Nurses fear AI liability as patients embrace med apps, plus 28 more Health IT updates

Bonus Features - February 1, 2026: 64% of nurses don't feel legally protected if AI harms a patient, 59% of patients use med-management apps + 28 more stories

This weekly roundup cuts through the noise so you can scan what matters in healthcare IT. Quick hits across news, studies, partnerships, product moves, go-lives, company updates, and key hires - all signal, no filler.

News

• Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan will defend Health Gorilla in its lawsuit against Epic. The firm is also representing CureIS and Particle Health in separate cases involving Epic.
• ONC issued a request for information on access, exchange, and use of diagnostic images. Public comments are due March 16.

Studies

• Arkansas State University: 25% of nurses use AI tools daily in clinical care, yet 64% say they wouldn't feel legally protected if AI caused patient harm.
• Surescripts: Only 17% of patients manage medications manually; 59% use one or more apps.
• Tecsys: Just 15% of health systems have fully deployed AI/ML for pharmacy use cases like demand forecasting, inventory optimization, shortage prediction, or risk modeling.
• Cognitive FX: 35%+ of adults who use AI mental health chatbots do so to avoid judgment or social stigma.

Partnerships

• Altera Digital Health and TRUE-See teamed up on Sunrise Medical Photography, delivering color-calibrated clinical photo and video documentation.
• athenahealth chose Suki as its preferred partner for ambient AI; CenterWell, Humana's senior-focused primary care subsidiary, implemented athenaOne.
• CentralReach named Rain a preferred partner for payroll and employee financial wellness.
• Innovaccer and Coforge launched G-Forge to help healthcare organizations integrate data and scale AI initiatives.
• Iterate.ai and TD SYNNEX debuted Generate for Healthcare, hosted on HPE infrastructure, to help hospital systems identify and recover unpaid and underpaid insurance claims.

Products

• Included Health rolled out a health plan design that blends AI-driven engagement, transparent pricing, and clinical support for coordinated care.
• Intelliworx added generative AI to its Healthcare Workforce Management platform to help recruiters draft job descriptions.
• Oracle announced the Oracle Life Sciences AI Data Platform to accelerate work across medical device and life sciences research.
• Silna launched Predictive Document Intelligence to reduce denials and delays before prior authorization requests are filed.

Implementations

• Beauregard Health System (LA) selected Artera (communications) and DrFirst (medication management) to integrate with MEDITECH Expanse.
• DrFirst paid tribute to Dr. Thomas E. Sullivan, its former Chief Strategy Officer and Chief Privacy Officer, who later served as Senior Advisor until his passing on January 19.
• UCI Health implemented Get Well from GW RhythmX at its new Irvine hospital campus.
• NYU Langone Health selected Isaac Health as its telehealth provider for brain health and dementia care within its neurology program.

Company News

• Eko Health reported higher detection of heart failure, atrial fibrillation, and valvular disease using AI stethoscope exams over 12 months compared to standard practices.
• Sonio earned HITRUST e1 Certification and completed a SOC 2 Type 2 audit for its prenatal ultrasound platform hosted on AWS.

People

• HURC named Kevin Coloton as CEO.
• Interwell Health appointed Dr. Carney Taylor as Chief Medical Officer.
• Hundred Health named Dr. Eve Henry as Chief Medical Officer.
• Heidi (Australia) appointed Dr. Nancy Cibotti as U.S. Chief Medical Information Officer.
• Sentact appointed Dr. Nicholas Testa as Chief Clinical Officer.
• Inspiren welcomed Stephanie Sudbury as Chief Commercial Officer.
• Clearwater appointed Davis Chaffin as Chief Financial Officer.
• Acentra Health named Balajee Sethuraman as Executive Vice President and Chief Business Services Officer.
• Luma Health welcomed Michael Chou as Senior Vice President of Product.
• Epicore Biosystems appointed Dr. Douglas Casa and Dr. Elaine Choung-Hee Lee as Scientific Advisors.

Why this matters

• Clinical risk and AI: Daily AI use among nurses is real, but legal uncertainty is a red flag. Health systems should tighten governance, documentation, and vendor contracts around clinical AI.
• Pharmacy ops: AI for pharmacy remains under-deployed. There's room for fast ROI in forecasting, shortages, and inventory if data pipelines and stewardship are in place.
• Patient behavior: Medication management is mobile-first. Care teams should align education and outreach with the apps patients already use.
• Engagement and access: New partnerships and platform launches point to a push for ambient AI, imaging, and patient engagement that meets clinicians where they work.

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