Department of Health and Human Services officials discussed the potential role of artificial intelligence and data sharing in the prevention and treatment of diseases during a panel discussion on Tuesday at the AI World Government Conference, Federal Times reported Thursday.
“[It’s] a way of thinking about how health information flows across the country and the first step is getting it in digital format,” said Paula Braun, entrepreneur-in-residence at HHS’ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Alison Oelschlaeger, director and chief data officer at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, cited CMS’ use of AI and data to assess the impact of policy changes on the health of beneficiaries, program utilization and spending.
Kristen Finne, director of HHS emPOWER program and senior analysis at HHS’ office of emergency management and medical operations, ASPR, discussed how data collection and sharing could facilitate care delivery during emergencies. “We realized how we can actually take federal health data, using machine learning and data analytics, and bring it to our public health authorities,†said Finne.Â