For health IT to meet its full potential, it needs better methods for creating and dispersing best practices and providing advanced tech assistance to health systems, according to a recent study published in Healthcare journal.

Watertown, Mass.-based Athenahealth plans to hire more than 100 new employees over the next year at its Belfast, Maine-based office, according to an Oct. 27 Free Press report.

Salt Lake City-based Intermountain Healthcare announced plans to merge with Sioux Falls, S.D.-based Sanford Health this week with increased telehealth and digital services as a key aspect of the pending deal.

Portland, Ore.-based insurer Moda Health will provide Fitbit devices to more than 64,000 members as part of its new digital health offerings, according to an Oct. 26 news release. 

Healthcare providers and insurers consider Microsoft to have the strongest healthcare artificial intelligence offering among the big tech giants, according to a report from healthcare data and IT insights company KLAS. 

Cyberattacks against hospitals and healthcare organizations have accelerated in the last few months, and experts are warning this trend is likely to continue, according to a report in The Hill.

Technology is playing a big role in healthcare providers' response to the COVID-19 pandemic, from accelerating virtual care and data analytics efforts to supporting remote work and supply tracking efforts.

York, Pa.-based WellSpan Health transitioned its facilities in Franklin and Cumberland counties onto the system's Epic EHR, according to an Oct. 26 news release.

As society pushes toward the first stages of the "fourth industrial revolution," there is an increased opportunity for technology to modernize the U.S. healthcare system, according to two national healthcare policy experts.

Here are the healthcare provider malware, ransomware and phishing incidents Becker's Hospital Review reported on in the past 30 days.