The Health and Human Services Department has announced a new director of its health IT initiatives to replace agency stalwart Dr. David Blumenthal, who is returning to academia. HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced Farzad Mostashari, who had served as Blumenthal’s second-in-command since July 2009, would take over as director of …
Read More »Blumenthal Issues Update on 5-year Health IT Plan
Outgoing Director of the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT, Dr. David Blumenthal provided probably the final update on the cause for which he has championed for the past two years: the adoption of electronic health records. An updated version of the Health and Human Services Department’s health …
Read More »Blumenthal Touts Health IT ‘Robust Innovation’ before Departure
National coordinator for health IT Dr. David Blumenthal, who announced last month he would return to academia, said successful efforts over the past two years to get healthcare providers on board with electronic health records mean the initiatives will be in good hands even after he steps down. On top …
Read More »Health IT ‘Promises’ and ‘Problems’ in 2011
The adoption of health IT, such as electronic health records, stands at a turning point in 2011. A recent New York Times feature on the burgeoning technology and the policy and policymakers guiding it finds the “promises” and “problems” at a tipping point. One the one hand, this is the …
Read More »Sebelius: Health IT among ‘Most Promising Frontiers’ for US Economy
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT Director David Blumenthal took to the stage at one of the largest healthcare conferences to preach the gospel of health IT not only as a health issue but as a driver of economic growth. …
Read More »Blumenthal: Health IT about to Swing into Full Gear
Electronic health records and other forms of health IT have survived the wrangling over defining “meaningful use.” But, until recently, EHR was often more about talk than action. Not so anymore, said National Coordinator for Health IT Dr. David Blumenthal, on the Health IT Buzz blog. In his post, he …
Read More »Blumenthal Offers Spirited Defense of EHRs
National coordinator for health IT Dr. David Blumenthal announced last week he would leave his post in the spring. Now, the gloves are coming off — so to speak — in terms of his dealings with health IT skeptics. In a question-and-answer session with reporters, Blumenthal took issue with a …
Read More »Health IT Luminary to Leave Post in Spring
Dr. David Blumenthal, the national coordinator for health IT for the Department of Health and Human Services, announced in a staff memo late last week he would step down in the spring. Blumenthal, who will return to Harvard University, was appointed by President Barack Obama in March 2009 to lead …
Read More »Blumenthal, Chopra Announce ‘Milestone’ in EHR Sharing
Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT Director Dr. David Blumenthal and federal Chief Technology Officer Aneesh Chopra announced a “milestone” in electronic health technology. Minnesota and Rhode Island became the first states to participate in pilot program for direct sharing of electronic health records via the Internet, known …
Read More »Health IT Coordinator: EHR Incentives are ‘Once-in-a-lifetime Chance’
At the annual eHealth Initiative Annual Conference in Washington, D.C., a few weeks ago, national health IT coordinator David Blumenthal hailed the “era of meaningful use,” using the term to describe the significant adoption of electronic health records. In a follow-up interview with FierceEMR, Blumenthal talked building interoperability into EHR …
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