Cassie McGrath

Reporter, Healthcare Brew

Cassie McGrath joined Healthcare Brew in May 2024. She previously worked for the Boston Business Journal, MassLive, Frontline PBS, GBH, the Daily Hampshire Gazette and the Massachusetts Daily Collegian. She graduated from the Commonwealth Honors College at the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2021 with a dual degree in journalism and political science and a certificate in international relations.

Photo collage of a doctor speaking to a patient in the background, with a futuristic white robot typing on a laptop in the foreground.

AI 411: September 2026

Your monthly roundup of AI announcements is here.

A therapist holding a clipboard sitting across from their patient, some text bubbles with binary code within.

Why patients turn to chatbots for medical advice

Patients want “quick and immediate advice,” according to one survey.

A person pushing back against a fist.

One public health expert’s quest to improve violence prevention

Megan Ranney, who has spent much of her career researching violence prevention, told us what she thinks works (and what doesn’t) to limit firearm-related harm.

Two hands shaking surrounded by investing visual elements

Hospitals & Facilities

Signed and Scrubbed: August 2026 hospital M&A

For-profit health system Universal Health Services acquired Talkspace for $835 million this month.

Back view of a man using mobile phone that has a healthcare cross made of binary code floating above it

AI 411: August 2026

Your monthly roundup of AI announcements is here.

A computer screen displaying the text 'ACCESSING...' with animated rectangles transitioning from green to red with a block icon and a 'FAILED' message appearing.

Checking in on Mass General Brigham two years after the CrowdStrike outage

The Massachusetts hospital system implemented several changes to prevent harm from future outages.

A doctor standing on a stack of bills

Hospitals & Facilities

Report: Healthcare CFOs don’t feel prepared to make enterprise decisions

Healthcare CFOs said they aren’t trained to make decisions on patient experience and AI implementation, Deloitte reports.

A side-by-side graphic of a hospital worker on a desktop computer with a medical cross made of binary code and a calendar

How AI scheduling systems help hospitals to manage staffing

AI tools that help build hospital schedules are part of the overall push to bring more AI into healthcare, experts say.

A portrait of ldemaro González, chief diversity, equity, and inclusion officer at Rush, a healthcare organization

Hospitals & Facilities

How one hospital system is helping tackle health inequality

Chicago’s Rush University System for Health chief DEI officer discusses the challenges of working in DEI in 2026.

Hospital building split in half collaged with briefcase and $100 bill. Credit: Illustration: Anna Kim, Photos: Adobe Stock.

Hospitals & Facilities

Signed and Scrubbed: July 2026 hospital M&A

Two California health systems officially established a new joint system this month.