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January 27, 2026l Issue #327

New Launch! 

Inside the Minds of AI Leaders

Insights, Initiatives, and the 2026 Strategic Playbook 

The Big Unlock podcast keeps you at the forefront of healthcare’s digital transformation, featuring candid conversations with C-suite leaders on AI adoption, digital health innovation, and emerging technologies.

This playbook is a compilation of Season 6 of the podcast, spotlighting real-world insights on embedding AI into clinical workflows, reducing clinician burden, and rehumanizing care. With over 190 episodes, the podcast continues to unlock fresh perspectives shaping the future of healthcare. 

NEW BOOK 

GENERATIVE AI

Unlocking the Next Chapter in Healthcare

by ROHIT MAHAJAN and

RITU M. UBEROY

Foreword by Edward Marx

Written for clinicians, executives, innovators, and policy makers and patients alike, this definitive volume distils the expertise of industry pioneers into an accessible roadmap. Whether you’re leading a hospital, building health tech solutions, a tech startup, or simply curious about the future of care, Generative AI: Unlocking the Next Chapter in Healthcare delivers the insight, inspiration, and practical guidance you need to thrive in the era where human empathy and machine intelligence work side by side.

🔍 Top Insights

1. Amazon One Medical introduces agentic Health AI assistant for simpler, personalized, and more actionable health care
2. Anthropic publishes Claude's 'Constitution'
3. Deloitte Study: AI transformation reveals productivity for most, business reimagination for a few
4. Nearly a 5th of healthcare professionals use unauthorized AI tools at work

The Big Unlock Podcast

AI Succeeds Through Seamless Workflow Integration and Clinician Empowerment 

with Chethan Sathya, MD, VP of Strategic Initiatives, Northwell Health 

Learn more

Fixing Healthcare’s “Blind Men and the Elephant” Data Problem

with Jonathan Bush, Founder & CEO, Zus Health

Learn more

Funding and M&A Moves

• OpenEvidence scores $250M, doubles valuation to $12B

🤖 AI in Action

Use Case of the Week: AI-Powered Prescription Refill Automation  

Health System: Utah AI Pilot Program  

Utah partnered with Doctronic to pilot an AI system that autonomously authorizes routine prescription refills for chronic conditions. The AI reviews patient history, manages renewals, and sends them to pharmacists, aiming to reduce clinician burden, improve medication adherence, and close care gaps. 

📊 Industry Spotlight

1. Manage Your AI Investments Like a Portfolio
2. Op-ed: 'Gym Membership Syndrome'—Why adherence is the real battleground for health plans in 2026
3. 2026 House spending bill proposes 2-year telehealth and 5-year hospital-at-home waiver extensions

🧠 Thought Leadership

• What Does 2026 Hold for AI and Healthcare? A Look at the Year Ahead

• AI May Improve Healthcare Access, But Will Rural and Underserved Communities Trust It?
  

• Top 10 AI Trends Shaping Healthcare in 2025: Insights from Season 6 of The Big Unlock

💬 From the Frontlines

“There’s no possible way that humans, any human, physician or non-physician, can digest the amount of evidence out there and actually know what the latest is with respect to every single guideline. So if you can have a computer and an algorithm help you do that, it would be a disservice not to use that for our patients.”

—  Chethan Sathya, MD, VP of Strategic Initiatives, Northwell Health  (The Big Unlock Podcast Episode #194) 

Open Jobs

• Software Engineer – Application Development
• Health Exchange Consultant
• Epic Integration Analyst
• Quality Assurance Engineer, Knowledge Informatics