Dr. Karen DeSalvo, who until Friday served as the national coordinator for health information technology, has left the position. She is being replaced by Vindell Washington, M.D., who had been serving as the principal deputy national coordinator at ONC.
Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services Sylvia Burwell announced the departure just a day before DeSalvo was set to leave. DeSalvo is not leaving government work, of course, and will continue to serve as acting assistant secretary for health, which she has held from the end 2014, Healthcare IT News reported.
The move is not surprising. According to Burwell, DeSalvo will get to now spend more time on critical health issues, like Zika virus. Previously, she was part of the Ebola response team.
"She has provided critical leadership on the department's public health agenda while simultaneously serving as national coordinator," Burwell noted in a statement. "Under her leadership, ONC has advanced interoperability across the health system — which underpins progress on a wide range of department and administration priorities."
DeSalvo has been focused on trying to deliver interoperability reforms in health IT and move the industry beyond meaningful use and the federal incentive program that began late at the end of the century's first decade.
In Washington, the new ONC health IT chief, Burwell notes that: "He has worked closely with leaders throughout the department on key initiatives, such as Delivery System Reform, the Precision Medicine Initiative, and the opioid crisis. In his capacity as National Coordinator, Vindell will continue to lead the administration's efforts to leverage health information technology to reform how we pay for and deliver care; transform health research and innovation to empower clinicians, individuals and communities to manage their health; and oversee implementation of the Federal Health IT Strategic Plan and the Nationwide Interoperability Roadmap to unlock digital health data."
Does any of this matter, though?
Of course, for DeSalvo and Washington, it does as they'll continue to take on their challenges, but they are likely going to be in charge of little more than a car with its steering wheel tied down. Not to be overly illustrative, but with the Obama administration winding down, there's little for them to do much at this point but make sure their respective trains stay on the tracks, even if they both say otherwise.
In her final note to staff before her departure, DeSalvo wrote: "As we enter this new era of health IT, we have set a person-centered, outcome-oriented strategic vision for the federal government through the Federal Health IT Strategic Plan. We have also brought together our public and private sector partners to identify the most important actions for accelerating the seamless and secure flow of data, and the move toward a learning health system in the Nationwide Interoperability Roadmap.
"The work you all are doing every day is foundational to major administration and national priorities including delivery system reform, precision medicine and public health efforts."
In response, Washington wrote of the remaining priorities ahead of him and the ONC for the coming months: "With less than six months remaining in the Administration, today serves as an excellent opportunity to refocus ourselves as we head into a very busy fall. From our critical work on the Interoperability Roadmap and the Strategic Plan, to supporting the Administration’s efforts on Delivery System Reform, MACRA, precision medicine, and the Cancer Moonshot, to empowering consumers to be better partners in their health and care through our certification program, the interoperability commitments, and so many other efforts, we have our work cut out for us.
"It will be a sprint to the finish — and I know we will need 100 percent from each and every one of you to achieve all that we have set out to do. As the late, great Muhammad Ali said, 'Don't count the days, make the days count.'"
