"I just want my information out of a system I don't trust."

That came from a friend after I wrote about killing the clipboard, after I spent months writing a book on healthcare AI governance. His verdict on it all: "Dan, the whole thing is messed up. We're doomed."

They're right. Unless something changes.

Last week, CareCloud confirmed that attackers took the records of 3,756,469 patients, including names, addresses, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, driver's license numbers, financial account numbers, and medical and insurance information. The intrusion lasted about eight hours in March. It took five months to learn how big it was. It is one of the three largest healthcare breaches reported so far in 2026.

So far. It's August.

Two things have to change.

Governance has to become the priority, and it has to be written in language people can actually read. The National Assessment of Adult Literacy found that only 12% of American adults have proficient health literacy. The AMA and NIH recommend patient materials at a sixth-grade reading level. Our consent forms and data policies routinely land at college level. A right you cannot read is not a right. It's paperwork.

And patients and clinicians have to be in the room. I sit with the CMS Health Tech Ecosystem group. What has shocked me most is how few patients and how few clinicians have shown up.

Governance begins when we all sit down together and talk.

The seat is open. Take it.