Federal agencies and industry partners are increasingly exploring AI use to improve health care. As adoption rates increase, so do policies and regulations around the emerging tech. In the first half of 2024 alone, state legislators introduced 745 AI-related bills and Congress held numerous hearings on the topic. HIMSS EHR Association’s Tina Joros and Leigh Burchell, who also chair the AI Task Force and the Information Blocking Compliance Task Force respectively, discuss the evolving role of AI ...
Mar 07, 2025•9 min
AI is transforming government health services by streamlining administrative processes, reducing wait times and improving patient outcomes through predictive analytics and automation. From enhancing disease detection with machine learning to optimizing resource allocation, AI enables agencies to deliver more efficient, data-driven and personalized health solutions. Live from the HIMSS 2025 conference in Las Vegas, Nevada, Noel Hara, vice president and CTO for NTT Data’s Public Sector, explores h...
Mar 07, 2025•8 min
For over 30 years, Health Level Seven International (HL7) has set the standard for electronic health information worldwide. Federal agencies also leverage HL7 standards to exchange and share electronic health information to ultimately improve patient outcomes and health system performance. HL7 provides a set of standards for exchanging clinical and administrative health data between applications. At HIMSS, Diego Kaminker, deputy chief standards implementation officer at HL7 International, discus...
Mar 07, 2025•13 min
By leveraging emerging technologies and standardized data frameworks, federal health leaders can enhance real-time decision-making and deliver more efficient, patient-centered care. Chris Nichols, program manager for the Enterprise Intelligence and Data Solutions (EIDS) program for the Program Executive Office at Defense Healthcare Management Systems (DHMS), joined us during HIMSS to discuss his vision of data-driven health care in the military. He shares insights into recent milestones in healt...
Mar 07, 2025•11 min
The Department of Veterans Affairs aims to develop and apply innovative AI solutions, boost interoperability and transform the agency by facilitating a learning environment that supports the delivery of benefits and services to veterans. At HIMSS in Las Vegas, Dr. Shane McNamee, senior advisor to the chief medical information officer for health solution architecture at the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), and Dr. Johnathan Nebeker, executive director of Clinical Informatics at VA, discuss h...
Mar 07, 2025•16 min
Interoperability efforts are ensuring patients and providers can access and use health data seamlessly. The Sequoia Project has been at the forefront of Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ASTP/ONC)'s Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement (TEFCA) that removes barriers to sharing health information electronically. At HIMSS in Las Vegas, The Sequoia Project CEO Mariann Yeager highlights why interoperability matters, how plai...
Mar 06, 2025•8 min
After a strategic pause, the Department of Veterans Affairs is preparing to resume its federal electronic health record rollout in mid-2026 with a renewed focus on continuous improvement and system modernization. The Federal Electronic Health Record Modernization (FEHRM) office’s goal is to unite capabilities across the VA, Defense Department, Coast Guard and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration — along with other federal partners — to deploy the same federal EHR. Ahead of HIMSS, FEHR...
Mar 04, 2025•16 min
The National Cancer Institute (NCI) is exploring how it can leverage artificial intelligence to enhance cancer screening techniques, ultimately improving patient outcomes across the nation. Dr. Katrina Goddard, director of the Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences at NCI, explains how her division is leveraging AI, and other innovative solutions like the low-dose CT scan, to better detect lung cancer and enable better access to data.
Mar 03, 2025•14 min
Former Defense Department CIO John Sherman anticipates many shifts from President Donald Trump and his administration’s incoming leadership on tech development and defense priorities. Sherman, who now serves as Dean of Texas A&M’s Bush School of Government and Public Service, has spent 30 years in national security and intelligence positions in the CIA, DOD and other agencies. As DOD CIO, he oversaw technology and cyber modernization for a 4 million-person enterprise with a $60 billion IT an...
Feb 25, 2025•14 min
The new year began with a new White House executive order on strengthening and promoting innovation in cybersecurity, building on previous efforts, like the National Cybersecurity Strategy, to enhance the security of the nation’s digital infrastructure. Looking into 2025, Deputy Assistant Director of FBI’s Cyber Division Cynthia Kaiser said her division plans to leverage emerging technology like artificial intelligence to thwart cyber adversaries and better detect threats around critical infrast...
