Accelerate progress in healthcare: A nationwide mandate for contemporary advancements

In a groundbreaking move, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), under the leadership of Dr. Mehmet Oz, is focusing on building the foundational infrastructure the private sector needs to innovate. This initiative, known as the health tech ecosystem, aims to create a network of providers with built-in patient privacy, consent, and transparency.

The gathering at the White House, attended by leaders from healthcare and technology, was a signal that it's time to stop waiting and start building. The effort is calling for action from the private sector, including clinicians, developers, caregivers, and startups.

One individual who stands to benefit greatly from this change is a young girl named Morgan, who has a rare disease and sees 12 doctors while taking 21 medications. She navigates a maze of disconnected systems, repeated paperwork, and inconsistent records. Morgan's smartwatch encourages movement, but it does not consider her debilitating condition, does not help her decide when to rest, or provide real-time coordination across providers.

In a remarkable turn of events, Morgan uploaded her medical records into an AI assistant, which found a subtle but critical discrepancy in her diagnoses that could make her eligible for a clinical trial. This incident underscores the potential of AI in healthcare, and the need for a more integrated and patient-centric system.

The goal of the health tech ecosystem is to develop tools that deliver real outcomes and improve the healthcare experience. Technology is widely used in various aspects of modern life, from flight check-ins to real-time heart rate tracking and personalized grocery suggestions. It's time for healthcare to catch up.

The federal government is modernizing the sharing of Medicare and Medicaid data, with a focus on security and privacy. The U.S. DOGE Service is collaborating with the CMS to create a national provider directory, aiming to reduce wasted administrative effort of over $2.7 billion annually.

Individuals remain in control of their data, deciding when, how, and with whom it is shared. The initiative is not creating a federal database of patient health information. Instead, it envisions an AI assistant that knows the patient's care plan and helps manage risks, flare-ups, medications, and appointments.

Amy Gleason, a strategic advisor to the Department of Health and Human Services and the CMS, and the acting administrator of the U.S. DOGE Service, is spearheading this movement. The public is invited to join the movement at cms.gov/health-tech-ecosystem.

Let's work together to fix the broken health tech system and build what works. The future of healthcare is here, and it's time to embrace it.

Accelerate progress in healthcare: A nationwide mandate for contemporary advancements