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Tuesday, 17 February 2026 |
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| I was in Washington, DC, last week for the two-day ASTP Annual Meeting that brought together HHS officials, health data company execs and others involved in digital health. |
| For me, it was a deep dive into health IT, a world full of complicated jargon like interoperability and data liquidity. But underneath the terminology, the future most of those in attendance are working toward is pretty easy to grasp. |
| It’s one where patients can see every medical record they’ve ever had on a single phone app, and they can share it with their doctors (perhaps via a QR code!) so they can provide patients with better care. Doctors and patients can get real-time information on prescription drug costs while in the exam room so they can make informed decisions about treatments. Prior authorizations are instant so care isn’t delayed. |
| Some of the people I spoke with between sessions are optimistic that this future isn’t far off. There’s more momentum than ever under the Trump administration to advance health technology and ensure that data flows freely. They pointed to the pledges from private sector companies to improve data sharing and make patient apps, and the fact that HHS has been asking for input on spurring adoption of digital health tools and AI in clinical care. |
| They were also excited that government officials confirmed plans to take enforcement action against organizations that block the exchange of health information. |
| But there’s a lot of work to do. The lawsuits between electronic health record giant Epic and health data companies like Particle Health and Health Gorilla have rattled the sector. Trust is essential when sharing health information between entities, but there are big questions about who is accessing patient data and who has a right to. The government is promoting a newer data sharing network called TEFCA, but I came away with the understanding that it doesn’t solve all of the problems inherent to the networks before it. |
| A healthcare system where patients can easily access their data and health information flows (with consent) is the ever-elusive holy grail I’ve been hearing about since I started reporting on healthcare more than a decade ago. Now, rather than an impossibility, that future feels like it could be a reality sooner than later. |
| - Shelby |
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Quote of the week
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“No one, whether it's a doctor, a hospital or an EHR vendor, should be allowed to hoard health information for their own gain.” |
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Tom Keane, National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, said at the ASTP Annual Meeting last Wednesday |
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This week in health Тech |
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More from ASTP:
- During his keynote, Keane said his office is in the process of sending “notices of potential non-conformity" to alleged culprits of information blocking. It’s the first time any enforcement action has been taken since the 21st Century Cures Act prohibited the practice.
- Amy Gleason, senior CMS advisor, talked about her agency’s effort to improve digital health faster by enlisting volunteer companies from the private sector. One thing she’s working on is a national provider directory launching March 31 that’ll promote interoperability by showing which health information networks doctors participate in.
- The Trump administration is encouraging companies to push the boundaries of AI in medical care. It seemed to embrace Doctronic, a startup that’s allowing AI to refill prescriptions on its own in Utah. At the ASTP meeting, outgoing HHS Deputy Secretary Jim O’Neill called Doctronic’s work with Utah “an important step,” and Doctronic co-founder Matt Pavelle spoke on one of the panels.
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Worldwide made. Thanks for reading.
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