GoKawiil
Tech News
A commentary piece argues that uniting fragmented patient data across hospital systems is essential for improving care quality. It references a 1960 British Medical Journal essay by Lord Taylor, which predicted hospitals would need to adapt infrastructure and organize care around patients.
Future of Cancer Care Today has introduced a single standing authorization form that US patients can use to request or direct release of their medical records, imaging files, lab and genomic data, and available tissue to recipients of their choice. The form specifies the patient's information, any personal representative's authority, and the releasing institutions, and covers materials including pathology slides, tissue blocks, blood, plasma and bone marrow samples across all dates of treatment. The organization is inviting patients and data-holding institutions to use the form and provide feedback.
Epic, maker of the widely used MyChart patient records software, has paused most new product development for about six weeks to fix security vulnerabilities discovered during testing with Anthropic's Mythos cybersecurity model. CEO Judy Faulkner confirmed the pause to Modern Healthcare, and chief security officer Stirling Martin told the New York Times that some customer configurations could let outsiders access patient records without leaving any trace in system logs.
Doctors across the US are spending significant portions of short office visits piecing together patients' medical histories because electronic health records fail to consolidate data from hospitals, specialists, and rehab facilities. This administrative burden of chasing incomplete records and outdated medication lists is cited as a major driver of physician fatigue and burnout.
McKesson, a major U.S. healthcare and pharmaceutical distributor, disclosed in an SEC filing that it discovered unauthorized access to third-party applications and data exfiltration on August 25, 2026. The extortion group ShinyHunters claims responsibility, alleging it stole 284 million patient records, though McKesson has not confirmed the scope or named the affected applications. The company says its investigation is ongoing and has not yet determined whether the incident is financially material.