Feb 19, 2025•24 min
The Department of Veterans Affairs is responsible for the nation’s largest internal help desk in government. Robert Cunningham, executive director for Enterprise Command Operations at VA, explains his oversight of the agency’s internal help desk, which processes more than two million requests per year with the help of automation and AI. The tech also enables VA to better manage outages and bugs within the agency’s systems. Cunningham also shares how he collaborates with VA employees, government ...
Feb 18, 2025•25 min
Maintaining legacy communications systems is expensive and can leave military services like the Navy and Marine Corps behind. During AFCEA West in San Diego, Verizon Navy and Marine Corps Public Sector Director David Reaves explained how he’s seeing the Navy’s challenges in modernizing voice and data communications, focusing on the Defense Department’s mandate to transition from outdated systems to IP-based infrastructure. Reaves said that the high cost and difficulty of maintaining legacy syste...
Feb 07, 2025•8 min
The Naval Postgraduate School's recent partnership with the Defense Innovation Unit formalizes NPS' focus on fostering innovation in the school's student body. NPS President Ann Rondeau said Thursday that the the school not only supports innovation, but lays the foundation for creative thinking, collaboration and finding real-world solutions to support the Defense Department. During AFCEA West in San Diego, California, California, Rondeau described NPS as a hub for "warrior scholars" – experienc...
Feb 05, 2025•13 min
The Naval Information Warfare Systems Command supports technical authority and acquisition command for information warfare, which presents modernization challenges as the speed of technology evolution increases. At AFCEA West in San Diego, NAVWAR CIO Ben Motten said his office is empowering the workforce by providing the necessary tools and capabilities, allowing warfighters to focus on the mission rather than the technology itself. Legacy infrastructure and software present hurdles, he said, bu...
Feb 03, 2025•9 min
In 2024, the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) and the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) signed a memo of understanding to codify their joint effort to develop future leaders to manage innovative solutions. During AFCEA West in San Diego, Kaitie Penry, director of emerging technology and innovation at the Naval Postgraduate School, discussed how that agreement is going. She highlighted the impact it has had on developing leadership skills in students, particularly in acquisition and innovation, and pr...
Jan 31, 2025•9 min
During AFCEA West in San Diego, California, Mark Gorak, Defense Department’s principal director for resources and analysis and director of the Cyber Academic Engagement Office, discussed his priorities for cyber talent and retention amid new federal leadership. Gorak lauded his office’s efforts to lower the average days it takes to hire cyber talent and discussed his efforts to retain cyber talent. The Cyber Workforce Strategy, which has been deployed since 2023, has been implemented hand in han...
Jan 31, 2025•9 min
The Marine Corps is modernizing its systems to keep pace with rapidly evolving technology while centering warfighters. During AFCEA West in San Diego, California, Marine Corps Systems Command Cyber Technology Officer Gaurang Dävé said that innovation requires speed in delivering capabilities to the warfighter. Dävé highlighted that Marines act as sensors in the battlespace, needing the best information in real-time for informed decision-making. Dävé also discussed the Marine Corps' approach of c...
Jan 31, 2025•11 min
Security and agility are critical to balancing the Department of the Navy's zero-trust journey amid evolving cloud modernization priorities. At AFCEA West in San Diego, California, DON’s CIO Jane Rathbun discussed the service’s recent zero-trust achievements with its Flank Speed initiative to enable secure cloud deployment. Rathbun shared some of the lessons learned for other organizations throughout the journey. She also highlighted how collaboration between cyber operators, acquisition communi...
Jan 31, 2025•11 min
Countering adversaries in the cyber domain requires the Navy to harness information at the speed of technological innovation. During AFCEA West in San Diego, California, Vice Adm. Craig Clapperton, commander of U.S. Fleet Cyber Command and Navy Space Command, discussed how he is approaching the evolving landscape of cyber threats and developing strategies to counter them in his dual-hat role. From recent cyber incidents like SolarWinds and Volt Typhoon, to the role of emerging technologies like ...
Jan 29, 2025•12 min
Technology has made cyber threats more complex and difficult to discern for defense intelligence operations and combatant commands providing insights to decision-makers across the globe. The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and U.S. Northern Command (Northcom) work with industry, allies and other combatant commands to secure all domains for the U.S. and Canada. Director of Intelligence and Information Brig. Gen. Maurizio Calabrese discussed the evolving role of defense intelligen...
