because ChatGPT told them they are fine, are health systems losing customers or just low-margin visits they didn’t really want? The payer still decides who gets paid.”

HIStalk Announcements and Requests

Ms. M says that her Clearlake, CA kindergarten class is using the math books that HIStalk readers provided in funding her Donors Choose grant request, with matching funds from my Anonymous Vendor Executive.

Sponsored Events and Resources

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

Acquisitions, Funding, Business, and Stock

UnityPoint Health will eliminate 207 IT and RCM positions and outsource their work to third-party vendors.

Abridge adds NEJM and the JAMA Network to its point-of-care clinical evidence.

Sales

• Inspira Health will deploy Lincata’s BedsideOS for in-room patient TVs, which offers entertainment, patient access to MyChart, and motion sensors and cameras.

Announcements and Implementations

An analysis of de-identified Microsoft Copilot conversations finds that health AI is being widely used for personal symptom assessment, condition questions, and emotional support, with usage peaking at night and often substituting for unavailable care. One in seven inquiries are asked on behalf of someone else, which suggests that it is being used by caregivers or relatives.

WellSky adds AI capabilities to its CarePort provider directory for post-acute care discharge decisions.

Hippocratic AI releases voice AI products for call centers and inpatient nurses.

Care coordination platform vendor One Call acquires Data Dimensions, which offers EDI and clearinghouse solutions.  

Other

Allbirds, which recently sold its formerly trendy wool shoe business to a brand name acquisition company for a paltry $39 million versus the company’s one-time market value of $4 billion, renames itself as NewBird AI as it pivots to renting AI infrastructure. Shares jumped 600% on the news, leading one market strategist to conclude, “A 6x or 7x move for a company that is literally ditching its prior business model for one in which it has no demonstrated expertise says quite a bit about a market froth and investor willingness to chase moves.”

Sponsor Updates

• Infinx’s revenue cycle and patient access platforms attain HITRUST i1 certification.
• FinThrive publishes a new case study titled “Licking Health Transforms Chargemaster Management.”
• Healthcare Growth Partners advises Alora Healthcare Systems in its sale to Livtech.
• Schneck Medical Center goes live on Meditech Expanse.
• Healthmonix and Navina will exhibit at the NAACOS Spring 2026 Conference April 22-24 in Baltimore.
• Impact Advisors announces co-founder and Managing Partner Andy Smith has been recognized as a 2026 Crain’s Chicago Business Notable Leader in Healthcare.
• Meditech announces that it has been named a Leader in the 2026 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Clinical Communication and Collaboration.

Blog Posts

• April 2026 ICD-10-PCS Code Updates: Key Changes Coders Need to Know (AGS Health)
• An Overview of the CMS ACCESS Model and How to Prepare (Arcadia)
• Top 5 Physician Practice Management Software Companies of 2026 (Bizmatics)
• AI Segmentation Mastery: Unifying Data to Outperform Every Time (Five9)
• Why Healthcare Organizations Need a Human-Centered Cybersecurity Playbook (Fortified Health Security)
• From SLAs to XLAs: Why Speed Is No Longer Enough in Healthcare IT (HCTec)
• Healthcare IT Leaders Supports Ongoing Efforts to Modernize EHR for Veterans (Healthcare IT Leaders)
• Healthcare price transparency only works if patients understand rising healthcare costs (Inbox Health)
• 6 recommendations for PBM procurement and Rx benefits optimization (Judi Health)
• What the world can learn from Africa’s data-driven care (Meditech)
• Clinician Workarounds Are Warning Signs (Med Tech Solutions)
• Curation Solutions: Turn Data Into Impact (MRO)

Contacts

Mr. H, Lorre, Jenn, Dr. Jayne.
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