5 Takeaways from the 2026 Health IT Summit

The Department of Veterans Affairs is demonstrating how AI can move from experimentation to applications with measurable impacts on health outcomes and workforce efficiency.

VA is using AI-enabled systems to identify veterans at risk of suicide, reduce opioid overdose mortality and improve detection of precancerous lesions during colonoscopies. The department is also seeing administrative benefits, with some employees saving up to six hours per week using general-purpose AI tools and clinicians spending less time on paperwork.

“Today we have a variety of projects and outcomes that could really actually improve veteran outcomes and improve our services,” said VA Acting Chief AI Officer Kimberly McManus. “It’s been really exciting to see.”

Federal health agencies are applying AI to improve acquisition processes and bring new technology into government faster.

NITAAC used AI for offer validation, algorithm validation and document consistency during a proposal evaluation, helping reduce a process that could have taken two years to about four months. HHS is also exploring more flexible acquisition pathways to quickly pilot emerging technologies and engage nontraditional vendors.

“I felt we created one of the most efficient proposal evaluations I’ve ever seen,” said Ricky Clark, director of NITAAC, which plans to transition IT buying to GSA over the next year. “We had an ad hoc report for everything. We reviewed each and every solicitation to ensure that everyone was totally compliant.”

CMS is advancing a more open and interoperable approach to federal health data, with plans to release an open data fabric that will allow information to move more easily across systems, clouds and organizational boundaries.

CMS CIO Patrick Newbold said the agency is embracing open standards and a hybrid, multi-cloud architecture rather than relying on a single cloud provider. The goal is to break down persistent data silos and make it easier for organizations such as CMS and NIH to securely exchange and use valuable health data.

“Just moving things to the cloud doesn’t solve the silo issue, but when you can integrate the cloud, the security controls, the processes together, that’s what’s going to allow partners like CMS and NIH to exchange their best valuables,” Newbold said.

At least 14 agencies are in various stages of negotiations to join the federal EHR program, according to Federal Electronic Health Record Modernization (FEHRM) CTO Lance Scott.

For agencies already using the federal EHR, the system is creating new opportunities to deliver care in challenging environments. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has paired the EHR with high-speed satellite connectivity and telemedicine kits to connect personnel aboard ships with shore-based providers and specialists.

“It’s taking the medical sick bay on a ship … and connecting them with technology to the mainland, so now you’re no longer so isolated. You’re a part of the health care system with all the support that you would typically get at a clinic or a hospital,” said Cmdr. Scott Miller, director of NOAA’s Office of Health and Health Services.

The Health Resources and Services Administration is demonstrating how AI can augment healthcare professionals, particularly in rural and underserved communities. Through its Telehealth Centers of Excellence programs, HRSA is supporting an AI-enhanced virtual nursing home at the University of Mississippi Medical Center that uses camera-based technology to detect potential fall risks and alert nursing staff.

“The AI does not replace the nurse; it does not decide what the patient needs. It identifies a possible risk and alerts the staff to a possible danger for that patient,” HRSA Administrator Tom Engels said.

Other agencies are taking similar approaches, with VA using AI-assisted virtual environments for clinical training and ARPA-H exploring AI and interoperable data to improve pediatric care.