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Nurses feel they have more time with patients than doctors do, and are much more optimistic about their organizations' use of AI, a new report finds. Elsevier's Clinician of the Future report is based on a survey fielded between the end of 2025 and early 2026. The survey reached over 2,700 clinicians globally, including physicians and nurses. It found 71% of nurses globally feel they have enough time with patients, compared to 60% of doctors. (Gliadkovskaya, 5/13)

Nurses engagement is on the rise, but younger age groups are still leaving their jobs at high rates. For its 2026 State of Nursing report, the data analytics company Press Ganey surveyed more than 422,000 registered nurses and 41,000 advanced practice providers last year. The report found turnover is highest among early-career registered nurses, signaling the need for more investment in onboarding and development. (DeSilva and Broderick, 5/13)

Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½Ò•îl Health News: License To Deliver: Some Midwives Break The Law To Assist With Home Births

In a midwife’s suburban Atlanta home with a playground and chicken coop outside, Madie Collins lay on an examination table while the midwife measured her pregnant belly. Unlike at many a doctor’s office, no crinkly paper sheet covered the table and no antiseptic chill lingered in the air. The room next door, where Collins’ appointment began, was filled with children’s toys and scented candles and warmed by a wood-burning stove. The certified professional midwife pressed the button on a handheld Doppler ultrasound machine she placed on Collins’ belly. (Rab, 5/14)

The health insurance industry is showing signs of life after several tough years. Major insurers that reported first-quarter earnings in recent weeks outperformed Wall Street expectations and demonstrated improvements in medical spending, suggesting longstanding cost pressures may be receding. UnitedHealthcare parent company UnitedHealth Group, Aetna parent company CVS Health, Cigna, Elevance Health, Centene and Alignment Healthcare saw medical expenses decline during the period and upgraded their annual earnings guidances. Humana, Molina Healthcare and Clover Health bested earnings projections for the quarter. (Tepper, 5/13)

Artificial intelligence has entered the world of sales calls, and it is changing the conversations between providers and medtech companies seeking to close a deal. Large companies like GE HealthCare and Olympus Corp., as well as startups, are hiring companies such as AcuityMD and MedScout to help them sell smarter by using AI and data analytics. It’s a change from the days of sales representatives spending hours preparing for meetings and making cold calls. It also can benefit providers, as sales representatives can share information about patient referral sources and where patients continue their care after a visit. (Dubinsky, 5/13)

Whether Optum Rx’s new direction marks a major shift in the pharmacy benefit manager sector remains to be seen. But when the market-leading PBM announced significant changes to its business model while promising minimal disruptions to earnings, it prompted a mix of optimism and skepticism. On Monday, Optum Rx — housed within UnitedHealth Group’s Optum subsidiary — joined CVS Health subsidiary CVS Caremark and Cigna unit Express Scripts in promising greater transparency in its operations and a shift away from compensation linked to pharmaceutical prices. (Tong, 5/13)

The Massachusetts Public Health Council voted Wednesday to approve the construction of a proton therapy center at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Longwood, bringing the state’s existing and future proton beams to four. Last month, the council delayed its vote on the project, citing concerns that the proposal didn’t do enough to address equitable access for patients on MassHealth and those who live outside the Boston area. (Wolf, 5/13)

Andrew Bursky and his wife pledged $200 million through their family foundation to name a newly created school of public health at Washington University in St. Louis. The gift from the co-founder of Atlas Holdings, a private equity firm, is the largest in the university’s history, WashU said in a statement on Wednesday. (Lorin and Singh, 5/13)