Getting a bunch of organizations to mutually agree not only on whether or not they want to share data, but also on how it is shared, the standards of what the data should look like, and more, can be an impossible task. A lot of these big decisions can be eased with the involvement of the government, as it can establish rules and regulations for all organizations to follow. However, these big decisions shouldn’t be left solely to the government. Getting these rules and regulations is only helpful when they are informed by the industry on what it actually needs. This then poses a new question – what is the balance between the government being involved in data sharing vs where the industry should be leading the data sharing efforts?

For more information on this topic, we reached out to our brilliant Healthcare IT Today Community to ask — how should the government be involved in data sharing, and where should the industry lead in these efforts? The following are their answers.

Dr. Scott Schell, Chief Medical Officer at Cognizant
The government should define clear standards and enforce data liquidity — but let the market innovate. TEFCA lays the groundwork, but the industry needs to shape the real-world infrastructure. The industry doesn’t need top-down design; it needs open frameworks that support scalability, AI readiness, and local autonomy. Innovation should lead; regulation should enable.

Leigh Burchell, Vice President, Policy & Public Affairs at Altera Digital Health
The government has an important role to play in pushing the industry where it doesn’t move on its own, but regulators really should focus primarily on three areas: protecting patients from harm, including safeguarding their data privacy; promulgating standards that ensure various software developers are creating software that can effectively exchange information; and providing financial incentives for providers to move forward with information exchange, which many are still not fully committed to. The industry needs room to innovate, though, so regulations that are too prescriptive should be avoided.

Shay Perera, Co-Founder and CTO at Navina
Government should continue to focus on setting clear, enforceable standards for interoperability, while at the same time ensuring that regulatory frameworks do not stifle innovation. The CMS rule mandating standards-based APIs and electronic prior authorization is a good example of how policy can create the infrastructure needed for data fluidity.

However, the industry must lead when it comes to translating data movement into data understanding, particularly in building tools that extract clinical value from data. AI companies, for instance, are best positioned to design solutions that turn this massive amount of fragmented data into coherent and meaningful insights. In other words, the government provides the rails, and industry brings the engine that moves healthcare forward. Collaboration will be key to ensuring both compliance and continuous progress.

Rob Helton, SVP of Product at WebPT
The government should set the foundation for health data sharing through enforceable rules, standards, and payment models that encourage participation, like TEFCA, the Cures Act, and Medicare incentives. As the nation’s largest payer and health system, the government has both the authority and responsibility to drive interoperability for the public good. But innovation, especially around user experience, AI, and consumer apps, must come from the industry. Regulation ensures data is shared; the private sector ensures it’s useful. Ultimately, success should not be measured in margins, but in better outcomes and satisfaction for patients.

Michael Poku, MD, MBA, FACP, Chief Medical Officer at Equality Health
To truly unlock the promise of interoperability, we must ensure health data flows securely and equitably–especially for communities that have been historically marginalized. Government and regulators should set clear standards, but it’s up to health and human services leaders and innovators to build trust-driven, standards-based systems that reflect the realities of frontline care and whole-person support.

Deepak Prakash, Co-Founder and CTO at Sonio
The U.S. government plays a pivotal role in shaping the foundation for nationwide health data sharing. Through initiatives like the ONC’s Cures Act Final Rule, TEFCA, and USCDI, it has already taken important steps toward standardizing how data is accessed, exchanged, and protected. Moving forward, the government’s role should continue to focus on:

• Establishing and enforcing clear standards that promote interoperability while allowing for flexibility in implementation
• Providing guidance and incentives that support adoption, particularly for smaller or under-resourced providers
• Safeguarding patient rights and privacy, ensuring that individuals remain in control of how their data is shared and used

At the same time, the industry is best positioned to lead on execution and innovation. This includes:

• Developing user-friendly, secure, and standards-compliant technologies that integrate naturally into clinical workflows
• Investing in cloud infrastructure and security architecture that enables trusted, scalable data sharing
• Collaborating across vendors to create interoperability by design, not just as a compliance checkbox.

Ultimately, it’s not a matter of government versus industry, but one of shared responsibility. Policymakers can set the framework, but it’s up to healthcare organizations, technology developers, and care providers to build the trust, usability, and outcomes that make data sharing work in practice.

Drew Ivan, Chief Architect at Rhapsody
Government plays a key role in defining standards, enforcing compliance, and ensuring equity in access. Regulations like the 21st Century Cures Act have helped push the industry toward greater interoperability. But the industry needs to lead when it comes to implementation by developing tools that are practical, scalable, and responsive to real-world workflows. Collaboration between the public and private sectors is essential to ensure that policy and technology evolve together.

Tracey Sessa, SVP & GM – Patient Affordability Programs at Doceree
The government’s role is to build the rules, rails, & trust for nationwide data exchange – lead with policy & infrastructure. Align key stakeholders, to build consensus -providers, payers, life sciences, and patients to gain buy-in and align on solutions. Regulate data exchange, enforce clear rules, define standards for data privacy, access, exchange & security. Support infrastructure to build, fund, and scale shared utilities & support innovation. The Industry should co-shape the policy, work as an ecosystem partner, work with providers, payers, & patients to standardize, de-silo & activate health data in ways that are mutually beneficial. Lead the way in innovation, build platforms, technology & infrastructure innovations that ultimately improves outcomes and reduces barriers for patients. The industry should embrace interoperability and data sharing and view it as a way to revolutionize healthcare by utilizing data to maximize the effectiveness and efficiency of patient care.

Kevin Day, Business Advisor – Principal at Edifecs, a Cotiviti Business
The government’s current approach of supporting the private development of TEFCA, backed by regulatory incentives and adoption requirements, is a productive balance. The industry has a long successful history of public and private collaboration since the mid-90s at the onset of HIPAA. The challenge will be in its ability to ensure the smaller covered entities aren’t left behind within the fast-paced changes that are occurring. Being able to have an infrastructure in place that goes the last mile so that all actors can benefit from data exchanges must be addressed by these collaboration efforts.

Matthew Spielman, Senior Director, Product Management at Edifecs, a Cotiviti Business
The government must establish a universal healthcare ID for residents to resolve the bulk of the issues with identity matching. The government also needs much more aggressive enforcement of information blocking behavior. Many vendors are currently double-dipping; they charge their customers for licensing and support for their product, then also charge external entities looking to use APIs.

So many great answers here! Huge thank you to everyone who took the time out of their day to submit a quote to us! And thank you to all of you for taking the time out of your day to read this article! We could not do this without all of your support.

How do you think the government should be involved in data sharing, and where do you think the industry should lead in these efforts? Let us know over on social media, we’d love to hear from all of you!