HealthTree Joins Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services "Kill the Clipboard" Initiative

On January 21, HealthTree Foundation announced that it is joining the "Kill the Clipboard" initiative spearheaded by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Health Tech Ecosystem, alongside other patient-facing apps from tech powerhouses like Apple, Google, and Samsung. 

What is the CMS "Kill the Clipboard" initiative?

The CMS "Kill the Clipboard" initiative, launched in 2025, aims to eliminate paper-based intake forms and fragmented data collection by enabling secure, seamless digital sharing of health records using FHIR standards, QR codes, Smart Health Cards/Links, and other modern tools. This reduces administrative burden on patients, many of whom face repeated manual entry of medical histories, medications, and health details during care encounters. 

HealthTree Foundation's approval reflects its dedication to leveraging technology to empower patients with blood cancers. Through our comprehensive patient registry and data platform, we have already been working to consolidate patient health information, enabling more seamless care coordination between cancer patients and their healthcare teams. 

What are conversational AI assistants, and how can they help patients and healthcare providers? 

Conversational AI assistants are AI tools that use natural language processing to provide information using natural conversation. Our AI-powered tool, Leif, utilizes this technology to provide real-time, personalized guidance to help patients understand symptoms, explore treatment options, find clinical trials, manage side effects, and connect with specialists. This aligns with CMS goals for AI tools that securely access relevant health data with patient consent to deliver context-aware, helpful assistance. 

"We are honored to be approved for the CMS 'Kill the Clipboard' and conversational AI initiatives," said Jenny Ahlstrom, CEO of HealthTree. "Today, a cancer patient's data is fragmented across multiple hospitals. When providers have access to the complete patient story, both care and shared decision-making are dramatically improved. This approval validates our work to create a centralized and complete patient health record that puts patients in the driver's seat of their own health data, which opens new doors for personalized patient support services like Leif, and fundamentally transforms how care is delivered." 

HealthTree joins other early adopters and pledging organizations in the CMS Health Tech ecosystem, contributing to a broader push for interoperability, patient-centered innovation, and reduced administrative waste in healthcare. 

Learn more about the "Kill the Clipboard" initiative.

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