The University of Chicago Medicine and COTA, an oncology data and analytics firm, are launching research to investigate racial disparities in cancer care.

Ensuring clinical documentation is completely and accurately captured in a patient's medical record is essential for health systems, as this not only affects revenue but also patient outcomes

Recognizing a need for centralized health data to answer key questions about COVID-19, the National Institutes of Health extracted siloed data at the beginning of the pandemic to establish a national COVID-19 database. Now, it's one of the largest collections of COVID-19 patient data in the world, MIT Technology Review reported June 21.

Google has made moves to expand its presence in the healthcare sector during the last 12 months, including multiple partnerships with health systems, several new product launches and efforts to facilitate the country's COVID-19 vaccine rollout.

Four class-action lawsuits have been filed against San Diego-based Scripps Health after an April 29 malware attack that exposed more than 147,000 patients' health information, according to a June 22 San Diego Union-Tribune report. 

Marshalltown, Iowa-based Wolfe Eye Clinic began notifying 500,000 patients that their data was exposed in a ransomware attack on the chain's 40 locations across the state.

Greenville, S.C.-based Prisma Health has entered a 10-year strategic partnership with Siemens Healthineers focused on scaling healthcare innovation, improving workforce development and launching a joint intelligence center, the organizations announced June 22. 

The Department of Veterans Affairs' $16 billion plan to modernize its EHR with Cerner has had its share of roadblocks. It has paused three times, is possibly billions of dollars over budget, and has caused countless difficulties for VA staff and patients.

EHRs are designed with specialists' needs in mind, which exacerbates challenges for primary care providers and may impede patient safety, according to a May 25 study published in the journal Human Factors.

From the departure of its CEO to bringing on a new financial chief, Kansas City, Mo.-based Cerner has made several changes to its leadership team in the first half of 2021. 

Researchers from the University of Chicago released a playbook with four steps to diminish biases in artificial intelligence in healthcare, according to a June report by the Center for Applied AI at Chicago Booth.

An Ohio state contractor said June 21 that Ohio Medicaid providers' data has been exposed in a data breach on a vendor's app, according to a June 22 report by Dayton Daily News.

The CDC rolled out a new WhatsApp chat June 21 to provide reliable information about COVID-19 vaccines in Spanish, NBC News reported.

Below are seven marketing campaigns launched in June to raise awareness about brand identity and certain issues affecting public health.

The Duke Clinical Research Institute, part of Durham, N.C.-based Duke University School of Medicine, established a new center for exploring and evaluating digital health measures and technologies, the institute said June 22. 

Scripps Health is being accused of failing to properly secure and protect patients' health information stored within the San Diego-based system's network, which a malware attack compromised April 29, according to court documents. 

The Office of the National Coordinator is prioritizing addressing inequalities that have been long driven by poverty and racism. Through documenting, reporting, accessing and using social determinants of health, the ONC expects to help eliminate health disparities and improve health outcomes at an individual and nationwide level.

Catholic Health's Mount St. Mary's and Sisters of Charity hospitals, Marshall Medical Center and Harbor Regional Health Community Hospital have been added to the tally of CaptureRx data breach victims. The four hospitals are among 21 hospitals and healthcare organizations targeted by the ransomware attack that exposed patient data. 

Old Bridge, N.J.-based Coastal Medical Group in April discovered its computer systems had been hacked and accessed by an unauthorized user for more than a month, Central Jersey reported June 18. 

Many health systems struggle with management and performance reporting.