CMS has rolled out an app directory for Medicare recipients as part of the agency’s push to digitize healthcare.
The Medicare App Library seeks solutions that fall under one of three use cases: “kill the clipboard,” conversational AI assistants, or diabetes and obesity prevention and management.
“We are calling on health app developers, tech-enabled organizations, and innovators to voluntarily align around a shared framework for data and access that empowers people, improves care, and accelerates progress,” CMS stated Feb. 23. “This is a movement, not a mandate. It is a call to action, not a regulation. Let’s show what’s possible when we work together — and finally bring healthcare into the modern era.”
Patient-facing apps must meet six requirements: identity verification, Medicare connectivity, permission to be a featured option on the app store, HIPAA compliance, CMS review, and trial access (if not free). Participants in the agency’s ACCESS program for chronic disease management are exempt from the last two, as those are already mandated for that program.
Identity verification will be provided by Clear and ID.me, while apps will be vetted by the Digital Medicine Society and CARIN Alliance.
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