White House wants to modernize health care | Amy Gleason

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt spoke with reporters on Thursday to address concerns about the health of U.S. President Donald Trump. This comes as recent images of a bruised hand and swollen legs prompted questions and speculation. In nearly every part of modern life, technology works for us. You can check in for a flight with your phone, track your heart rate in real time or get personalized grocery suggestions based on your habits. But when it comes to managing your health? You're often stuck printing records, repeating your medical history at every new appointment and filling out the same forms again and again. It's frustrating and dangerously unacceptable. Leaders from across health care and technology recently gathered at the White House with a shared purpose: to fix what's broken in health tech and to build what works. This wasn't just a showcase, it was a signal. It's time to stop waiting and start building. I know what's at stake because I've lived it. My daughter Morgan has a rare disease. She sees 12 doctors and takes 21 medications. For more than a decade, she's navigated a maze of disconnected systems, repeated paperwork and inconsistent records. In between short appointments every few months, she gets almost no daily feedback -- no smart tools to help manage her symptoms, no tailored advice, no real-time coordination across providers. People are also reading... Marion Bigfoot Festival founder spent last 5 years battling cancer. This year, he returns Former Jack Frost building in Marion to be demolished; commercial development expected McDowell County Schools superintendent: New school year brings cellphone ban, focus on safety Swannanoa based furniture store expands to Marion with everything but appliances He survived a McDowell County wreck that killed 3 people. A long road to recovery is ahead. Marion's WNC Bigfoot Festival is coming up. 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It doesn't help her decide when to rest instead of pushing through, or when to take one of her as-needed medications. She doesn't get the same personalized, intuitive feedback we expect in almost every other part of life. And she should. Recently, Morgan uploaded her medical records into an AI assistant, just to see what it would say. What it found stunned us: a subtle but critical discrepancy in her diagnoses that could make her eligible for a clinical trial. It's the first real hope we've had in more than 15 years. That's the promise of connected data and smart tools when they work. But now, they mostly don't. The federal government has made major investments in digitizing health care. But that's not enough. Listen now and subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | RSS Feed | SoundStack | All Of Our Podcasts The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, under the leadership of Dr. Mehmet Oz, has focused on building the foundational infrastructure the private sector needs to innovate. That includes collaboration with the U.S. DOGE Service to finally create a long-overdue national provider directory -- a digital map for health care -- so systems can talk to each other in real time and so patients can receive connected care. No single, trusted source is available of up-to-date information about providers -- where they practice, what specialties they offer, or how to connect to them. Every health insurance plan requires providers to submit the same information separately, often dozens of times across different networks. The result? More than $2.7 billion in wasted administrative effort each year, according to the Council for Affordable Quality Healthcare. And without knowing where or how to send data that other providers need, medical offices can't share it. A smart provider directory is the first step to fixing that. We're also modernizing how Medicare and Medicaid data are shared, with security and privacy built into every step. And we are clearing the path for tools that help patients manage care with confidence -- tools that feel as seamless, smart and human as the apps we already trust in our daily lives. And here's what's important: This is not a federal database of patient health information. It is a network of providers, with patient privacy, consent and transparency built in from the start. Individuals remain in control of their data, deciding when, how and with whom it is shared. But the federal government can't do this alone. The apps and services that turn raw data into information for daily decisions must come from the private sector: clinicians, developers, caregivers and startups. That is why this effort matters. We're not only asking for ideas. We're asking for action. We're asking companies to make real commitments -- to kill the clipboard and build secure data-sharing networks. To develop tools that deliver real outcomes and give people a health care experience that's finally as smart, seamless and personalized as the consumer products in their lives. Imagine scanning a QR code at your doctor's office and instantly sharing your health history, like scanning your boarding pass before a flight. Imagine having an AI assistant that knows your care plan and helps you manage risks, flare-ups, medications and appointments. Imagine getting informed responses to your worries 24/7 wherever you are. That's not science fiction. That's what health care can and should look like. We've waited long enough. Let's stop accepting what's broken and start building what works. The right data at the right time can mean the difference between confusion and clarity, decline and healing, loss and hope. Let's stop faxing and let's kill the clipboard. Gleason is a strategic advisor to the Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. She also is the acting administrator of the U.S. DOGE Service. She wrote this for the Los Angeles Times. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Catch the latest in Opinion Get opinion pieces, letters and editorials sent directly to your inbox weekly! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy.