The Center for Clinical Standards and Quality at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced on June 10 a new strategic roadmap aimed at improving health care outcomes and strengthening accountability across the nation’s health and long-term care systems.
The CCSQ will focus on five strategic goals over the next several years: Prevention, Quality and Safety, Coverage Innovation, Data and Technology, and Burden Reduction. These priorities are designed to build on CCSQ’s core mission of establishing national health and safety standards, implementing quality measurement, reporting and improvement, and supporting Medicare’s coverage determinations.
According to the announcement, "CCSQ’s roadmap starts with a simple idea: healthcare begins with prevention. When people have early access to the right services —a screening, wellness visit, or conversation with their doctor— their health outcomes meaningfully improve." The agency is also advancing prevention through improved access to nutrition counseling and evidence-based nutrition standards in hospitals and long-term care facilities.
The roadmap emphasizes accountability in patient safety. "On World Safety Day (September 17, 2025), CMS publicly committed to raising the bar with bold new initiatives to advance patient safety and hold healthcare facilities responsible for causing harm," according to the statement. Efforts include expanding automated digital quality measures supported by artificial intelligence to identify preventable harms earlier without increasing paperwork for providers. In September 2025, CMS announced the decertification of an Organ Procurement Organization after an investigation uncovered unsafe practices.
Other goals outlined include modernizing coverage determination processes for faster patient access to innovations; leveraging data standards like Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR) for real-time information exchange; reducing administrative burden through automation; and enhancing oversight of nursing homes via risk-based surveys and public reporting systems.
"By leading with prevention, improving quality and protecting safety, accelerating coverage, leveraging data & technology, and reducing burden, CCSQ is building a stronger foundation for the future of care," according to the official roster page at the organization's website.
