A Report on the WEDI and CMS Conferences: Two Events, Overlapping Themes

3/4/2026

I attended two conferences with similar themes: burden reduction and empowering patients through improved data exchange. The first was the WEDI Winter Forum: The Promise and Reality of Health IT in Improving the Patient Journey and the second was the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Burden Reduction Conference. Before attending the conferences, I had not thought how the themes of both would align so closely. The WEDI Winter Forum was focused on the use of health information technology (IT) to improve the patient’s interactions in the health care system while the CMS conference concentrated on burden reduction. While both areas are important to explore, it was interesting to find considerable overlap in the sessions across the conferences on how better use of health IT and more efficiency in data exchange can impactfully reduce burden on all health care stakeholders, and most importantly, the patient. What surprised me the most in listening to the many speakers talking about various projects, initiatives, and lived experiences is that it does not require grand efforts to make meaningful improvements. Small efforts at the local, regional, and state level can make a real difference. Especially for the patients who achieve improved health outcomes.

The CMS Burden Reduction Conference started with a keynote address from CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz, MD. He highlighted the Administration’s priorities and work within CMS to accomplish them. He talked about: (i) The pledge by many commercial health plans to take specific actions to decrease the burdens of prior authorization; (ii) The need for patients to get their health records and in order to take control of their care; (iii) The over 600 companies that have signed up to be part of the CMS Health Tech Ecosystem and the support this will give patients in managing their health; and (iv) The focus on rural health care and the money being invested. In addition, the Administrator mentioned the formation of a new federal health care advisory committee that will address burden reduction. (The 15 committee members have been selected from 450 applicants.) He ended with a call for everyone to work together to solve the problems that make today’s health care system ineffective and inefficient.

At the WEDI Winter Forum, Steve Posnack, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy, gave the keynote address. He spoke about the work started by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) and continuing under the Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy (ASTP) and how it has led to their work today prioritizing affordability and access to care, data liquidity, and technology advancement. He talked about their work with industry-led and statutory and regulatory frameworks. He ended with a message that if we want to be better as a health care system, we need to do better.

The first panel at the CMS Burden Reduction Conference addressed increasing transparency in health care and was moderated by Roberto Colon Viera, Chief Health Technology Officer, CMS. The panelists, Grace Cordovano (Enlightening Results), Wes Cronkite (Healthcare Technology Executive and Advisor), and Melinda Kidder (ASTP), spoke about the use of AI by patients as well as providers and the benefits it can bring. They also outlined how transparency has come from new data standards (Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources and application program interfaces (APIs) and data exchange methods (Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement) and U.S. Core Data for Interoperability. Parting messages from the panelists included the need to take a step back and determine what data really needs to be shared and build the right processes to get technology deployed.

• Transparency with data was a topic in several sessions at the WEDI Winter Forum. Specifically, price transparency for patients was discussed in two sessions. Rick Geimer and Corey Spears (Lantana Consulting Group) reviewed the Da Vinci Patient Cost Transparency (PCT) Implementation Guide and how the guide helps patients receive clearer, more accurate cost information before they receive care. The WEDI No Surprises Task Group co-chairs, Terrence Cunningham (American Hospital Association), Beth Davis (Veradigm Payerpath), and Stanley Nachimson (Nachimson Advisors), along with panelists Danielle Lloyd (AHIP) and Anna Hyde (Arthritis Foundation) talked about the various perspectives in getting and using pricing data in delivering care.

At the CMS Burden Reduction Conference, the second panel focused on transforming chronic care. The panelists were Gregory Alexander (Columbia University School of Nursing), Nicole Fallon (LeadingAge), Allison Reichert (Bode Drug), and Ashby Wolf, MD (CMS) and the session was moderated by Shari Ling, MD, CMS Deputy Chief Medical Officer. They spoke about the need for continuity of care among all providers, the need for more value-based care, successes seen with the Hospital-At-Home program, and technology for whole person care.

Back to the WEDI Winter Forum, sessions there also addressed transforming patient care. Jason Gillman, MD (MCG Health) explored the use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) to reduce administrative burden in utilization management and case management. Alana Kalinowsk (San Diego 211) spoke about how community information exchange supports whole-patient care and gave an example of how it fits into the electronic health record. Improving data accessibility and care coordination was the focus of a session by Paul Wilder with CommonWell Alliance.

The final panel at the CMS Burden Reduction Conference focused on the use of AI tools to empower clinicians and patients. Moderated by Patrick Newbold, CIO, and Director of the CMS Office of Information Technology. The panelists included Andrea Fletcher (CMS), Brian Hoberman (The Permanente Federation), and Bakul Patel (Google) talked about how providers in any area have access to the same information through technology and AI. Andrea Fletcher also spoke about tools they are building in Medicaid that can be used by states and will streamline data collection for patients.

The message of empowering providers and patients and the use of AI was prominent throughout the WEDI Winter Forum. Brittne Kakulla from AARP Research walked through survey results showing older adults’ views of AI overall and in health care. National University professor Linda Macomber and James Cummings, parent and Health IT advocate, had an engaging conversation about empowering patients and caregivers with AI to augment patient curiosity, research, and advocacy in their search for care and treatment answers. Other sessions focused on empowering patients through the use of the Access APIs, the role of patient advocacy organizations, use of digital tools, and technology for advanced care planning.

These two conferences effectively set the stage for 2026, and we can expect to see more of these themes throughout the year from both organizations. I’m excited at the prospect that this will be the year for moving the needle on empowering patients and reducing burden throughout the health care system.