Protecting and strengthening equitable access to high quality and affordable healthcare is a primary goal of the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) 2022-2026 Strategic Plan. In addition, HHS is focused on reducing costs, improving quality of healthcare services, and ensuring access to safe medical devices and drugs. Healthcare equity is a cross-cutting, multi-agency initiative. HHS’ Equity Action Plan was developed with cross-cutting department conversations and is designed for department officials to take concrete action to transform how HHS does business in ways that promote and advance equity. Technology plays a big role in advancing equity throughout HHS as well as the nation. For example, The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) funds our nation’s health centers so healthcare experts can use the latest technology and data to provide high-quality care to individuals and communities who have been historically underserved.

Join this session to learn how HHS agencies are working together and across government—and beyond—to achieve their goals and the role technology plays to ensure and measure success. Learn how innovative, open-source technology tools can help HHS agencies address health equity and social determinants of health (SDOH) and how the use of equity-enhancing patient-generated health data (PGHD) can assist clinical care and research.

Potential topics include:

• Big data initiatives, data modernization, and the building of coordinated data platforms and data exchanges across HHS.
• Enabling health equity via artificial intelligence/machine learning (AI/ML), data exchange, and analytics.  
• Deploying infrastructure modernization initiatives—laboratory infrastructure, telehealth, and cloud—across HHS.
• Collaboration best practices to expand health equity objectives across HHS.
• Using emerging technology to enhance precision nutrition and complex biomedical challenges.
• Next steps for industry to continue to support HHS’s health equity mission.

Speakers