At this year’s Red, White and You conference, our market intelligence team detailed the ins and outs of what we’re seeing across the public sector. Throughout the sessions, one theme became clear: while success in the public sector market used to rely heavily on institutional knowledge and long-standing relationships, agency buying cycles, and slower opportunity development, the market this year looks different. It’s faster, calling for more efficiency, innovation and cost-optimization.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently released a new AI strategy to transform agency operations. Reflecting the federal government’s increasing emphasis on AI adoption, HHS is looking to expand the use of the rapidly advancing technology and encourage workforce development. It outlines a department-level transformation focused on more coordinated enterprise efforts, centralization and shared resources in a vision they are calling OneHHS.

Maternal and child health (MCH) has become a top concern nationwide, particularly in disadvantaged, underserved and rural communities. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the United States is experiencing a maternal health crisis nationwide, as it has one of the highest maternal mortality rates among high-income nations; increasing rates of complications from pregnancy or childbirth; and persistent disparities in such outcomes.

Modernizing the defense healthcare system has never been more front and center for Defense Health Agency (DHA), the Department of Defense's (DOD) primary arm that manages all things healthcare for military service members and their beneficiaries. With acts of war and terrorism arising from overseas and the possibility of having our troops involved in future conflicts, patient healthcare and service preparedness are top priorities for the agency. So, the DHA is looking to work across federal agencies and industry to strengthen its healthcare systems.