Technology

SamaCare Named 2026 Prix Galien USA Finalist for Best Digital Health Solution

Published

1 day ago

August 13, 2026

Recognition honors SamaCare’s AI-powered Medical Benefit Prior Authorization Intelligence Platform for helping patients access specialty therapies faster

SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 13, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — SamaCare, the AI-powered medical benefit prior authorization intelligence platform, today announced it has been named a 2026 Prix Galien USA finalist in the Best Digital Health Solution category for its AI-powered Medical Benefit Prior Authorization Intelligence Platform.

Widely regarded as one of the most prestigious honors in life sciences innovation, the Prix Galien recognizes breakthroughs with the potential to improve human health. SamaCare was selected among 23 Best Digital Health Solution nominees in a year marking the 20th anniversary of the Prix Galien USA Awards.

For patients prescribed specialty therapies for cancer, autoimmune disease, neurologic disease, retinal disease, and other serious or progressive conditions, the next step after diagnosis should be treatment. Instead, many face a complex administrative journey before therapy can begin, including benefits verification, prior authorization, payer review, step therapy, appeals, follow-up, scheduling, and rescheduling. These delays can mean disease progression, relapse, anxiety, treatment non-starts, and worsening outcomes.

SamaCare was founded to address that gap between prescription and treatment start. The company’s platform transforms fragmented medical benefit prior authorization into intelligent healthcare infrastructure, helping providers navigate payer requirements, reduce administrative burden, and move patients to therapy faster.

“Every breakthrough therapy solves one scientific challenge: how to treat disease,” said Syam Palakurthy, Founder and CEO of SamaCare. “But there is another challenge that determines whether innovation reaches patients: whether people can actually access the therapies their physicians prescribe. Being named a Prix Galien USA finalist is deeply meaningful because this award recognizes health impact. Our team is focused on making sure patients do not get stuck in administrative limbo after their doctor has already decided what treatment they need.”

Medical benefit prior authorization remains one of healthcare’s most fragmented access challenges. Unlike retail pharmacy workflows, medical benefit therapies are often administered in specialty practices, infusion centers, or physician offices, with payer requirements that vary by plan, therapy, site of care, diagnosis, documentation, and route of administration. For patients with serious or progressive disease, delays can carry clinical consequences. For providers, the process consumes staff time that could otherwise support patient care.

SamaCare’s platform unifies prior authorization creation, submission, tracking, and management across payers and plans. By combining workflow automation, payer policy intelligence, AI-driven guidance, and real-world provider data, SamaCare helps specialty practices anticipate requirements, avoid preventable delays and denials, and maintain visibility into authorizations in flight.

The platform also converts millions of prior authorization interactions into real-world patient access intelligence. This gives life sciences market access, patient services, and provider engagement teams a clearer view into the administrative barriers patients and providers encounter after a therapy is prescribed. These insights can help identify access friction earlier, inform targeted provider support, and improve the script-to-therapy journey.

“SamaCare’s innovation is not AI for AI’s sake,” Palakurthy added. “It is AI applied to one of the least visible but most consequential parts of healthcare: the operational path between a prescription and a patient actually receiving treatment. Our goal is to make that path faster, clearer, and less painful for the providers and patients navigating it every day.”

SamaCare supports provider-administered specialty medications across oncology, ophthalmology/retina, neurology, rheumatology, immunology, gastroenterology, rare disease, ambulatory infusion, and other specialty care settings. Its intelligent system for medical benefit prior authorization has helped reduce delays, denials, and therapy abandonment while creating a new source of real-world access intelligence for the healthcare ecosystem.

About SamaCare

SamaCare is an AI-powered insights and interventions platform designed to accelerate patient access to specialty therapies by unifying and optimizing the prior authorization process for provider-administered medications. The platform aggregates and analyzes real-world data from millions of prior authorizations across a nationwide network of providers, delivering actionable insights and in-workflow support that reduce delays, denials, and therapy abandonment.

SamaCare partners with pharmaceutical manufacturers, providers, and patient access teams to improve the script-to-therapy journey and help patients start and stay on treatment. For more information, visit www.samacare.com.

About The Galien Foundation

The Galien Foundation fosters, recognizes, and rewards excellence in scientific innovation to improve human health. Established in Paris in 1970 in honor of Galen, the father of medical science and modern pharmacology, the Prix Galien is widely regarded as the equivalent of the Nobel Prize in biopharmaceutical research. Today, the Prix Galien operates through 16 chapters spanning more than 75 countries across Africa, the Americas, Asia, and Europe. For more information, visit www.galienfoundation.org.

