HHS is pushing new interoperability rules to encourage better care coordination and empower patients to become stronger partners in their care through access to their digital health records––and the industry seems to be on board.

What to do with wearables and the deluge of data they offer is a big question in the minds of IT leaders and a topic addressed well at HIMSS19 by Karl Poterack, MD, the medical director, applied clinical informatics, Mayo Clinic.

CVS Health is testing out a new store format in three Houston locations that aim to be a health hub for residents in those communities, with more of the store designated for healthcare services. The concept combines digital health offerings and community spaces with in-store services.

The Vatican and Microsoft are offering a nearly $7,000 prize for an international competition that aims to promote ethics in AI, according to a report by the Associated Press.

An NHS hospital in Scotland was honored by Microsoft during the HIMSS conference for its effort with KenSci to leverage AI and machine learning to reduce emergency hospital admissions among the highest risk chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients.

IBM Watson Health is investing $50 million over 10 years in a joint research collaboration with the Vanderbilt University Medical Center and Brigham and Women’s Hospital aimed at using AI to solve major public health issues.

Health insurers are taking steps to address social determinants of health that go beyond clinical care. Health Care Service Corporation (HCSC) and the Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) Institute have launched a food delivery service in Chicago and Dallas.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has proposed a federal rule aimed at putting patients in the center of the U.S. healthcare system. CMS Administrator Seema Verma discussed the development in a keynote session delivered Feb. 12 at HIMSS19 in Orlando.