Introduction to the Trump Admin’s Private Health Tracking System
The Trump administration is launching a new initiative that allows millions of Americans to upload their personal health data and medical records to new apps and systems run by private tech companies. This initiative promises to make it easier for individuals to access their health records and monitor their wellness. President Donald Trump is expected to deliver remarks on the initiative, which will involve leaders from over 60 companies, including major tech companies such as Google and Amazon, as well as prominent hospital systems like the Cleveland Clinic.
How the System Will Work
The new system will focus on diabetes and weight management, conversational artificial intelligence that helps patients, and digital tools such as QR codes and apps that register patients for check-ins or track medications. Patients will need to opt-in for the sharing of their medical records and data, which will be kept secure. The system is expected to launch early next year and will allow patients to quickly call up their own records without the difficulties that have prevented them from doing so in the past.
Benefits of the System
Officials at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) claim that patients will benefit from a system that lets them quickly access their own records. Dr. Mehmet Oz, the administrator for CMS, said, "We have the tools and information available now to empower patients to improve their outcomes and their healthcare experience." The system will also allow apps and health systems to access competitors’ information, which could help develop AI-driven analyses to improve patient care.
Concerns About Privacy
However, there are enormous ethical and legal concerns surrounding the initiative. Patients across America should be very worried that their medical records are going to be used in ways that harm them and their families. Lawrence Gostin, a Georgetown University law professor who specializes in public health, said, "Patients should be very worried that their medical records are going to be used in ways that harm them and their families." Digital privacy advocates are also skeptical that patients will be able to count on their data being stored securely.
Companies Involved in the Initiative
Popular weight loss and fitness subscription service Noom has signed onto the initiative and will be able to pull medical records after the system’s launch. Noom’s CEO, Geoff Cook, said that the app could use labs or medical tests to develop an AI-driven analysis of what might help users lose weight. The Cleveland Clinic’s CEO, Tomislav Mihaljevic, said that the new system would eliminate the barrier of obtaining medical records from various providers, which sometimes delays treatment or prevents doctors from making an accurate diagnosis.
Impact on Healthcare
The new system could have a significant impact on healthcare, particularly in the management of chronic diseases such as obesity and diabetes. Having seamless access to health app data, such as what patients are eating or how much they are exercising, will help doctors manage these conditions. CMS will also recommend a list of apps on Medicare.gov that are designed to help people manage chronic diseases, as well as help them select health care providers and insurance plans.
Conclusion
The Trump admin’s private health tracking system has the potential to revolutionize the way patients access their health records and monitor their wellness. However, there are significant concerns about privacy and the potential for medical records to be used in ways that harm patients and their families. As the system is expected to launch early next year, it is essential to address these concerns and ensure that patients’ data is stored securely.
FAQs
Q: What is the Trump admin’s private health tracking system?
A: The system is an initiative that allows millions of Americans to upload their personal health data and medical records to new apps and systems run by private tech companies.
Q: How will the system work?
A: The system will focus on diabetes and weight management, conversational artificial intelligence that helps patients, and digital tools such as QR codes and apps that register patients for check-ins or track medications.
Q: What are the benefits of the system?
A: Patients will be able to quickly access their own records, and apps and health systems will be able to access competitors’ information to develop AI-driven analyses to improve patient care.
Q: What are the concerns about privacy?
A: There are enormous ethical and legal concerns surrounding the initiative, and digital privacy advocates are skeptical that patients will be able to count on their data being stored securely.
Q: Which companies are involved in the initiative?
A: Companies such as Noom, Google, Amazon, and the Cleveland Clinic are involved in the initiative.
By AMANDA SEITZ
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is pushing an initiative for millions of Americans to upload personal health data and medical records on new apps and systems run by private tech companies, promising that will make it easier to access health records and monitor wellness.
President Donald Trump is expected to deliver remarks on the initiative Wednesday afternoon in the East Room. The event is expected to involve leaders from more than 60 companies, including major tech companies such as Google and Amazon, as well as prominent hospital systems like the Cleveland Clinic.
The new system will focus on diabetes and weight management, conversational artificial intelligence that helps patients, and digital tools such as QR codes and apps that register patients for check-ins or track medications.
The initiative, spearheaded by an administration that has already freely shared highly personal data about Americans in ways that have tested legal bounds, could put patients’ desires for more convenience at their doctor’s office on a collision course with their expectations that their medical information be kept private.
“There are enormous ethical and legal concerns,” said Lawrence Gostin, a Georgetown University law professor who specializes in public health. “Patients across America should be very worried that their medical records are going to be used in ways that harm them and their families.”
Officials at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, who will be in charge of maintaining the system, have said patients will need to opt in for the sharing of their medical records and data, which will be kept secure.
Those officials said patients will benefit from a system that lets them quickly call up their own records without the hallmark difficulties, such as requiring the use of fax machines to share documents, that have prevented them from doing so in the past.
“We have the tools and information available now to empower patients to improve their outcomes and their healthcare experience,” Dr. Mehmet Oz, the administrator for CMS, said in a statement Wednesday.
Popular weight loss and fitness subscription service Noom, which has signed onto the initiative, will be able to pull medical records after the system’s expected launch early next year.
That might include labs or medical tests that the app could use to develop an AI-driven analysis of what might help users lose weight, CEO Geoff Cook told The Associated Press. Apps and health systems will also have access to their competitors’ information, too. Noom would be able to access a person’s data from Apple Health, for example.
“Right now you have a lot of siloed data,” Cook said.
Patients who travel across the country for treatment at the Cleveland Clinic often have a hard time obtaining all their medical records from various providers, said the hospital system’s CEO, Tomislav Mihaljevic. He said the new system would eliminate that barrier, which sometimes delays treatment or prevents doctors from making an accurate diagnosis because they do not have a full view of a patient’s medical history.
Having seamless access to health app data, such as what patients are eating or how much they are exercising, will also help doctors manage obesity and other chronic diseases, Mihaljevic said.
“These apps give us insight about what’s happening with the patient’s health outside of the physician’s office,” he said.
CMS will also recommend a list of apps on Medicare.gov that are designed to help people manage chronic diseases, as well as help them select health care providers and insurance plans.
Digital privacy advocates are skeptical that patients will be able to count on their data being stored securely.
The federal government, however, has done little to regulate health apps or telehealth programs, said Jeffrey Chester at the Center for Digital Democracy.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and those within his circle have pushed for more technology in health care, advocating for wearable devices that monitor wellness and telehealth.
Kennedy also sought to collect more data from Americans’ medical records, which he has previously said he wants to use to study autism and vaccine safety. Kennedy has filled the agency with staffers who have a history of working at or running health technology startups and businesses.
CMS already has troves of information on more than 140 million Americans who enroll in Medicare and Medicaid. Earlier this month, the federal agency agreed to hand over its massive database, including home addresses, to deportation officials.
The new initiative would deepen the pool of information on patients for the federal government and tech companies. Medical records typically contain far more sensitive information, such as doctors’ notes about conversations with patients and substance abuse or mental health history.
“This scheme is an open door for the further use and monetization of sensitive and personal health information,” Chester said.
<p>Originally Published: July 30, 2025 at 1:07 PM EDT</p>
