Trump admin announces launch of national electronic health tracking system
US President Trump on Wednesday announced the launch of a brand new health tracking system designed to make it easier for Americans to access their health data all in one place. What could go wrong?
Patient record. Image from Shutterstock
President Trump on Wednesday announced the launch of a brand new private health tracking system designed to make it easier for Americans to access their health data all in one place.
- President Trump announced a new CMS Digital Health Tech system aimed at empowering the health of all Americans.
- More than 60 companies, including big tech, health insurers, doctors, medical billing, and app developers, pledged to work together to create the new system, also agreeing to release their hold on patient data.
- The new system will incorporate artificial intelligence, helping to expand access to care, cut administrative costs, reduce fraud, and deliver better results for patients and doctors.
The "Making Health Technology Great Again" press conference was held at the White House late Wednesday afternoon.
“Today, the dream of easily transportable electronic medical records finally becomes a reality… bringing health care into the digital age,” Trump said.
Appearing alongside the President was US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., US administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Dr. Mehmet Oz, White House AI and Crypto Czar David Sachs, and acting administrator of Doge Amy Gleason.
“For decades, America's health care networks have been overdue for a high-tech upgrade, and that's what we're doing. The existing systems are often slow, costly, and incompatible with one another,” Trump noted.
The new system – the CMS Digital Health Tech ecosystem – will give health care providers, insurers, and software companies the tools they need to empower Americans with a 21st-century experience on health.
MAKE AMERICA HEALTHY AGAIN:
undefined The White House (@WhiteHouse) July 31, 2025
Today, @POTUS, alongside @DrOzCMS, @SecKennedy, and @DavidSacks, officially launched the CMS Digital Health Tech Ecosystem. pic.twitter.com/E2W2guOKKR
Killing the Clipboard
One of the major themes during the event referred to an industry phrase known as “kill the Clipboard,” with a capital C.
“Instead of filling out the same tedious paperwork at every medical appointment, patients will simply be able to grant their doctors access to their records at the push of a button, moving from clipboards and fax machines into a new era of convenience, profitability, and speed,” Trump explained.
The goal is to allow patients to easily transmit information from one doctor to another, even if they're on different networks and using different recordkeeping systems.
“No matter what system they use, they're all transferable, making it simple for patients to access their own personal health records,” said Trump, a key factor in improving the health and longevity of all Americans, he added.
As part of the process, roughly 60 of “the biggest names in the health care and technology” will establish, for the first time, industry-wide standards for electronic medical records.
Big tech participants will include Apple, Google, Samsung, Amazon, OpenAI, Anthropic, Epic, Oracle, Athena Health, and Noom, with many company leaders attending the event.
“That's not a bad group of people,” the President said.
Another 18 network companies have also pledged to fix the infrastructure that will make data sharing possible through modern data sharing networks.
“We have all these apps that want to provide these services, but they can't get the data because it is so hard for patients to access their records,” Gleason said, adding that "these will honor patient privacy and transparency."
Incorporating AI to help diagnose patients
The new system is part of an initiative that Trump had worked on in his first term, but ran out of time, said Kennedy, promising the new system will be ready to go in the next six months.
The system will be maintained by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which will also spur the modernization of the Medicaid.gov website.
A big push will be the adaptation of AI into the platforms. By implementing an AI assistant into the app, patients will be able to rely on AI to navigate the system, for example, to summarize doctors’ appointments and help patients understand diagnoses and treatment plans.
“Six months from now [a patient] might show up to her doctor's appointment, instead of filling out a clipboard with her 21 medications, 12 doctors, and her entire medical history, she can just pull out her phone and tap or scan a QR code and seamlessly transfer her digital insurance card, her verified medical record, and a digital summary that could help her provider get up to speed faster,” Gleason said.
Another component of the new health system will see insurance companies voluntarily remove the burdensome preauthorization process for 80% of treatments, considered a major accomplishment by the administration.
One month ago, insurance executives came to our offices and agreed, voluntarily, to remove the burdensome preauthorization process for 80% of treatments. Thank you, @DrOzCMS, for your leadership on this issue. pic.twitter.com/ngv4whr5d8
undefined Secretary Kennedy (@SecKennedy) July 30, 2025
Additionally, the system will feature a “long overdue” National Provider directory, described as a kind of digital map for health care that connects systems in real time and helps patients get more coordinated care.
Other features will focus on diabetes and weight management, making healthy food choices, and other digital tools such as QR codes and applications that can register patients for check-ins or track medications.
Individuals will not be forced to upload their records and can opt out of the digital health tools if they want.