HealthCast: HHS Data Plan Ushers in New Era of Collaborative Health Innovation
GovCIO Media & Research Podcasts
Release Date: 09/09/2025
HealthCast: IHS Modernizes Native Health Care with PATH EHR
GovCIO Media & Research Podcasts
Mitchell Thornbrugh, CIO and director of the Office of Information Technology at the Indian Health Service (IHS), is leading a transformative effort to modernize health care delivery for Native American and Alaska Native communities. Patients at the Heart Electronic Health Record (PATH EHR) is an enterprise-wide initiative uniting more than 200 staff from federal, tribal and urban health facilities. At the core of Thornbrugh’s vision is an understanding that rural and underserved areas face distinct health care challenges, including limited resources and workforce shortages. By approaching...
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HealthCast: CDC Turns to AI, APIs for Next-Gen Public Health Data Exchange
GovCIO Media & Research Podcasts
Kyle Cobb, acting deputy director for technology and product at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Office of Public Health Data, Surveillance and Technology (OPHDST), shared how emerging technologies are transforming the way health care data is shared and managed. Cobb outlined how APIs are replacing outdated data connections with a hub-and-spoke model, creating more efficient and centralized data utilities. Tools such as FHIR-based APIs and core Data Use Agreements (DUAs) are not only reducing administrative burdens but also helping providers and public health agencies...
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HealthCast: VA Eyes 2026 Restart for EHR Rollout
GovCIO Media & Research Podcasts
Dr. Neil Evans, Acting Program Executive Officer for the Department of Veterans Affairs’ Electronic Health Record Modernization Integration Office, provided an update on the rollout of the common electronic health record (EHR). The VA paused the rollout in 2023 following optimization and reliability issues. Evans outlined plans to restart deployment in April 2026 at select sites in Michigan, with a target of full, enterprise-wide implementation by 2031. He described the VA’s wave-based deployment schedule, which leverages user feedback and lessons learned from the National Oceanic and...
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Marine Pacific CIO Eyes Scalability in Defense Systems | 2025 AFCEA TechNet Indo-Pacific
GovCIO Media & Research Podcasts
Robert Sholtis, CIO at Marine Corps Forces Pacific, discussed at AFCEA TechNet Indo-Pacific his modernization efforts for the service across the Indo-Pacific region. MARFORPAC operates one of the largest services across some of the most challenging environments in the world, facilitating the need to quickly adopt, acquire and scale emerging technologies as they develop. Sholtis said that industry, warfighters and acquisition must work in concert to properly supply the force with the most up-to-date, scalable technology like AI to prepare against adversarial threats. He called on industry to...
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Inside Marine’s AI Digital Transformation Pilot in the Pacific
GovCIO Media & Research Podcasts
Marine Corps Forces Pacific is standing up a Digital Transformation Team (DXT) as part of the Marine Corps' AI Implementation Plan's Digital Transformation Pilot. C5ISRT Systems Integration Officer and Agentic Warfare Lead Capt. Mason Millsap joined us at AFCEA TechNet Indo-Pacific to explain how the pilot helps personnel digitize processes, expand secure data pipelines and accelerate AI adoption for real-world operations. He discussed how DXT is advancing the service’s Digital Transformation Pilot and optimizing digital data flows across tactical and operational systems to strengthen...
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Naval Academy Tests Emerging Tech in Training Scenarios to Build the Next Generation of Leaders
GovCIO Media & Research Podcasts
Naval officers explain how the Adaptive Rapid Engagement Squadron (ARES), a Midshipmen-led research and development team at the U.S. Naval Academy, has participated in competitions like the Squad with Autonomous Teammates – Challenge to test and prove new techniques, tactics and procedures relating to the adoption of emerging technology like drones, AI and electronic warfare in simulated modern combat situations.
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CyberCast: DHS Advances Biometric Security to Counter AI-Driven Threats
GovCIO Media & Research Podcasts
With generative AI introducing new challenges for digital security, Arun Vemury, director at the Department of Homeland Security’s Science and Technology Directorate, explains how biometric technologies are enabling the agency to stay ahead of AI-driven identity fraud. The conversation explores how DHS verifies identities across complex environments — from border crossings to remote digital interactions. Vemury details the agency’s collaborative approach, using cooperative research agreements and competitive evaluations to test and deploy cutting-edge biometric tools quickly. He also...
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HealthCast: How Public-Private Partnerships Drive Public Health Innovation
GovCIO Media & Research Podcasts
Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy Chief of Innovation and Strategic Partnerships Stephen Konya has been credited with launching groundbreaking initiatives like CancerX to accelerate innovation in health care. These efforts are largely borne out of partnerships with the private sector, including academia, entrepreneurs, investors, developers and more. Konya shared how he’s building innovation ecosystems that stay rooted in patient needs while advancing cutting-edge technologies. He highlighted how connecting innovation networks to resources can also expand patient access to care....
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CyberCast: Building Secure Systems Starts with the Right Questions, Says EXIM CISO
GovCIO Media & Research Podcasts
The Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) facilitates trades of exports of goods and services and, in doing so, deals with massive troves of data. From the Billington Cybersecurity Summit, EXIM CISO, Chief Privacy Officer, and Deputy Chief AI Officer Darren Death tells CyberCast that his agency is centralizing data about user access and behavior to detect potential cyber threats. Death says that balancing cybersecurity with privacy remains a challenge, especially in complex IT ecosystems involving financial institutions. He stresses the need to “shift left” by embedding privacy...
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GovCast: Postal Inspection Leverages AI to Combat Mail Fraud, ID Threats
GovCIO Media & Research Podcasts
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service is increasingly leveraging artificial intelligence for its mission. According USPIS Inspector in Charge Eric Shen, the agency is exploring AI's potential to identify suspects, monitor illicit websites and enhance public awareness about mail fraud. At Identity Week America 2025, Shen speaks with GovCast about how USPIS is evolving as technology changes. He says that USPIS uses all the tools it can find – including social media, AI and others – to root out mail scams. Shen also says that USPIS is changing along with the broader evolution of documentation...
info_outlineThe Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is transforming how health data is shared and used, emphasizing transparency. Chief Data Officer Kristen Honey is spearheading an “open by default” strategy that moves away from top-down, siloed data management to a more collaborative model. HHS is pushing decision-making to local, state and regional experts on the front lines of public health.
Inspired by rapid response strategies used during the COVID-19 pandemic, the updated plan takes a modular, flexible format housed on open platforms like GitHub. This allows external partners to provide feedback and co-create solutions that accelerate innovation. At the same time, the refreshed HealthData.gov serves as a one-stop shop for navigating HHS’s massive data ecosystem, with AI-driven tools designed to improve usability and responsiveness.
HHS is fostering partnerships across government, industry and academia to drive external innovation while ensuring solutions meet authoritative federal standards.