HHS Releases New Data Strategy to Enhance Data Capabilities and Accelerate Progress on Cancer Moonshot Goals

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released its Data Strategy, which seeks to further realize the Department’s mission by advancing its management and use of data to improve human health outcomes. It envisions data that is available, accessible, timely, equitable, meaningfully usable, and protected–and can be effectively used by HHS, its partners, and the public. In support of President Biden’s Unity Agenda, the strategy promotes greater access to data to advance cancer research and improve patient outcomes and advance the goal of the Biden Cancer Moonshot to cut the cancer death rate in half over the next 25 years on our way to ending cancer as we know it.

“This Data Strategy is a pivotal step forward in our commitment to utilizing data as a strategic asset to drive innovation and improve outcomes in health and human services,” said Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services, Andrea Palm. “By harnessing the power of information and leveraging recent technological advancements, we’re better equipped to meet the evolving needs of the people and communities we serve.”

The strategy contains 5 priorities for improving data infrastructure and capabilities department-wide, and a series of near-term initiatives for each:

Cultivate data talent – Meet the data workforce needs of HHS, for today and tomorrow.

Foster data sharing – Provide trusted, high-quality, easily-usable data and metadata across the Department and to external partners in order to drive progress and improve care.

Integrate administrative data into program operations – Weave data into regular program operations and decisions at all levels.

Enable whole-person care delivery by connecting human services data – Use data to establish a whole-person and whole-family view of wellness and needs.

Responsibly leverage artificial intelligence – Improve the quality, efficiency, access, and outcomes in health and human services through the safe, ethical, and responsible use of AI.

Notably, the strategy includes an expansion of the role of the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) to include the coordination of human services interoperability in addition to its current role in enabling interoperability in the U.S. healthcare system.

“Better integration of health care delivery and human services is critical to strengthening “whole-person” care, advancing health equity, and improving customer experience,” said Micky Tripathi, Ph.D., National Coordinator for Health Information Technology. “ONC has focused for many years on increasing patient-centered health care interoperability, and we are eager to support the HHS Data Strategy’s vision for human services interoperability.”

“Synthesizing the vast amount of data across the full spectrum of cancer research and clinical care will be our best bet for reducing the cancer death rate by 50% within 25 years,” said Dr. Monica Bertagnolli, Director of the National Institutes of Health. “The Data Strategy will focus HHS activities on developing and implementing clinical data standards and expanding secure access to the data with the goal of unlocking the next generation of cancer prevention and treatment.”

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