HIMSS25 experts urge overhaul of U.S. healthcare data sharing policies
NEVADA, UNITED STATES — The recent HIMSS25 conference in Las Vegas saw healthcare interoperability experts converge to discuss the future of healthcare data exchange and provide policy recommendations for the Trump administration and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
The session, “Kill the Clipboard!: Policy Ideas for DOGE and the Trump Administration,” focused on modernizing data exchange across the healthcare ecosystem over the next decade.
Streamlining regulations to enhance data flow
The session moderator, Ryan Howells, Principal at Leavitt Partners, pointed out that the current interoperability policies are too many and too stringent.
“We have too much regulation,” he argued. “We don’t have a problem in building the functionality of the EHR anymore. We have a problem in exchanging the data between not only the EHR, but the payers, the pharmacies, the patients, everyone else in the ecosystem.”
The panel, which included executives from Providence, MultiCare Connected Care, and Cigna Healthcare, called for a shift from certifying EHRs to certifying APIs that enable data flow between systems. It could be seen as redefining the Certified Electronic Health Record Technology (CEHRT) to include other solutions besides the traditional EHRs — “payers cloud-based solutions, and others,” as Howells suggested.
Long-term vision for healthcare interoperability
In the long run, the panel pointed out that one should not focus on the short-term solutions.
“What do we need to do over the next decade to meaningfully advance data interoperability and data exchange? Because that’s how long it takes. Remember HITECH took about 10 years, right? FHIR has taken more than 10 years,” Howells asked.
A whitepaper by Leavitt Partners outlines specific recommendations, including:
- Removing policies that are no longer necessary
- Enhancing the patient’s access to healthcare information
- Accelerating the implementation of FHIR APIs
- Using digital identity services
The paper suggests these changes could “dramatically ease patient and provider burden, reduce redundant solutions, and eliminate wasteful spending” while enabling “interoperability and digital health across the country.”
By 2027, the CMS Interoperability and Prior Authorization Final Rule will compel all payer providers to connect through standardized APIs, marking a dramatic change in how healthcare data is transferred and possibly reshaping the healthcare technology environment.
Impact on healthcare outsourcing trends
In the coming years, the healthcare data exchange policy will be completely changed and will greatly affect the healthcare outsourcing environment. In turn, this new interoperability environment will create the need for outsourcing partners to assist healthcare organizations with this transition.
The healthcare IT outsourcing market is expected to grow from $60.6 billion in 2025 to $117.1 billion in 2035 with a 6.8% compound annual growth rate (CAGR). This growth will be driven by the increase in the adoption of cloud-based solutions, electronic health records, healthcare analytics platforms, and cybersecurity solutions as organizations embrace digital transformation.
In addition, with the use of standardized APIs and FHIR protocols, healthcare providers will continue to turn to specialized outsourcing partners to ensure compliance with new regulations and protect data security and privacy. This is especially the case, as managing healthcare data and security remains a major challenge as cybersecurity threats increase.
Outsourcing partners that have knowledge of AI solutions, interoperability, and decentralized data management will be particularly valuable as healthcare providers attempt to achieve optimization and enhance patient results. These partners will also help build strong security measures to safeguard protected health information (PHI) and meet legal requirements, such as HIPAA.
Telehealth, advanced analytics, and compliance management are becoming more popular as the healthcare industry continues to shift to remote services and digital transformation. This trend will be accelerated by the data exchange overhaul, which will generate new models of outsourcing partnerships that are focused on the use of technology and data to improve patient care.
