CMS Creates Chief Health Informatics Officer Role

(July 24, 2018)—In a July 19 blog post, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced the creation of the CMS Chief Health Informatics Officer (CHIO). The goal of the CHIO’s role is to drive health IT and data sharing to enhance health care delivery, improve health outcomes, drive down costs and empower patients, according to CMS. The role will be filled with a leader in the health care IT space and serve on CMS Administrator Seema Verma’s leadership team.

The creation of CHIO role is an expansion of the goals created through the MyHealthEData initiative in March, including increased access to patient records, data sharing and increased innovation from research. CMS is committed to putting patients first and breaking down silos of care, according to the blog post.

Verma said, “As CMS Administrator, I am deeply committed to programs, policies and systems that put patients first. It’s 2018—most doctors are using electronic health records (EHRs) and most patients have access to the internet and a smartphone, providing many ways to view health care data securely. Patients should expect health IT that enhances their care coordination instead of disrupting it. Their information should automatically follow them to all of their health care providers, so that everyone stays informed and can provide the best treatment. Patients also should know how much a health service costs so they can decide whether they want it, and “shop around” for where to get it.”

“The truth is, as the largest health care payer in the country CMS should have had a CHIO function long ago,” Verma continued. “Despite today’s amazing technology and decades of promises, we are not where we should be. The CHIO role will enhance my leadership team, working across CMS, with federal partners including the U.S. Digital Service, and alongside private industry and researchers to lead innovation and help inform CMS’s health IT strategy. The challenge is great, but so is the reward—building the next generation of interoperable health systems for millions of Americans and affecting national and global health IT for good.”

The goal of MyHealthEData and other CMS initiatives is to ultimately drive down costs and provide patients with affordable care. Find a video explaining MyHealthEData here.

Read the full blog post here.