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SOURCE SamaCare

Technology

360factors Launches Fair Lending Compliance Testing Agent in Ask Kaia

Published

42 minutes ago

August 14, 2026

New AI digital assistant streamlines fair lending compliance testing and peer benchmarking, helping financial institutions produce exam-ready workpapers with less manual data analysis.

AUSTIN, Texas, Aug. 14, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — 360factors Inc., a leading provider of AI-powered risk and compliance solutions for financial organizations, announced the launch of the Fair Lending Compliance Testing agent within Ask Kaia, its AI platform for U.S. banks and credit unions.

Fair lending compliance issues can be difficult to detect in individual loan files. Patterns emerge when institutions analyze thousands of records and compare outcomes across borrower segments, geographies, pricing, and peer benchmarks. Compliance teams often perform this work manually, extracting loan data into spreadsheets and compiling supporting evidence, sometimes under significant time pressure before an examination.

The Fair Lending Compliance Testing agent streamlines that process through a guided workflow. Users upload a LAR data file and supporting documentation, then select the peer institutions for comparison. The agent generates a dashboard highlighting segment, geographic, and pricing patterns, document-evidence coverage, and workpapers formatted for regulatory review.

“We built this agent so fair lending reviews no longer have to begin with a blank spreadsheet. It brings peer benchmarking, document coverage, and exam-ready workpapers into one on-demand workflow. This work that traditionally requires extensive manual analysis or outside consulting support,” said Chris Duden, 360factors CTO.

The Fair Lending Compliance Testing agent is the third addition to Ask Kaia’s Agents Framework in recent months, following the Marketing Ad Review and HMDA Compliance Testing agents. It is available as an optional add-on for Ask Kaia Enterprise customers.

About 360factors Inc.
360factors delivers AI-powered risk and compliance solutions for the financial industry. Its flagship products — Predict360, Ask Kaia, and Lumify360 — enable financial organizations to enhance business performance, ensure compliance, and manage risk intelligently.

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SOURCE 360factors

Technology

ThinkAndor® Remote Patient Monitoring Now Available in Epic Toolbox, Enabling CMS ACCESS Participation

Published

42 minutes ago

August 14, 2026

AI-Native Remote Patient Monitoring Service Combines Connected Devices, Intelligent Automation, and Clinical Services to Help Health Systems Scale Virtual Care

ORLANDO, Fla., Aug. 14, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Andor Health, the AI company reimagining virtual care through AI-native clinical services for healthcare, announces that ThinkAndor® Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) is now available in Epic Toolbox. ThinkAndor® received Epic Toolbox designation for the Remote Patient Monitoring category and helps health systems expand virtual care, population health, and patient access initiatives through a comprehensive AI-native remote patient monitoring service. Psynergy Health, an Andor Health Ventures company and a certified CMS ACCESS clinic, relies on ThinkAndor® as the enabling foundation for its ACCESS clinic under the CMS Innovation Center’s ACCESS Model, Medicare’s nationwide approach to technology-supported chronic care. For an organization already on Epic, ThinkAndor® is a practical path to partner with an ACCESS participant inside the record clinicians already use.

As healthcare organizations work to manage growing patient populations outside traditional care settings, many face challenges related to patient engagement, staffing capacity, and care coordination. ThinkAndor® addresses these challenges by combining connected monitoring devices, intelligent patient triage, clinical workflow automation, and integrated clinical services into a single end-to-end solution designed to support scalable patient monitoring programs.

ThinkAndor® integrates with Epic by delivering patient-generated health data, device readings, alerts, and longitudinal trends directly into the patient record. Epic remains the system of record, enabling clinicians to review monitoring information and manage patient care within established workflows.

“Health systems need sustainable ways to extend care beyond the walls of the hospital while supporting growing patient populations,” said Shivali Singh, SVP of Product at Andor Health. “ThinkAndor® combines AI, connected devices, integrated clinical services, and workflows integrated with Epic to help organizations expand access, improve care coordination, and scale remote patient monitoring programs.”

ThinkAndor® simplifies participation for patients at home by enabling access to cellular-enabled monitoring devices, removing technology barriers that can limit adoption. This approach helps health systems extend monitoring programs to rural and underserved populations while supporting broader efforts to improve access to care. This rural reach aligns with the ACCESS Model’s added support for patients in rural communities.

