Charleston-based Medical University of South Carolina and Clemson (S.C.) University said Oct. 15 they have partnered to launch an artificial intelligence innovation hub.

Leesburg-based UF Health Central Florida has been sued by a patient after a May cyberattack exposed the data of 700,981 patients, according to a lawsuit filed Oct. 14.

Shreveport, La.-based Willis-Knighton Health System is renaming its innovation hub and rehab institute after its recently retired CEO, who served the system for 56 years, the Shreveport Times reported Oct. 14.

These health IT moves have been reported since Oct. 1:

In the past four weeks, three centers focused on healthcare innovation have been established and plans to build another three centers have been announced.

The Biden administration plans to move the federal public health data tracking system back to the CDC following the Trump administration's shift in July 2020, Bloomberg reported Oct. 14. 

Representatives from more than 30 countries met Oct. 13 and Oct. 14 to coordinate their response to ransomware, which has been devastating to hospitals as they simultaneously battle the COVID-19 pandemic.

Two New Jersey hospitals — Edison-based Hackensack Meridian and West Orange-based RWJBarnabas — and two of the state's schools — Princeton University and New Brunswick-based Rutgers University — broke ground Oct. 14 on a hub for research, innovation and medical education.

The biggest healthcare deals in the third quarter of 2021 were for companies focused on mRNA drug discovery, digital care and cybersecurity, according to CB Insights' third-quarter venture capital report.

Mental health and meditation app Headspace closed its merger with on-demand digital mental health service Ginger, the companies announced Oct. 14.

The Vaccine Confidence Fund on Oct. 14 selected 33 organizations to receive grants totaling more than $7 million for projects exploring how technology and social media can increase vaccine confidence.

Justin Swant became Laguna Health's chief business officer, the digital home care company said Oct. 13.

Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine could soon be approved for children ages 5-11. When promoting vaccination to parents of young children, it's important that communication professionals emphasize data to ease safety and efficacy concerns, as well as encourage parents to have conversations with people they trust.

Fitbit is awarding six organizations, including UCHealth and Scripps Research, more than $300,000 for various research projects focused on improving health equity, the company said Oct. 13. 

Two of the nation's biggest healthcare providers are leading a new innovation coalition focused on transforming healthcare delivery outside of the four walls of a hospital. 

Millburn, N.J.-based Diamond Institute for Infertility & Menopause has agreed to pay nearly $500,000 following a 2017 data breach that exposed the protected health information of more than 14,000 patients, the New Jersey Attorney General's Office said Oct. 12. 

Fresno, Calif.-based United Health Centers, which has 21 locations across California, was hit by a ransomware attack that reportedly forced its entire network to shut down and resulted in patients' data being stolen, according to an Oct. 12 Fresno Bee report.

Carrollton, Texas-based Premier Patient Healthcare began notifying 37,636 patients that a former executive wrongfully accessed patients' health data, according to data the organization shared with the Maine attorney general's office Oct. 1.

There were more than a hundred active ransomware groups active in 2020, according to an October report by Google Cloud's Virus Total.

Oregon hospitals and GE Healthcare partnered to launch the nation's first automated statewide hospital bed management tool.