Healthcare

Sheridan – October 15, 2026 -- The global cancer diagnostics market is valued at USD 29.3 billion in 2026 and is projected to reach USD 41.5 billion by 2031, a CAGR of 7.2%, according to a new study by Wissen Research.

Demand starts with patient volume. The International Agency for Research on Cancer counted about 20 million new cancer cases and 9.7 million cancer deaths worldwide in 2022, and expects annual new cases to pass 35 million by 2050. Each patient may need screening, diagnosis, staging, molecular characterization and follow-up.

Rancho Cucamonga – October 15, 2026 -- Inland Empire Health Plan (IEHP) ranked No. 34 on the 2026 Fortune and Great Place To Work Best Workplaces in Health Care list, its fifth consecutive year on the ranking.

Employee survey returns 87% favorable rating at IEHP

The 2026 Great Place To Work survey went to more than 3,800 IEHP team members. In the survey, 87% of respondents said the health plan is a great place to work. IEHP earned Great Place To Work certification in April for the sixth year in a row.

Oakland – October 15, 2026 -- Blue Shield of California has appointed Erin Brewer, a strategic advisor and former Lyft chief financial officer, to its Board of Directors, adding more than 25 years of finance and operations experience as the nonprofit health plan pursues its affordability agenda.

Brewer led Lyft through its first full year of profitability

Brewer joined Lyft as CFO in 2023. In that role and in her current advisory capacity, she helped lead a financial transformation that included the ride-hailing company's first full year of profitability.

She oversaw global organizations covering finance, investor relations, internal audit, corporate strategy and business development. Earlier, she held leadership positions at Charles Schwab, Atlassian and McKesson Corporation.

Chicago – October 15, 2026 -- The American Association of Endodontists (AAE) is one of 24 associations profiled in a new book on how professional bodies guided their members through the COVID-19 pandemic.

Author Joanna M. Pineda documents association response across health care and education

"When It Mattered Most: The Untold Story of How Associations Protected Professions and Saved Industries During the Pandemic" was written by association executive Joanna M. Pineda. It covers organizations in health care, education and other industries. AAE appears in the health care section with a chapter titled "When the Pain Can't Wait."

Pineda wrote the book to document pandemic response that often happened outside public view. Associations had to interpret rapidly changing information, advocate for their professions and supply resources to members when no established playbook existed.

Bronx – October 15, 2026 -- Montefiore Einstein has unveiled a renovated labor and delivery suite at Jack D. Weiler Hospital, funded by a $9.68 million grant from the New York Statewide Health Care Facility Transformation Program.

The Weiler Mother Baby Unit, on the sixth floor at 1825 Eastchester Road, received a redesigned workflow and capital upgrades to its L&D rooms, maternal surgical suite, and triage and waiting areas. Five of six construction phases are complete. The final phase covers the last two L&D rooms and a back service elevator upgrade, and is planned for completion in early 2027. The work proceeded in phases with no interruption to patient care.

Pittsburgh – October 14, 2026 -- Allegheny Health Network (AHN) has appointed surgical oncologist Nipun B. Merchant, MD, as chair of its Department of Surgery and its first surgeon-in-chief, effective February 2027.

New surgeon-in-chief role centralizes oversight of network surgery

The newly created position makes Merchant the senior physician executive for AHN's surgical enterprise, with strategic oversight of surgical services across the network's hospitals and ambulatory surgery centers. As chair, he will lead the department's clinical, academic and strategic growth, including faculty recruitment, expansion of advanced surgical programs, education and research. He will work with physicians, nurses and operational leaders on quality, safety and patient experience.

AHN says the role reflects a push toward a more integrated model of surgical care across its growing network.

Scottsdale – – October 14, 2026 -- Senior Helpers has given its highest honor, the Founders Award, to multi-unit franchisees Tiffany and Shaun Phelan, the first couple to receive it, for operating four locations across Arizona and California.

The Phelans own two locations in Scottsdale and Mesa, Arizona, and two in Clovis and Visalia, California. The award goes to owners who champion the brand's programs, support fellow owners and earn the trust of families in their communities. Senior Helpers presented it at its recent annual conference.

Shaun Phelan opened the first Senior Helpers franchise in 2007 and is the longest-tenured owner

Shaun Phelan opened the Scottsdale location in 2007. Tiffany joined the corporate team that same year before opening her first location in the Fresno area. She now leads dementia training for family caregivers and firefighters in California and Arizona. All four locations serve veterans through VA contracts.

TORONTO – October 14, 2026 -- Patients treated with whole-gland TULSA were more than twice as likely to preserve both erectile function and pad-free continence at six months as those who had robotic radical prostatectomy (risk ratio 2.1; p=0.004), according to CAPTAIN trial data. Profound Medical Corp. (NASDAQ:PROF; TSX:PRN) presented the results among five abstracts at the 15th Interventional MRI Symposium in Boston.

CAPTAIN trial shows whole-gland TULSA cut complication hospitalizations to 0.7% versus 6.3% for robotic surgery

CAPTAIN is the first fully enrolled, multicenter randomized controlled trial to compare the TULSA Procedure directly with robotic radical prostatectomy in localized intermediate-risk prostate cancer. Whole-gland TULSA also showed statistically superior preservation of flaccid penile length at one month.

New York – October 14, 2026 -- Consumer365 has recognized Sharps Assure as a notable option for infusion providers researching sharps disposal in 2026, citing its mail-back retrieval systems, five container size tiers and tracking documentation.

Sharps Assure offers containers from compact formats up to 5 gallons

The product range includes compact formats and 1-gallon, 2-gallon, 3-gallon and 5-gallon configurations. Vertical-entry containers are available, as are larger units that accept horizontal or vertical entry. Smaller units may suit individual treatment rooms or low-volume practices, while larger systems may fit facilities that generate sharps throughout the day.

Stockholm – October 14, 2026 -- SciBase Holding AB (STO: SCIB) has received its first positive medical policy for Nevisense from Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield, which serves more than 7 million members across multiple US states. The decision moves eligible use of the skin-lesion device from a predominantly cash-pay model into covered care through a major private insurer.

Highmark policy applies to all commercial lines and opt-in self-funded groups

Highmark considers electrical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) medically necessary when a dermatologist is evaluating a clinically atypical suspicious pigmented lesion and is considering a biopsy. The procedure is reported under CPT code 0658T. The policy covers all Highmark commercial insured lines of business and self-funded (ASO) employer groups that elect it.

Coverage is limited to defined cases: