DeSalvo stepping down from dual role as national coordinator for health IT

Starting tomorrow, Acting Assistant Secretary for Health Karen DeSalvo, M.D., will transition out of her dual role as national coordinator for health information technology, Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell announced today. Vindell Washington, M.D., currently principal deputy at the Office of the National Coordinator, will assume the role of national coordinator for health IT through the end of the administration, Burwell said. DeSalvo joined HHS as national coordinator in January 2014 and assumed the duties of assistant secretary for health later that year during the Ebola crisis. “Under her leadership, ONC has advanced interoperability across the health system – which underpins progress on a wide range of Department and Administration priorities,” Burwell said. AHA President and CEO Rick Pollack commented, “The AHA greatly appreciates Karen DeSalvo’s health care leadership in both her role as Assistant Secretary for Health at HHS and National Coordinator at ONC. As National Coordinator, we often worked with her on pursuing interoperability. We look forward to continuing our work with her to address the nation’s public health issues, and working closely with Dr. Washington as the public and private sectors continue to wrestle with the challenge of achieving true interoperability.”