Health Technology Ecosystem – Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services | CMS (.gov)

 

Report on the CMS Digital Health Ecosystem Initiative and its Contribution to Sustainable Development Goals

Introduction

This report outlines a new strategic vision by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to establish a modern, connected Digital Health Ecosystem. Moving beyond its 15-year history of regulation, CMS is now championing a collaborative framework aimed at voluntary industry alignment. This initiative directly supports the achievement of several United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by seeking to empower individuals, improve care quality, and accelerate technological progress in healthcare.

Advancing SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being

The core objective of the CMS initiative is to significantly advance SDG 3, which aims to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all. The Digital Health Ecosystem is designed to achieve this through several key mechanisms:

• Empowering People: By creating a shared framework for data and access, the initiative gives individuals greater control over their health information, fostering proactive health management.
• Improving Care: A connected ecosystem facilitates better coordination among providers, leading to more efficient and higher-quality healthcare delivery.
• Accelerating Progress: The initiative promotes an environment where innovation can thrive, leading to new solutions that improve health outcomes for the population.

Fostering Innovation and Infrastructure (SDG 9)

The initiative is a direct contribution to SDG 9, which calls for building resilient infrastructure and fostering innovation. CMS has committed to developing key public digital infrastructure to serve as the foundation for this new ecosystem. These foundational actions include:

1. Launching a National Provider Directory to improve data accessibility.
2. Enabling modern identity verification services on Medicare.gov.
3. Expanding secure data-sharing capabilities across the healthcare system.

This public infrastructure is intended to catalyze private sector innovation and create a more robust and modern healthcare technology landscape.

A Multi-Stakeholder Partnership for the Goals (SDG 17)

Embodying the principles of SDG 17, the CMS vision is structured as a “movement, not a mandate.” Its success is contingent upon a voluntary, multi-stakeholder partnership that brings together public and private entities. CMS has issued a call to action for the following industry partners to align with this shared framework:

• Healthcare data networks
• Electronic Health Record (EHR) systems
• Health application developers
• Healthcare providers
• Industry innovators

This collaborative approach, rather than regulatory enforcement, is positioned as the key to finally bringing the healthcare sector into the modern digital era.

Legal and Operational Framework

The initiative is presented as a call to action, with an expectation for the private sector to deliver tangible results before the end of the year. It is explicitly stated that this framework is not intended to contravene, supersede, or preempt existing federal or state laws. All activities within this ecosystem must remain in full compliance with established privacy and security regulations, including:

• The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) Privacy, Security, and Breach Notification Rules.
• The Privacy Act of 1974.

Analysis of the Article in Relation to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being

• The article’s central theme is the modernization of the healthcare system to “improve care” and empower people. This directly aligns with SDG 3, which aims to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages. The initiative seeks to create a “modern, connected experience” in healthcare, which is fundamental to improving health service quality and accessibility.

SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure

• The article discusses building a “Digital Health Ecosystem” and launching “key public infrastructure like the National Provider Directory.” This focus on creating new digital infrastructure and fostering innovation within the healthcare industry connects directly to SDG 9, which calls for building resilient infrastructure, promoting inclusive and sustainable industrialization, and fostering innovation.

SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals

• The initiative is explicitly described as a “bold new vision built on collaboration, not just compliance” and a “call to action” for the private sector. It emphasizes a voluntary partnership between CMS (a public entity) and various private industry players (“data networks, Electronic Health Record (EHR) systems, health app developers, providers, and innovators”). This model of public-private partnership is the core principle of SDG 17.

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being

1. Target 3.8: Achieve universal health coverage, including financial risk protection, access to quality essential health-care services…
   • The article supports this target by aiming to empower people and improve care through better data access and a “connected experience.” The creation of a National Provider Directory is a concrete step towards improving access to information about healthcare services, a key component of accessing care.

SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure

1. Target 9.1: Develop quality, reliable, sustainable and resilient infrastructure… to support… human well-being.
   • The development of a “Digital Health Ecosystem” and the launch of “key public infrastructure like the National Provider Directory” are direct efforts to build the digital infrastructure necessary to support the well-being of the population by modernizing healthcare access and data sharing.
2. Target 9.c: Significantly increase access to information and communications technology…
   • By calling on “health app developers” and promoting a “modern, connected experience,” the initiative aims to increase the use of and access to healthcare technology for American citizens, aligning with the goal of leveraging ICT for societal benefit.

SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals

1. Target 17.17: Encourage and promote effective public, public-private and civil society partnerships…
   • The entire premise of the CMS initiative is a voluntary public-private partnership. The article states it is “a movement, not a mandate” and a “call to action” for the private sector to work with the public sector (CMS) to achieve a common goal, which is the exact model promoted by this target.

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being

1. Implied Indicator: The number of healthcare providers listed and accessible through the “National Provider Directory.”
   • This would measure the scope and effectiveness of the new infrastructure in providing citizens with information needed to access healthcare services.
2. Implied Indicator: The rate of adoption of the “shared framework for data and access” by patients and providers.
   • This could be measured by the number of individuals using “modern identity on Medicare.gov” or the number of providers utilizing the expanded data-sharing capabilities, indicating an improvement in the quality and accessibility of health information.

SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure

1. Implied Indicator: The successful launch and operational status of the “National Provider Directory.”
   • This is a direct, tangible measure of the development of new public digital infrastructure as mentioned in the article.

SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals

1. Implied Indicator: The number and type of private sector entities that voluntarily align with the CMS Digital Health Ecosystem.
   • The article calls on “data networks, Electronic Health Record (EHR) systems, health app developers, providers, and innovators” to join. Tracking the number of these organizations that participate would be a direct measure of the success of this public-private partnership.

4. Summary Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

SDGs	Targets	Indicators (Implied from Article)
SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being	3.8: Achieve universal health coverage, including access to quality essential health-care services.	Number of providers accessible through the National Provider Directory. Adoption rate of the shared data framework by patients and providers.
SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure	9.1: Develop quality, reliable, sustainable and resilient infrastructure. 9.c: Significantly increase access to information and communications technology.	Launch and operational status of the National Provider Directory. Number of health apps and EHR systems integrating with the new digital ecosystem.
SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals	17.17: Encourage and promote effective public, public-private and civil society partnerships.	Number of private sector entities (data networks, EHR systems, developers) that voluntarily join the Digital Health Ecosystem.

Source: cms.gov