Digital health startups raised $21.3 billion in the first three quarters of 2021, marking the sector's three highest-funded quarters ever, according to a report released Oct. 4 by Rock Health, a venture fund dedicated to digital health.

Graphite Health, a nonprofit focusing on healthcare interoperability challenges, was launched Oct. 5 by Salt Lake City-based Intermountain Healthcare, St. Louis-based SSM Health and Albuquerque, N.M.-based Presbyterian Healthcare Services.

Researchers from the Stanford (Calif.) University School of Medicine, New York City-based Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and Aurora-based University of Colorado School of Medicine launched a study to gauge clinician attitudes toward expanding patients' access to their medical records, according to a study published in Nature on Oct. 5.

It took just two minutes for hackers to breach a hospital's network and deploy ransomware on Franklin, Ind.-based Johnson Memorial Health, according to an Oct. 4 Daily Journal report.

The White House is assembling 30 countries to meet this month to collaborate on a global strategy aimed at addressing the threat ransomware brings to economic and national security, CNN reported Oct. 1. 

Investing in grassroots community outreach and focusing on statistics that demonstrate vaccines' efficacy against COVID-19-related death could be effective ways to combat hesitancy toward the inoculations, according to two studies published Sept. 30 in JAMA Network Open.

Indianapolis-based Eskenazi Health began notifying patients and employees Oct. 1 that their protected health information was exposed earlier this year after a ransomware attack on the hospital. 

Connected medical devices provide health systems with multiple benefits, but these connected devices can also expose health systems to a host of cybersecurity-related risks.

Report findings and a current lawsuit allege that ransomware attacks and patient outcomes have a direct link.

The National Institutes of Health's All of Us precision medicine research program uploaded medical data from about 215,000 participants.

The FDA outlined the best practices for communicating cybersecurity vulnerabilities with patients, according to an October report.

Health2047, the American Medical Association's innovation subsidiary, on Oct. 4 unveiled its latest spinout company: RecoverX, which seeks to support decision-making for physicians in over 30 specialties through its artificial intelligence platform.

Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic has developed an approach using clinical databases to improve surgical outcomes that can be applied at other hospitals, according to a Sept. 30 Harvard Business Review report.

Medical devicemakers are highlighting that their products are life-saving in a global chip shortage where competition is steep, according to an Oct. 3 report by The Wall Street Journal.

Franklin, Ind.-based Johnson Memorial Health was struck Oct. 2 by a ransomware attack that disabled its computer network.

Kansas City, Mo.-based Cerner will require all U.S. employees to get vaccinated against COVID-19 by the end of the year, The Kansas City Star reported Oct. 1. 

Hospitals and health systems have increasingly turned to technologies to streamline communication across both clinical and nonclinical employees, with Hillrom, Epic and Vocera serving as some of the most adopted platforms, according to KLAS Research. 

Healthcare providers that have rolled out clinical communication technologies from Halo Health and PerfectServe Telmediq have reported the highest satisfaction rates and confidence in their vendors to continue supporting future outcomes, according to a recent KLAS Research report. 

Amazon recently posted job openings related to its health business. Below are ten positions the company recently posted:

Edison, N.J.-based Hackensack Meridian Health said Oct. 1 it has renamed its hospital in Brick, N.J., to recognize its role as a teaching hospital.