Jan 28, 2025•20 min•Season 6Ep. 13
Office of Personnel Management Chief Data Officer and Acting Chief AI Officer Taka Ariga provided an inside look at the agency’s innovative use of artificial intelligence. OPM is navigating the potential for AI in use cases such as general productivity tools and bespoke solutions tailored for federal workforce needs. Ariga highlighted the importance of data integrity and trust, the careful alignment of people, processes and technology, and the pivotal role AI plays in modernizing government oper...
Jan 14, 2025•16 min•Season 2Ep. 1
Data security and customer experience are top priorities for Jennifer Wendel, the newly confirmed permanent CIO at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Wendel emphasized the agency's commitment to implementing special cybersecurity measures and strengthening incident response processes to safeguard patient data from malicious actors. Wendel highlighted some of her other key priorities from HHS’ 2022-2026 Strategic Plan. This includes improvements to grants.gov by introducing new to...
Jan 07, 2025•25 min•Season 5Ep. 11
The first season of AI GovCast brought listeners the voices at the forefront of government's AI revolution. We heard from State Dept. Chief AI Officer (CAIO) Matthew Graviss on how his agency is driving ethical and responsible use of AI in diplomacy, hiring AI professionals and integrating better data practices in AI implementation. Department of Labor CAIO Mangala Kuppa explained the principles around AI that the agency is adhering to while developing and adopting the emerging technology. Comin...
Jan 03, 2025•35 sec
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Cyber Integration Center (CCIC) is the hub of cybersecurity strategy and response at the agency. The collaborative center focuses on internal assessments to protect sensitive patient data and improve threat detection. Acting CISO Keith Busby explained how CCIC red, blue and purple security engagements teams are conducting Penetration Testing (PenTesting) to monitor the agency’s critical infrastructure and prevent malicious actors from causing ...
Dec 31, 2024•16 min•Season 6Ep. 12
Federal agencies are making significant strides in revolutionizing data access and records management by adopting new technologies, improving processes and fostering greater transparency. The Library of Congress and National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) are revolutionizing access to their vast amounts of historical records and born-digital content. The organizations are taking innovative approaches to digitization, metadata management and leveraging cutting-edge technologies like A...
Dec 23, 2024•25 min•Season 7Ep. 16
Department of Homeland Security AI Corps Director Michael Boyce runs the largest civilian AI hiring effort in the federal government. The new service is modeled after the White House’s U.S. Digital Service that embeds experts at agencies to tackle critical tech projects — in this case embedding AI across the agency’s critical mission areas. On this AI GovCast miniseries, Boyce discusses his journey to the agency with his prior roles at the Office of Management and Budget. He breaks down how he e...
Dec 17, 2024•15 min
In the final episode of our Storytelling Miniseries, we discuss building meaningful relationships through storytelling. Department of House and Urban Development’s Director of Business Operations and Technology Sarah Moffatt, Program Manager at the Department of Energy’s Office of Sustainable Environmental Stewardship Cate Berard and IBM’s U.S. Federal Civilian Agency Business Development Leader Lauren Craig discussed why building connections is so crucial in storytelling and how the relationshi...
Dec 16, 2024•19 min
Customs and Border Protection CTO Sunil Madhugiri discussed how the agency is using artificial intelligence at the nation’s borders to sift through mountains of data more quickly. Artificial intelligence and large language models are not new to CBP. The agency has been developing the technology for its use in its missions including detecting suspicious items and packages at border entries and ports. Madhugiri discussed CBP’s infrastructure it created for this tech and how it plans to adopt it wi...
Dec 10, 2024•22 min•Season 7Ep. 15
The Department of the Navy is leading the charge in innovation, speeding up the federal acquisition process to improve tech adoption and remain competitive in the evolving tech landscape. Acting CTO Justin Fanelli joined us at AWS re:Invent to highlight how the two new designated enterprise services in its COSMOS zero-trust computing platform and the Naval Enterprise Service Desk (NESD) are moving the Navy toward more shared services. He also discussed the newly launched Innovation Adoption Kit,...
Dec 06, 2024•12 min
Cutting-edge technology is transforming health care, with solutions like artificial intelligence helping agencies like the National Cancer Institute (NCI) improve screening, diagnosis and treatment. During AWS re:Invent in Las Vegas, Nevada, NCI CIO Jeff Shilling discussed the critical role of data standardization backing AI initiatives and how he is thinking about ethical concerns like bias, data privacy and risk management to ensure AI is both effective and responsible. He highlighted the impo...
Dec 06, 2024•14 min
