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Cardiologists lead push for new cath lab radiation safety standards
What 1 state can teach the other 49 about regulating healthcare AI
4 must-haves for health execs deploying ambient AI scribes at scale
Foreign national accused of operating fake company that billed Medicare for $90M—and now he’s on the run
Healthcare educators: Want to stabilize nurse staffing for years to come? Stand up for the Nurse Faculty Loan Program
troubled by ethical dilemma decision
Moral distress in physicians: New study measures prevalence, offers interventions

Almost two in five physicians suffered moral distress in the two weeks leading up to their being asked about it by researchers. That was a markedly larger slice than the team observed in the general U.S. working population. 

Ransomware
Ransomware attack on UMMC causes 20% drop in revenue due to delayed patient care

The report on the financials comes from Mississippi Today. University of Mississippi Medical Center said it’s still processing paper backups and has extended clinic hours to address the backlog of elective surgeries and bring revenue back up to expectations. The attack happened in February and caused non-emergency operations at the health system to shut down for nine days. 

Novartis sued for allegedly leaking data on breast cancer patient to Google, Contentsquare

In a lawsuit seeking class action status, a woman identified as “P.M.” said she began using the website for Kisqali, a Novartis breast cancer treatment, in late 2024 shortly after being issued a prescription. Unbeknownst to her, sensitive data she shared when seeking a discount may have been shared with advertisers.

Referral
It’s about to get harder for many Medicare patients to see a cardiologist

UnitedHealthcare now requires patients enrolled in certain Medicare Advantage plans to receive a PCP referral before seeing a cardiologist. On May 1, the insurer will start denying all claims that do not include the necessary referral. UnitedHealthcare argues that "stronger PCP engagement" is good for patient care, but many stakeholders disagree.

Alex Towbin, MD, FAAP, FACR, FSIIM, SIIM chair-elect, radiologist, associate chief medical information officer, associate chief, Department of Radiology, and the Neil D. Johnson Chair of radiology informatics, Cincinnati Children's Hospital, and Sylvia Devlin MS, RT, CIIP, FSIIM, SIIM treasurer and director of customer success imaging informatics, Radiology Partners, explain how SIIM helps make clinician imaging informatics champions.
SIIM offers opportunity for imaging information champions

Education through the organization provides the knowledge needed for clinicians to work with IT teams to implement major system projects.

cybersecurity hacker ransomware cyber data breach
Days after ransomware attack, UMMC clinics remain closed as emergency rooms rely on paper backups

University of Mississippi Medical Center revealed on Thursday that it was the victim of an ongoing cyberattack, leading to disruptions throughout the health system. It's now been forced to close all clinics statewide until at least Feb. 25, as phone systems and the EHR remain inaccessible. 

U.S. Supreme Court building SCOTUS
With SCOTUS striking down ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs, Trump implements 15% tax on all imports

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled President Donald Trump’s sweeping global tariffs unconstitutional. The administration responded by imposing a 10% rate across the board, later hiked to 15%. That will remain in effect for 150 days and require an act of Congress to extend.

Elder caree
New group names 4 things US healthcare can—and should—handle on behalf of Alzheimer’s patients, caregivers

Alzheimer’s disease already has the nation in a crisis of care capacity. The pressure to do more in response is mounting. Meanwhile the true total cost is hard to estimate since so many dementia caregivers are unpaid family members and other volunteers. 

teens smoking weed cannabis
Teenage cannabis users twice as likely as non-users to develop psychosis, bipolar disorder

The new research doesn’t solve the mystery of which tends to come first—the mental illness or the drug use. Regardless, the large study serves to underscore the need for proactive and preventive measures. 

Around the web

Radiology Business
Cryoablation outshines radiation therapy, surgery for treating certain lung cancers

New findings suggest that the procedure offers effective local control and a favorable safety profile for patients with medically inoperable stage 1A non-small cell lung cancer.