ThinkAndor® RPM continuously analyzes incoming patient data to identify potential clinical concerns and prioritize patients who may benefit from intervention. Intelligent automation helps care teams focus on patients who require attention while reducing the operational burden associated with monitoring large patient populations.

In addition to technology and automation capabilities, ThinkAndor® RPM includes access to Psynergy Health’s clinical services that can be tailored to the needs of individual health systems. Nurses, care navigators, dietitians, and other care team resources support patient engagement, care coordination, and ongoing monitoring activities. This model helps organizations grow remote patient monitoring programs without requiring proportional increases in internal staffing resources.

Psynergy Health, a subsidiary of Andor Health Ventures and a first-cohort participant in the ACCESS Model, operates this model today as an accredited access clinic, and the same clinical-services capacity supports health systems adopting ThinkAndor® RPM.

Explore the limitless possibilities of ThinkAndor® at https://andorhealth.com/thinkandor/.

Epic is a registered trademark of Epic Systems Corporation.

About Andor Health
Andor Health revolutionizes clinical care through agentic AI-powered virtual care experiences across the care continuum. Our virtual care experiences empower healthcare providers with actionable insights & ambient monitoring to deliver care at scale, with proven return on investment. ThinkAndor®, the #1 AI-native services infrastructure for healthcare, leverages AI agents to harness generative AI unlocking data stored in various systems, including electronic medical records, biometric devices, & other signals to deliver actionable intelligence in real time to care teams. By optimizing communication workflows, ThinkAndor® accelerates time to treatment, decreases clinician burnout, and drives better patient outcomes.

For more information, visit Andor Health or follow us on LinkedIn and X.

Media Contact:
Andor Health
Jennifer Skitsko – SVP, Marketing
Email: Jennifer.Skitsko@andorhealth.com

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SOURCE Andor Health

Technology

Merge Cooking Collaborates with SpongeBob SquarePants for the Ultimate Food Fest in Bikini Bottom

Published

42 minutes ago

August 14, 2026

SINGAPORE, Aug. 14, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Are you ready, kids? Merge Cooking brings the fun of Bikini Bottom to the kitchen with a limited-time collaboration event featuring everyone’s favorite fry cook, SpongeBob SquarePants. The “Merge Cooking × SpongeBob SquarePants: MC Food Carnival” event invites players to dive into a culinary adventure, blending the joyful spirit of Bikini Bottom into the lighthearted world of Merge Cooking.

Published by Happibits, Merge Cooking is a casual mobile game where players merge ingredients, unlock recipes, complete challenges and enjoy a cozy culinary journey at their own pace. With its approachable gameplay and charming food-themed progression, Merge Cooking has become a welcoming space for players who enjoy creativity, collection and satisfying upgrades.

During the event, players can enjoy a variety of themed activities, including the Krusty Krab Pass and Energy Quest, where players can complete tasks, build progress and unlock limited-time rewards to support their journey through the carnival.

A Wave of Themed Merge Events

From August 17 to September 27, Merge Cooking will introduce a series of weekly themed Merge Events, featuring five unique merge events inspired by fan-favorite SpongeBob SquarePants characters and memorable moments from Bikini Bottom. Players can join SpongeBob, Patrick, Squidward, Plankton and more as they take turns appearing in a variety of lighthearted challenges, including SpongeBob’s Food Tour to Patty Craft Mastery, Patrick’s adventures, and Plankton’s latest schemes. On September 21, the most popular merge event will make a limited-time return, giving more players a chance to join the fun.

Collect Tasty Tales in MC Culinary Journey

Players can also take part in MC Culinary Journey, a themed card collection event running from August 24 to October 1. By completing in-game tasks, players can collect special cards that tell bite-sized stories about SpongeBob, Lea and their friends in Merge Cooking. Completing card sets will unlock exclusive rewards, making the event a must-try for collectors and SpongeBob fans alike.

Build Your Own Bite-Sized Bikini Bottom

From August 27 to September 17, Bikini Bottom Bash lets players decorate their own Bikini Bottom-inspired scene. By completing tasks, players can unlock classic restaurants, familiar locations and delightful details from SpongeBob SquarePants, creating an undersea world where SpongeBob’s neighbors can stop by anytime.

All in-game content is subject to change. Please check in-game for the latest updates. The collaboration is available in select regions only, with additional regions to follow.

Download Merge Cooking now and join SpongeBob, Lea, and friends for the Ultimate Food Fest!

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SOURCE Happibits