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May 18, 2026 l Issue #335

🔍 Top Insights

1. Epic, Oracle and Cleveland Clinic among companies to joining CMS prior authorization initiative
2. Gartner Predicts by 2027, 50% of Enterprises Without a People‑Centric AI Strategy Will Lose Their Top AI Talent
   

The Big Unlock Podcast 

Oracle is moving away from the industry-standard “bolt-on” AI approach and is rebuilding the healthcare stack from the ground up, embedding AI into the foundational layer.

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How rural health systems are driving innovation under significant resource constraints. Start with the clinical or operational need, then determine if AI is the right fit.

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MyEyesAI Takes the Stage at the Harvard Alumni Entrepreneurs Pegasus Accelerator Demo Day

MyEyesAI was selected as one of the twelve startups in the prestigious 2026 cohort of the Harvard Alumni Entrepreneurs (HAE) Accelerator, powered by Pegasus Tech Ventures. Learn More

Funding and M&A Moves

• Sanford Health unveils deal to integrate Minnesota-area North Memorial Health, invest $600M
• Isomorphic Labs Just Raised $2B Without Disclosing a Single Detail About Its Drugs

🤖 AI in Action

Use Case of the Week: AI-Driven Early Lung Cancer Detection

Health System: Sarasota Memorial Health Care System

Sarasota Memorial Health Care System implemented an AI-enabled analytics platform to identify lung cancers earlier by analyzing imaging studies performed across the health system, including scans ordered for unrelated conditions. The AI continuously reviews radiology data, flags suspicious lung nodules, and automatically routes patients for follow-up evaluation and care coordination. This proactive approach expanded screening beyond traditional referral pathways and reduced missed incidental findings. As a result, approximately 75% of lung cancers were detected at early stages, significantly exceeding national averages. The initiative demonstrates how AI-powered population analytics can transform existing clinical data into continuous surveillance, enabling earlier intervention, improved outcomes, and more proactive oncology care delivery.

📊 Industry Spotlight

1. Beware the Agentic Convergence Trap 
2. Nearly 80% of payers prefer vendor-built AI solutions, survey finds
3. AI integrations drive top automation performance with $586K average annual call-center ROI
   

🧠 Thought Leadership

• What is the one common task that AI still cannot do? 

I was surprised to know that AI cannot read analog clocks reliably! Fun Weekend reading. The Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence (HAI) report. 425 pages. I highly recommend reading the chapter summaries if you don’t have time to read the whole report. Learn more

• Can AI Make Healthcare Feel More Human and the Case for Why it Should
• Why AI Won’t “Replace Doctors” But Will Redesign How Care Is Accessed and Paid For
• Doing More With Less: How Rural Health Systems Can Drive Tech Innovation Even With Significant Resource Constraints
• From Guidelines to Outcomes: What Autonomous AI Can Deliver in Healthcare Today

💬 From the Frontlines

“We are moving from healthcare systems of record to systems of orchestration — where AI doesn’t sit on top of workflows, it actively helps clinicians deliver care by reducing friction, automating tasks, and enabling better outcomes.”

—  Bharat Sutariya, MD, Senior Vice President and Chief Health Officer, Oracle Health (The Big Unlock Podcast Episode #206) 

📅 Upcoming Events

• Digital Health & AI Innovation Summit I June 8-9, 2026 I Omni Boston Hotel at the Seaport, MA
• AHIP I June 9-10, 2026 I Las Vegas, NV

Open Jobs

• Chief Information Security Officer 
• Director IT Infrastructure 
• Solutions Architect