Top 3 News Of The Week

Week of 10/20/25

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1. American Medical Association (AMA) Launches Center for Digital Health & AI

The AMA announced that it has launched its new Center for Digital Health and AI to embed physicians throughout the lifecycle of technology development and deployment — from policy and workflows to education and partnerships. According to the press release, the Center will work on:

• Policy and regulatory leadership (shaping benchmarks for safe and effective use of AI in medicine).

• Clinical workflow integration (making sure digital health/AI tools actually fit into the daily work of physicians).

• Education & training (equipping physicians and health systems with the know-how to integrate AI)

• Collaboration (building partnerships across tech, research, government, and healthcare)

The AMA further notes that physician enthusiasm for AI is growing (about two-thirds of physicians report using some AI tools), but concerns remain about data privacy, reliability, workflow fit, and liability.

My commentary

This is a smart move by the AMA. But will they help organizations actually operationalize AI? Launching a Center and issuing guidance are steps in the right direction. However, the bigger challenges include tailoring tools to specialties, integrating into EHRs, ensuring adoption, addressing bias, and protecting data privacy and quality. The AMA’s value depends on translating ambitions into operational steps, such as vendor selection, governance, and implementation playbooks.

CIOs want any center of excellence to deliver:

• Clear frameworks for selecting/certifying AI tools.

• Case studies with workflow redesign examples (here’s how cardiology integrated decision-support; here’s how primary care introduced ambient scribes).

• Vendor-agnostic toolkits for implementation (including training, governance, and monitoring).

• Roles/responsibilities for physicians + IT + data science + operations.

• Metrics to measure ROI and safety (both operational and clinical).

If the Center implements clear operational programs, its impact on health systems will be significant. However, if efforts remain confined to policy and education, the value to executives and their organizations will be limited.

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2. Hyro Raises $45 M Strategic Growth Round to Accelerate AI Agent Adoption in Healthcare

Hyro, a healthcare-native conversational AI/agent platform, announced a $45 million growth round (led by Healthier Capital, with Norwest, Define Ventures, ServiceNow Ventures, Bon Secours Mercy Health), bringing its total funding to about $95 million. The funds will accelerate development of administrative, operational, and clinical AI agents designed for healthcare workflows — e.g., chat/voice, scheduling, prescription management, patient routing. Hyro claims its platform already serves more than 45 health systems and more than 30 million patients across the U.S.

My commentary

Yes — the so-called “digital front door” strategy lives on. The idea of improving patient access via digital/voice channels, automating routine interactions, reducing phone wait times, and freeing staff touches continues to attract investor capital. Hyro’s raise shows that investors still believe that tools which differentiate patient access (especially those backed by AI) can deliver value.

Bottom line: This capital raise is a strong signal that the market still values digital front-door capabilities as a differentiator for health systems.

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3. Shifting focus to organizational strategy, there’s also notable movement in system affiliations:

MultiCare and Samaritan approved an affiliation aimed at strengthening community-based care across the Pacific Northwest. The affiliation will bring together Samaritan (Oregon-based, community-focused) and MultiCare (Washington-based system) to invest in access, technology, and services, while retaining local governance and community roots. The anticipated timeline: signing definitive agreement, regulatory review, integration planning, and full operations in mid-2026.

My commentary

Healthcare continues to consolidate. Larger systems want scale, broader geographies, more diversified revenue streams, and greater bargaining power. The MultiCare-Samaritan affiliation is a textbook example: a community-based system aligning with a larger peer to sharpen capabilities while maintaining local governance.