Digital Health & AI

Dallas – September 18, 2026 -- Lightbeam Health Solutions has appointed Thomas P. McCarrick, MD, MBI, as Chief Medical Officer, effective August 31, 2026, bringing more than four decades of clinical and healthcare leadership experience to the AI-enabled population health company.

Physician executive joins with dual informatics and value-based care credentials

Dr. McCarrick is board certified in family medicine, geriatric medicine, and clinical informatics. His background spans primary care, population health, care coordination, and value-based healthcare delivery, according to the company.

Ann Arbor – September 18, 2026 -- Merge has launched MergeIQTM, an artificial intelligence layer embedded across its imaging platform, targeting radiology, cardiology, pathology and other imaging specialties without adding standalone systems for IT teams to manage.

Two AI applications debut inside Merge Workflow Orchestrator

The first MergeIQ applications, RelevancyIQTM and NaviIQ, are now available within Merge Workflow Orchestrator, the platform that unifies enterprise worklists for caseload management, interpretation and collaboration. RelevancyIQ identifies and ranks prior reports by relevance to the current case, while NaviIQ searches within those prior reports to surface findings and historical context. Both tools are embedded directly into the radiologist's diagnostic reading workflow, delivering supporting data at the point of interpretation rather than requiring clinicians to search across disconnected systems.

Hackensack, N.J. -- September 18, 2026 -- Hindsait, Inc. has been approved for the Electronic Prior Authorization category within the CMS Health Tech Ecosystem, placing the clinical AI firm among organizations working with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to modernize prior authorization ahead of the CMS Interoperability and Prior Authorization Final Rule (CMS-0057-F), which takes effect in 2027.

CMS ecosystem brings payers and providers together on interoperable workflows

The Electronic Prior Authorization initiative unites payers, providers, EHR vendors, and digital health developers to shift prior authorization toward end-to-end interoperable processes before the 2027 deadline.

San Francisco – September 18, 2026 -- Medallion has acquired Andros, an NCQA-certified credentials verification organization, in a deal that consolidates over a million healthcare providers across nearly 400 organizations and health plans onto a single AI-driven credentialing platform.

Deal creates largest AI-native credentialing platform in the U.S.

The acquisition combines Medallion's automated credentialing and enrollment technology with Andros's 13-year track record serving health plans, health systems, provider groups, and telehealth companies since 2013. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Bailey & Company served as exclusive financial advisor to Andros.

Pinellas Park, Fla. – September 18, 2026 -- Brundage Group has appointed Des Varady as president, tapping a 30-year health care and technology executive to oversee operations as the clinical compliance and revenue integrity firm scales nationally.

Varady brings three decades of leadership in physician-centric health care businesses

Varady previously served as chief executive officer of Corridor, where he built the company into a leader in revenue cycle and education solutions for post-acute care providers. He also held CEO roles at Radsource, a provider of physician radiology services, and HWT, a health care data services firm.

Salt Lake City – September 18, 2026 -- Health Catalyst, Inc. (NASDAQ: HCAT) has appointed Tami Reller to its board of directors, effective September 18, 2026, naming her audit chair and a member of the compensation committee.

Board move follows new CEO appointment at healthcare intelligence firm

Reller's appointment comes shortly after Health Catalyst named Simeon Kohl as Chief Executive Officer and President, effective September 18, 2026. The company positions itself as an AI-forward healthcare intelligence provider built on 18 years of operating history and $2.8 billion in documented outcomes for health systems.

New York – September 18, 2026 -- Lavender, the largest nurse-owned telepsychiatry practice in the United States, has appointed Kara Birch, DNP, PMHNP-BC, FNP-BC, as Director of Clinical Excellence and Anna Lau, MSN, PMHNP-BC, WHNP-BC, as Director of Nursing Operations, formalizing leadership over a network of more than 140 nurse practitioners operating across more than 40 states.

Chicago – September 18, 2026 -- The American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) has selected a record 23 physicians for its 2026-2027 Scholars Program, each receiving a $15,000 financial award to conduct research on board certification, artificial intelligence in clinical assessment, and physician burnout.

ABMS expands its scholar cohort to a record size since the program's 2014 launch

The one-year, part-time initiative supports early-career physicians and researchers focused on initial and continuing board certification. Recipients remain at their home institutions, work with self-selected mentors, and join monthly virtual sessions with peers, mentors, Member Board leaders and program alumni. Greg Ogrinc, MD, ABMS Senior Vice President for Certification Standards and Programs, said the rising volume of applicants reflects growing interest in research addressing certification and physician assessment.

Boston – September 17, 2026 -- Outcomes4Me Inc. has appointed Jim Longley, formerly Senior Vice President of AI Partnerships at OpenEvidence, as its new Chief Revenue Officer to lead commercial expansion across pharma, provider, and diagnostic partnerships.

Longley brings two decades of health tech revenue scaling to the role

Before OpenEvidence, Longley spent nearly five years at GoodRx, rising to Senior Vice President and Head of Commercial, and prior to that spent over six years at Doximity as Vice President for Business Development and Product Innovation. Outcomes4Me CEO Maya R. Said, Sc.D., said Longley has a track record of scaling health tech companies to hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue.

San Mateo – September 17, 2026 -- Notable, a healthcare AI platform provider deployed at more than 12,000 sites of care, has appointed Dr. Nicholas Desai as Chief Medical Officer, tapping a former Houston Methodist executive to bridge enterprise technology and hospital operations.

Desai brings two decades of dual clinical and operations leadership from Houston Methodist

Desai joins Notable from Houston Methodist, where he held roles as system Chief Medical Information Officer and hospital Chief Operating Officer, Chief Medical Officer, and Chief Quality Officer. He most recently helped lead the development, opening, and growth of Houston Methodist Cypress Hospital, overseeing culture, clinical operations, and technology from the outset. His background spans more than 20 years connecting enterprise technology with clinical practice, with accountability for technology, people, growth, quality, and financial performance.