COVID-19

Leaders from the National Institutes of Health and Health and Human Services said last week at GoCIO Media & Research's Digital Health Modernization virtual event that their agencies have increased the openness and availability of public health data, especially as a means of accelerating health IT development and pandemic response. 

Lawmakers and public health experts are pushing for greater standardization of health data to improve public health response efforts and research outcomes.

COVID-19 has caused shutdowns and isolation, increasing mental health distress for many Americans and making it difficult to access in-person treatment for mental health disorders.

If one good thing came of the COVID-19 pandemic, it was the expansion of telehealth and digital health services.

• GovCast

The Department of Homeland Security is leading research efforts to assist, inform and prepare the public to respond to COVID-19.

• HealthCast

FDA is modernizing its technology infrastructure to accelerate scientific and regulatory decisions.

• HealthCast

Technical advances are improving customer experience during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.

With the trillions of dollars spent around COVID-19 relief and response funding, digital solutions are scaling and providing transparent oversight of that funding.

The Food and Drug Administration is taking on a “marathon strategy” in place of its originally adopted sprint mentality for the review, authorization and approval of a novel coronavirus vaccine, according to the agency’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER) Director Peter Marks. 

The Department of Veterans Affairs is continuing to invest in its ‘digital-first’ care model for veterans receiving VA health care amid the pandemic, agency officials said during GovernmentCIO Media & Research’s virtual event Wednesday. 

The Department of Veterans Affairs' preexisting IT transformation initiatives helped the agency more effectively respond to the demands of the COVID-19 pandemic, noted agency leaders at the GovernmentCIO Media & Research House Oversight and VA Digital Modernization event Wednesday.

Members of Congress praised the Department of Veterans Affairs’ telehealth effort and aim to work with the agency to expand those services to veterans and the general public amid the COVID-19 pandemic.