News You Can Use – August 2025

This month’s episode of “News You Can Use” on Healthcare NOW Radio features news from the month of August 2025.

The show that gives you a quick insight into the latest news, twists, turns, and debacles going on in healthcare with my friend and co-host Craig Joseph, MD (@CraigJoseph) Chief Medical Officer at Nordic Consulting Partners and myself, where every diagnosis comes with a side of humor. We hope you stay curious, stay engaged, and keep seeking the truth in healthcare in a world that thrives on information.

Buckle up as we dive into the ER of excitement, the ICU of irrationality, and the waiting room of wacky wisdom in this months show that features a review of:

• Inflation, prices, especially in Healthcare Insurance
• AI Innovations
• Generative models
• SIM Jacking and Hacking
• Epic UGM and all the buzz

Welcome to another episode of “Healthcare: It’s Weirder Than You Think.” This month, we dive into the glorious chaos that is healthcare news, from mind-boggling insurance hikes to AI that might just know you better than your therapist.

Babies Don’t Need Cell Phones

We spend a lot of time talking about the Epic’s annual User Group Meeting (UGM), the secretive, Wisconsin-based party where electronic health nerds gather to discuss things like why babies have cell phone numbers. Apparently, newborns aren’t just mastering peek-a-boo, they’re also racking up digits in their medical charts. This becomes a real problem when lab results for, say, a sensitive issue get shared to Mom’s phone instead of the actual patient. Cue the awkward family dinners. As Craig notes, Epic is working on solutions that gray out the cell field for anyone under 12. Problem solved….sort of.

AI Predicts Your Future, But Can’t Lower Your Premiums

Amongst the many presentations was one on Cosmos, its massive “anonymized” database with 300 million patient records and the AI trained on this treasure trove to predict everything from readmission risks to whether your A1C will hit double digits. It’s like a crystal ball, but with some questions on privacy and use cases, as I immediately wondered if insurance companies are already drooling over this data to raise premiums or, worse, move us towards a dystopian future as featured in the 2011 movie “In Time” where we all start counting down our expiration date.

We covered the economy, at least the healthcare economy, which while already stressful enough now with insurance open enrollment approaching and widespread reporting of premiums skyrocketing it is going to be a painful few months. Your choices? Pay up, go without, or hope you win the lottery.

Data Sharing: Because Your Doctor Isn’t Actually Psychic

In Washington, we cover the recent opinion piece from Amy Gleason pushing for smoother data sharing because, shocker, doctors kinda need your info to. And in a win for justice, a 23-year-old SIM jacker got 10 years in prison. Guess He Couldn’t Hack Healthcare. So, if you’re going to steal identities, maybe don’t. We’re not your boss. But maybe use those skills for good next time? Just a thought.

We hope you enjoy our take on the latest news and developments in healthcare and want to help you keep untangling the web of information, dodging the sensational pitfalls, and emerging victorious, albeit a little dizzy, on the other side. In the end, the stories we uncover, and the discussions we ignite, all shape the narrative of our shared future. We want to hear from you especially if you have topics covered or questions you’d like answered. You can reach out directly via the contact form on my website, or send a message on LinkedIn to Craig or me.

Until next month keep solving healthcare’s mysteries before they become your emergencies.

This article was originally published on the Dr. Nick – The Incrementalist blog and is republished here with permission.

News You Can Use gives you a quick insight into the latest news, twists, turns and debacles going on in healthcare with Dr. Nick and Dr. Craig and where every diagnosis comes with a side of side-splitting humor. Your hosts are Dr Nick a long-time host, innovator and healthcare wizard who can prescribe a digital dose of innovation to cure even the most ailing operational inefficiencies. And Dr. Craig Joseph is the healthcare guru who can diagnose both patient and software glitches with equal precision, making sure hospitals run smoother than a well-oiled robot doc.

So buckle up, because we’re diving into the ER of excitement, the ICU of irrationality, and the waiting room of wacky wisdom.

Stay curious, stay engaged, and keep seeking the truth in a world that thrives on information. Because in the end, the stories we uncover, and the discussions we ignite, they all shape the narrative of our shared future.

And keep laughing at the absurdity, keep rolling your eyes at the headlines, and keep spreading the news like your favorite gossip. Who knows, maybe someday you’ll be the breaking news story we’re all talking about!

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