News You Can Use – September 2026

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

• Vaccines and Vaccination
• AI Documentation – is Anyone winning
• OpenEvidence Legal Response to the Court
• Orthosomnia

This month brought another delightful tour through the healthcare funhouse, where vaccines, AI, lawsuits and sleep trackers somehow coexist in the same news cycle. We kicked off the month with the all important discussion on COVID and flu vaccination, and reached the unsurprising conclusion that we are both firmly in the “small risk, potentially large reward” camp. I’ve now had both vaccines, and in my case both were the mRNA versions, and, in the interests of science, can report that the following day was essentially a write-off. The important point, however, is that vaccination isn’t about creating an impenetrable force field around you, it’s about reducing the chances that an infection turns into a hospital admission, an ICU stay, or something considerably worse. And yes, timing matters, particularly as protection wanes, but trying to perfectly time respiratory-virus season is, as Craig points out, rather like trying to time the stock market. Good luck with that.

Then there’s AI, money, and the eternal healthcare battle over who gets paid for what. Blue Cross Blue Shield has highlighted rising hospital reimbursement associated with AI-enabled documentation and coding, raising the inevitable specter of “upcoding.” But there’s an important distinction between using AI to invent complexity and using it to actually capture the complexity that was already there. For years, healthcare operated on the principle that if it wasn’t documented, it didn’t happen. Even when it very much did. Doctors routinely failed to capture everything they discussed because they were busy, forgetful, or simply trying to finish the next patient before lunch. Ambient AI and other tools can change that by making documentation more complete and accurate. That may increase legitimate reimbursement, which is rather different from manufacturing clinical facts that never existed. Of course, whenever technology creates a way to make more money, someone will eventually find a way to abuse it. Healthcare has a remarkably reliable talent for turning useful innovation into an arms race.

We highlight the latest response from OpenEvidence’in their lawsuit proceedings with Docxmity. Apparently their response to a court demand for information….essentially, “No thanks”. These two non-lawyers wonder whether ignoring a judge is now an accepted litigation strategy. We’ll watch that one develop.

And we closed out this month on orthosomnia. The human induced (or is it technology-induced) delightful condition where your obsession with sleep metrics actually makes it harder to sleep. I track my own sleep, but I’m interested in trends, not whether my watch gave me an 89 instead of a 92 last night. These devices are useful for spotting patterns, but their precise claims about REM, deep and light sleep are still proxies rather than laboratory-grade measurements. The irony is delicious. We now have technology capable of measuring our sleep all night, only to discover that obsessing over the measurement can keep us awake. Perhaps the most advanced healthcare technology of all remains knowing when to stop looking at the dashboard.

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!

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