CMS forms office of enterprise data and analytics

To analyze and improve access to large amounts of data across multiple programs, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services created an office of enterprise data and analytics and hired its first chief data officer to oversee it, the agency announced. This move builds on prior CMS efforts to tie together data from multiple sources to promote high quality, patient-centered care at a lower cost.

The creation of the new office also has anti-fraud implications: CMS is now analyzing claims data in real time and using predictive analytics to identify fraud and abuse and track metrics such as hospital readmissions, the agency noted.

"[T]here is no turning back from the healthcare data agenda," said CMS Principal Deputy Administrator Andy Slavitt in the announcement. "[Chief Data Officer] Niall Brennan will help make sure CMS leads the way." >> Read the full FierceHealthIT article