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The president of the International Committee of the Red Cross warned Wednesday that the frequency of sophisticated cyber attacks against hospitals, electricity and water supplies, and other critical civilian infrastructure is increasing. Peter Maurer said the ICRC is increasingly concerned about the destructive effects of cyber operations that cut off electricity supplies and water systems in war-affected countries and halted hospital services in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic as well as “an attempted attack against a petrochemical plant and especially alarmingly, cyber-attacks against nuclear facilities.” (Lederer, 8/26)

A data breach at Dynasplint Systems, a company that manufacturers splint systems for range of motion rehabilitation, may have compromised personal data on more than 100,000 patients, including names and some medical information. The data breach affected up to 102,800 people who purchased or attempted to purchase the company's devices, according to a report the company submitted to HHS' Office for Civil Rights. The HHS agency publicly posted the report to its online database of healthcare data breaches in an update Wednesday, although the company submitted its report on Aug. 6. (Cohen, 8/26)

American Well Corp., a Boston telehealth company known as Amwell, said it plans to sell shares to the public and Google, amid a surge in demand for remote health services. The company, founded by brothers Ido and Roy Schoenberg in 2006, didn’t disclose the number of shares or target price for its initial public offering. In a registration statement filed Monday with securities regulators, it listed a placeholder value of $100 million. (Edelman, 8/26)

Like many people, investors were once slow to embrace the promise of telemedicine. Not anymore. Two Boston deals involving companies that offer virtual medical care were announced this week. The deals are quite different. But they underscore the surging interest in this sector, thanks to the suddenly widespread use of telehealth during the coronavirus pandemic. (Chesto, 8/26)

Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.) introduced legislation Tuesday aimed at increasing hospital competition to help drive down health care costs. The bill — the Hospital Competition Act of 2020  — would authorize $160 million for new staff at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to ensure hospital mergers don’t lead to monopolies. It also includes provisions designed to disincentivize consolidation in high-population areas by requiring hospitals in cities to accept Medicare Advantage, with exemptions for hospitals in rural areas that have less than 15 percent market share. (Brufke, 8/26)

A new private equity-backed hospital turnaround firm made a $475 million bid for Erlanger Health System, the organizations announced Wednesday. StroneBridge Healthcare, which was formed earlier this year, would pay $200 million for Erlanger's six acute Tennessee hospitals and affiliated operations and commit $275 million for capital improvements and to fully fund the $80 million employee pension fund shortfall. (Kacik, 8/26)

Reno-based Renown Health and the University of Nevada Reno School of Medicine on Wednesday announced plans to develop a partnership that will focus on medical education and clinical research.The two organizations signed a letter of intent and expect to finalize an agreement by the end of the year. (Christ, 8/26)

As the shortage of personal protective equipment has swept through the healthcare system, many groups in the Atlanta community pivoted from their usual business to helping protect our community from COVID-19. One of those groups is the Associated Builders and Contractors of Georgia (ABC) in partnership with the Grady Health System.Grady is a Level I trauma center serving north Georgia and the region’s largest safety net hospital, and ABC is a network of companies and professionals within the develop-design-build industry. (Dominy, 8/26)