Share
The Gist Healthcare Podcast
Cybersecurity and the Healthcare Industry: A Conversation with Clearwater CEO Steve Cagle
In 2022, CommonSpirit–the second largest hospital chain in the United States–was the target of a ransomware attack that hobbled operations at many of its 140 hospitals and exposed the private health information of more than 600,000 patients.
The attack on CommonSpirit was the largest ransomware attack in 2022 but it was hardly an isolated incident. One analysis found that up to 290 hospitals in the U-S were impacted by a ransomware attack last year. And a new study published in JAMA found that from January 2016 to December 2021, 374 ransomware attacks on US health care organizations exposed the private health information of nearly 42 million patients. So what can hospital systems do to better protect themselves and their patients?
On today’s episode of Gist Healthcare Daily, J. Carlisle Larsen is joined by Steve Cagle–CEO of Clearwater, a firm that provides cybersecurity, compliance, and privacy solutions focused on the healthcare industry.
More episodes
View all episodes
Friday, May 29, 2026
09:08|On today’s The Gist Healthcare Podcast: a Texas judge dismisses a payer lawsuit against HaloMD, Eli Lilly reports strong results for its next-generation weight loss drug and new research links greater nurse responsibility to higher retention.Wednesday, May 27, 2026
08:59|The Trump administration finalizes sweeping changes to the Affordable Care Act marketplaces, HHS launches a new AI-powered fraud audit program, and Providence plans to scale back most of its health plan offerings next year. Those stories and more on today’s episode of The Gist Healthcare Podcast.Monday, May 18, 2026
05:55|On today’s episode of The Gist Healthcare Podcast: health systems join a new federal initiative aimed at streamlining prior authorizations, lawmakers revive legislation that would ban PBMs from owning retail pharmacies, and a judge clears the way for CVS Health to sell its long-term care pharmacy business.Friday, May 15, 2026
06:26|Medicare pauses home health and hospice enrollment over fraud concerns, a congressional advisory committee calls for more oversight of AI prior authorization in Medicaid, and drug overdose deaths fell for the third year in a row. Coming up on today’s episode of The Gist Healthcare Podcast.Wednesday, May 13, 2026
08:11|Dr. Marty Makary is out as FDA commissioner. Sanford Health plans to merge with Minnesota-based North Memorial Health. And healthcare added the most jobs in April. Coming up on today’s episode of The Gist Healthcare Podcast.Monday, May 11, 2026
07:18|Today on The Gist Healthcare Podcast: California hospitals sue Anthem, Leapfrog reports patient safety gains, and a study links post-surgery walking to better outcomes.Friday, May 8, 2026
07:07|Pennsylvania sues an AI company, alleging its chatbots posed as licensed medical providers. Two North Carolina nonprofit health systems plan to merge. And the American Hospital Association is partnering with West Health to expand hospital technology adoption. Those stories and more on today’s episode of The Gist Healthcare Podcast.Wednesday, May 6, 2026
07:29|Coming up on The Gist Healthcare Podcast: UnitedHealthcare cuts prior authorizations by 30 percent. Healthcare bankruptcies rise in the first quarter. The Trump administration names a new Surgeon General.AI in Healthcare: When Imperfect Tools Meet Real-World Use
17:55|Artificial intelligence in healthcare is already being used in practice—but those tools aren’t perfect. In the final part of a three-part series, host J. Carlisle Larsen continues her conversation with Dr. Robert Wachter, Chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco and author of A Giant Leap: How AI Is Transforming Healthcare and What That Means for Our Future. As these tools move into wider use, Wachter explains how their limitations show up in real-world settings—from questions about reliability to how they’re used by clinicians and patients. The conversation examines what happens when imperfect systems are used in higher-stakes environments, and what that means for how AI is adopted going forward. You can listen to Part 1 here. And Part 2 here.