The Department of Health and Human Services expanded its health tech ecosystem initiative, adding new voluntary pledges covering medical price transparency, clinical trial matching, patient scheduling and software-based care access, Nextgov/FCW reported July 28.
Among the additions: pledges targeting population health data exchange through bulk Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources, pharmacy interoperability and real-time patient access to insurance benefits information. HHS also launched a “ditch the disk” work group focused on diagnostic imaging, though officials did not specify what outcomes the group aims to produce.
The announcement came during a July 27 one-year anniversary event for the initiative, which CMS Deputy Administrator and Chief Product Officer Amy Gleason leads. It builds on the program’s July 30, 2025, launch at a White House summit, where more than 60 organizations, including EHR vendors, technology firms and provider networks, signed the CMS Interoperability Framework. A subset of 11 health systems, including Cincinnati-based Bon Secours Mercy Health, Cleveland Clinic (Cleveland), Salt Lake City-based Intermountain Health, Sioux Falls, S.D.-based Sanford Health and Atlantic City, N.J.-based AtlantiCare, also committed to promoting adoption of the tools among their patients.
The initiative has since grown to more than 800 pledges, including major technology firms, the Social Security Administration, the Veterans Affairs Department and state health agencies.
At the anniversary event, HHS officials pointed to adoption numbers as evidence the effort is working. Chris Klomp, chief counselor at HHS, said 60% of Americans can now access their medical records through an app of their choice, up from 5% a year earlier, and said the agency expects that figure to reach 80% by October. He did not explain how HHS arrived at those estimates. Ms. Gleason said the initiative’s focus is shifting toward adoption in its second year.
“That’s our job in year two: adoption,” she said.
Officials also cited a Medicare.gov app library, a National Provider Directory and a new Medicare payment method for digital technologies as signs of progress, though they offered few updates on the status of those previously promised tools. Both have drawn scrutiny since launch: the National Provider Directory after a reported leak exposed some doctors’ Social Security numbers, and the app library over concerns among CMS officials about how some listed apps use web-tracking technology.
Becker’s has reached out to HHS for more information and will update this story if more information becomes available.
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