Though regulators have signed off on the $69 billion merger between CVS Health and Aetna, a U.S. District Court judge is poised to block the deal, The New York Post reported.

San Francisco-based startup Myia Labs has raised $6.75 million in seed funding to further develop its patient-monitoring platform, according to Yahoo Finance.

Healthcare organizations are already looking ahead into 2019, and there are six trends to be aware of for the coming year, according to PwC’s report, “Top health industry issues of 2019: The New Health Economy Comes of Age.”

Researchers with the Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) in Boston have developed a device that uses AI to automatically detect signs of ovulation in women, according to a recent study. The device could mean a more cost-effective and accurate resource for women looking to plan or prevent pregnancy.

A majority of consumers have at least one social determinant of health (SDOH) challenge that could impact their care, according to a survey from medical billing service Waystar.

A VA nursing home in Albany, New York, is using robotic animals with built-in AI to comfort patients with dementia, according to a report by WNYT News.

Four thousand California-based mental health workers with Kaiser Permanente went on strike this week to call attention to the need for more clinicians and better scheduling for patients.

By 2030, a majority of experts believe humans will be better off because of AI and related technology systems, with many expressing optimism about the future of healthcare, according to a report by Pew Research Center.

Nine healthcare organizations, including consumers, businesses and insurance providers, have united to find a solution to the practice of surprise billing that can burden patients with sky-high medical debts.