(NewsNation) — The Trump administration announced a new initiative on Wednesday aimed at streamlining Americans’ access to health care data, as well as strengthening the security around it.
According to cybersecurity experts, health care data has become up to 40 times more valuable than credit card data on the dark web. In a statement to NewsNation, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said the initiative “aims to build a smarter, more secure and more personalized healthcare system.”
The plan includes a computer system that allows health information to be shared more securely. It would allow medical professionals in large cities and small towns to have access to the same information.
The administration says it has secured commitments from more than 60 health and information technology companies to participate in a plan to make Medicare patient data more accessible.
Leaders from tech companies including Google, Amazon and OpenAI, along with providers and health systems including Cleveland Clinic and UnitedHealth Group, met with health officials at the White House later to “begin laying the foundation for a next-generation digital health ecosystem,” the CMS said in a statement.
The initiative builds on a May effort by CMS to solicit suggestions on ways to modernize the nation’s digital health ecosystem, and the barriers to sharing patient information across different platforms.
The idea is for a patient to upload data in the health app of their choice, where it can be easily managed and shared with their doctor.
According to CMS, the initiative will focus on diabetes and obesity management, the use of conversational AI assistants to help patients, and digital tools like QR codes to “kill the clipboard” and replace paper intake forms at check-in.
Companies will commit to a voluntary framework around interoperability, which is how different health technology systems connect to one another and share data. CMS said the framework will allow medical information to be easily shared between patients and providers.
“We have the tools and information available now to empower patients to improve their outcomes and their healthcare experience,” CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz said in a statement.
CMS said it also plans to add an app library to Medicare.gov to help patients with chronic disease management and to more easily navigate cost-effective providers and insurance plans.
The administration is seeking voluntary commitments from industry, including on security and privacy protections, rather than engage in rulemaking. It’s a tactic HHS has touted with the food industry and insurers to secure wins as part of its “Make America Healthy Again” agenda.
“They’re trying to create standards so things can flow fluently, and basically think of it as translating the language,” said Marva Bailer, an AI and cybersecurity expert. “This will help not only the patient, but it will also help the providers be more accurate when they’re documenting their care.”
According to Bailer, this isn’t the first time the federal government has become involved in health care records; it has previously helped strengthen security around records from the Department of Veterans Affairs.
The initiative also looks to support HIPAA, or the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. In the past, when medical information had to be shared, it was mailed, emailed or faxed, resulting in uncertainty surrounding who was on the receiving end. Under the administration’s plan, records would be encrypted when shared, and patients and providers would be able to access the same information.
“Think of personal cell phones,” Bailer said. “You might have an iPhone, I might have an Android. Our apps don’t work together. That’s a very simple example, but it’s a way to really understand that these systems, although they’re all called electronic health records, one is not the same.”
Officials with the Department of Health and Human Services told NewsNation that more details on the initiative and its rollout will be released in the coming days.
NewsNation partner The Hill contributed to this report.