Set against some disappointing backward steps in the UK this last week (the announcement that the NHS would be closing it’s patient portal because it’s too difficult to use and a new Information Strategy for the NHS that featured a visual guide that amounted to a single page PDF on slideshare) where the NHS leaders seem keen on running before they learn to walk it’s great to see such important leadership being taken by the White House.

Of course we shouldn’t be too surprised as this comes from the President that won his election through an appreciation of the newest mass media, was the first to insist he would be using his mobile in office and well we all know what his favorite mHealth service is 😉

“Digital Government: Building a 21st Century Platform to Better Serve the American People” provides agencies with a 12-month roadmap that focuses on several priority areas. The Strategy will enable more efficient and coordinated digital service delivery by requiring agencies to establish specific, measurable goals for delivering better digital services; encouraging agencies to deliver information in new ways that fully utilize the power and potential of mobile and web-based technologies; ensuring the safe and secure delivery and use of digital services to protect information and privacy; requiring agencies to establish central online resources for outside developers and to adopt new standards for making applicable Government information open and machine-readable by default“

Oh and if you think this is just talk you’ve only got 90 days to create your http://www.[agency].gov/digitalstrategy webpage where you must publicly “report progress in meeting the requirements of the Strategy in a machine-readable format”.

The WhiteHouse.gov/DigitalStrategy page currently points to this 31 page PDF which isn’t very mobile friendly but I’m surprised none of the agencies I thought would have been keen on this have yet to go live with their /DigitalStrategy webpage… …I wonder who will be working the weekend to be first?

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulates interstate and international communications by radio, television, wire, satellite and cable:

The Centre for Disease Control maintains several departments concerned with occupational safety and health:

The Food and Drug Administration:

The Health and Human Services agency protects the health of all Americans: