News You Can Use – February 2026

This month’s episode of “News You Can Use” on Healthcare NOW Radio features news from the month of February 2026.

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 month’s show that features a review of:

• Doximity ChatGPT
• AI Detection Algorithms
• LLM Use Cases
• Paris Cafe’s
• FDA Changes

If Billy Joel Ran the FDA

February apparently means two things: gray skies and regulatory whiplash. On this week’s show, Dr. Craig and I kicked things off with the FDA’s decision to ease drug approval requirements. Shifting from two rigorous studies to one for certain therapies. And like two aging rockers who remember the B-side better than the hit single, we both blurted out the same word: Thalidomide. Not funny. Not trivial. But deeply instructive. History tightened the rules for a reason. Now we’re loosening them because… vibes? Efficiency? Optimism? Look, there’s no perfect answer in medicine, only trade-offs. But when your shared, reflexive memory is a global drug disaster immortalized by Billy Joel in “We Didn’t Start the Fire,” maybe it’s worth pausing before declaring everything “perfectly cloudy.”

From there, we waded into the AI swamp. Specifically, Doximity’s version of ChatGPT and the broader LLM land grab in healthcare. The pitch is very seductive. Talk into your phone, get a pristine progress note, maybe even some suggested orders. Less typing, more doctoring.

Except…

Hallucinations are still a thing.

Compliance is a thing.

And copying chunks of a legal medical record into a third-party tool without ironclad safeguards is also very much a thing.

That said, when AI summarizes a chart so Doctors can spend more time actually looking at my patient instead of spelunking through 47 progress notes from 2009, that’s not trivial. As Craig pointed out, the real question isn’t

“Is it perfect?”

It’s

“Is it better than the gloriously flawed system we already have?”

Same standard we should be applying to drugs, self-driving cars, and pretty much everything else.

We also poked at AI-powered diagnostic gadgets, like the amped-up stethoscope that promises to detect heart failure and atrial fibrillation but, in at least one study, didn’t exactly set the world on fire. Meanwhile, handheld ultrasound is hovering over the stethoscope like a tech bro at a Blockbuster Video circa 2005.

Less Dashboard, More Doctor

Progress marches on. And yet, I can’t shake the feeling that medicine isn’t just data capture and signal detection. It’s touch. Trust. The absurd privilege of being allowed into someone’s physical and emotional space. Which brings me to Paris, where I watched a café hum along beautifully without customer satisfaction texts, incentive dashboards, or five-star ratings. Just professionals being professional. Maybe healthcare could use a little less algorithmic micromanagement and a little more Paris café energy.

Fewer cosmic pranks. More quiet competence.

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 time keep solving healthcare’s mysteries before they become your emergencies and stay healthy, stay skeptical, and for heaven’s sake, check who’s listed as your emergency contact.

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!

Weekdays at 4:00 am, 12:00 pm, and 8:00 pm ET.

Follow the Social Hashtag at #HealthNewsYouCanUse