CMS announced in November the formation of a new Office of Enterprise Data Analytics (OEDA) and named Niall Brennan as the OEDA’s chief data officer. The OEDA’s overarching goal is to harness CMS’ vast data resources for internal and external use as CMS continues to move away from volume-based to value-based care.

Brennan, who has served in various data analytic roles with CMS, will oversee the OEDA’s collection and dissemination of information in several areas of CMS activity, including the ACA’s marketplace exchanges and Medicare’s Shared Savings and quality incentive programs. CMS’ Principal Deputy Administrator, Andy Slavitt, said this new office “signals to the industry that there is no turning back from the health care data agenda.”