Letter from Acting Chief Technology Officer of HHS

At the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, we recognize that innovation happens all across the country. That’s why we wanted to celebrate the innovation happening here in Nashville and engage the huge number of startups in this digital health ecosystem.

At Startup Day Nashville, the Office of the CTO and all of HHS aimed to open the doors to the entrepreneur community and demystify the regulatory landscape by making our vision, priorities, processes and ways to engage simple and immediately actionable.

Innovation is critical for organizations and industries to improve and evolve, and this is especially true for health care. With technology advancements serving as a catalyst for this transformative time, HHS must be ready for a changing healthcare landscape. Like Nashville, HHS thinks about innovation every day. And, like the health care community here, we strive to create new solutions to address some of the nation’s most complex public health issues.

As the hub for innovation at HHS, my office is constantly looking for ways to learn from fellow innovators like you, and it is my hope that you view HHS in the same way. As a result of Startup Day Nashville, we hope that HHS will no longer be seen as a barrier to health care entrepreneurs but instead as a resource to help you learn to work with the government and better navigate the regulatory landscape.

Thank you again for the hospitable, collaborative spirit for which Nashville is known, which we saw firsthand during this visit. We look forward to working together to improve health outcomes for individuals across America.

Sincerely,

Ed Simcox
Acting Chief Technology Officer
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services