The Massachusetts health department will transition its electronic laboratory system to the Amazon Web Services cloud on Aug. 22, a move that will increase the state's public health data collection capacity.

The rapid increase in telehealth services across the U.S. due to the COVID-19 pandemic has served as a temporary revenue stop gap for in-person visits and social distancing measures, according to Fitch Ratings.

Nuance announced Aug. 20 that its virtual assistant is now integrated with Epic's ambient voice technology "Hey Epic!" in the EHR's front-end software Hyperspace.

The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute approved funding for seven research studies assessing various healthcare and telehealth approaches to improve COVID-19 patient outcomes and lessen effects of the virus on healthcare workers and communities.

HHS awarded more than $35 million to more than 50 rural healthcare organizations across 33 states Aug. 20, the department's most recent effort to improve healthcare access in rural areas.

While enhancing health technologies such as artificial intelligence tools has the potential to improve the patient experience and care outcomes, it can also intensify longstanding inequities in health systems across the U.S., according to James Madara, MD.

Brigham and Women's Hospital teamed up with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Boston Dynamics to develop a robot that performs contactless vital sign monitoring to track COVID-19 in patients.

Stanford Health Care (Calif.) is in the heart of Silicon Valley and known for innovative partnerships with big technology companies as well as entrepreneurial companies to improve clinical care, research and innovation.

Three House Democrats are asking the Government Accounting Office to formally review the $10.2 million contract awarded TeleTracking Technologies for oversight of the country's COVID-19 hospital-reporting data, The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports. 

Instacart, a national online grocery company, partnered with Doctor On Demand to provide free COVID-19 screenings and virtual medical consultations to its shoppers.