Ransomware attack on Romanian hospitals leads to over 100 facilities offline. Hackers demanded nearly $170,000 in Bitcoin. Romania's cybersecurity agency advised against payment and local company Bitdefender assists with recovery efforts.

More than 100 Romanian health care facilities taken offline after cyber attacks target hospitals NBC News

Healthcare leaders highlight the importance of safe AI use, especially as healthcare is set to be a major adopter of AI. They've built an AI platform to ensure safety and monitor its use. Potential dangers include increasing bias, data breaches, replacing human workers, and automating crucial tasks, but healthcare's cautious nature may restrict AI's risks. Automation of key judgments against the Hippocratic Oath may be avoided except for minor tasks like smart scheduling. Fear of bias and incomplete datasets causing harm exists, but health leaders' responsibility is to ensure AI's safe use within healthcare. AI can be viewed as another team member, always reviewed by a senior human.

'Bad science fiction'?: How health systems are keeping AI in check Beckers Hospital Review

Seema Verma, newly appointed executive VP and GM of Oracle Health and Oracle Life Sciences, plans a patient-centered approach to bridge clinical research and care, using technology including data science, AI and ML. Through the Cerner acquisition, Oracle gained technology to revolutionize healthcare systems and de-identified data from over 2,608 facilities across the U.S. Verma emphasizes the importance of interoperability in healthcare, predicting provider access to organized patient data, analytics, AI, and proactive interventions for disease prevention. Oracle aims to reduce clinical trial burdens, increase accessibility, eliminate manual data re-entry, meet regulatory demands, reduce administrative costs with technology, and align financial incentives with value-based care.

Oracle Life Sciences and Health Leader: Industry Insight Oracle

US healthcare cost leads to unaffordable medical bills, causing major financial distress and bankruptcy. A 2022 study found 66.5% bankruptcies are tied to medical expenses. Despite health insurance, many face unexpected charges, large copays and inadequate coverage. Medical bankruptcy is a serious problem but can be managed with careful health insurance selection, bill review, negotiation, financial assistance, and professional help. Hospital visits can lead to hefty bills, draining savings and leading retired individuals into bankruptcy.

Medical Bankruptcy: A Crisis That Affects Millions of Americans LinkedIn