Innovators and entrepreneurs now can access key data such as Medicare claims to create better tools for what works best in healthcare.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced Tuesday a new policy that opens agency data to certain people. The data won’t show the patients’ names, but will show the hospital or provider they got care from, the agency said.
The goal is to shake up healthcare innovation, said acting CMS administrator Andy Slavitt.
“We expect a stream of new tools for beneficiaries and care providers that improve care and personalize decision-making,” he said.
Tools that might be developed could focus on care management that can help physicians make more informed decisions that are more targeted to the patient, CMS said.
The access represents a significant shift from the agency. Before, a researcher couldn’t access CMS data if it would be used to create a product that can be sold.
The data can also be accessed on a quarterly basis. Previously a researcher had to wait a year to examine the data, the agency said.
