CMS Using Cloud to Drive Other Modernization Efforts, Officials Say

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services only considers cloud migration as a jumping-off point for future modernization efforts, according to officials from the agency. 

Bobby Saxon, deputy director of CMS’ Office of Information Technology, said the agency thinks of modernization as a constant process and not as a one-time project, GovernmentCIO Media & Research reported.

“We don’t modernize every five to 10 years. We modernize every day in everything that we do. We see moving to the cloud as a foundation for modernization, not as the modernization,” Saxon said during a CMS IT conference. 

Federal leaders have said that cloud technology offers benefits in data integration and sharing, speed of delivery and evidence-based decision making.

The Department of State, for instance, is reaping the benefits of having the ability to quickly access high-quality data, enabling smoother operations. 

According to another CMS official, the Center for Clinical Standards and Quality Information Systems Group saw cloud migration as a necessary step to drive innovation across the enterprise. 

Mark Plaugher, acting director at CCSQ, said the transition away from legacy systems has resulted in better value and cost savings. 

Any efficiencies made through IT can be reinvested in the agency’s main business, which is improving the quality of health care, he added.

He pointed to improvements in the time to market, system quality and resilience and user experience. 

CCSQ’s next step after cloud migration is to look for a contractor fit to support the infrastructure of its service center, cloud provisioning, cloud operations and ServiceNow development, Plaugher added.