GAO appoints Health Information Technology Advisory Committee

WASHINGTON, DC (December 20, 2021) – Gene L. Dodaro, Comptroller General of the United States and Head of the US Government Accountability Office (GAO), today announced the appointment of seven members to the Health Information Technology Advisory Committee (HITAC) .

“The appointees today bring impressive skills and a range of experiences and perspectives to the work of HITAC on issues such as the use of technology to promote coordination of care, meet the needs of children and other vulnerable populations and support public health, ”said Dodaro. “These new additions, along with existing members, will be a key source of advice in advancing the electronic access, exchange and use of health information, as outlined in the 21st Century Cures Act.”

The newly appointed members are Hans Buitendijk, Steven Eichner, Rajesh Godavarthi, Hung Luu, Aaron Neinstein, Eliel Oliveira and Fillipe Southerland. Each is appointed for three-year terms and can be reappointed for subsequent three-year terms.

The 21st Century Cures Act, enacted in December 2016, created HITAC and made the Comptroller General responsible for appointing at least 14 of the members. In addition, 11 members are appointed by the Secretary of Health and Human Services, Senate Majority and Minority Leaders, and the House of Representatives Minority Speaker and Head. The committee provides recommendations to the national health information technology coordinator on policies, standards, implementation specifications and certification criteria relating to the implementation of a health technology infrastructure. health information that promotes electronic access, exchange and use of health information.

For more information, please visit the HITAC website. All other appeals should be directed to Chuck Young of the GAO Public Affairs office at (202) 512-4800.

Brief biographies of the new appointees are provided below:

Hans J. Buitendijk, M.Sc., is Director of Interoperability Strategy at Cerner Corporation, with a primary focus on establishing and propagating industry standards to enable interoperability between healthcare IT systems. He represents Cerner in various industry initiatives aimed at advancing interoperability, such as HL7, CommonWell Health Alliance, Carequality Interoperability Framework and The Sequoia Project, and chairs the Executive Committee of the Electronic Health Record Association. He holds a Master of Science in Management Science and Industrial Engineering from Eindhoven University of Technology.

Steven eichner, AMP, is the head of health information technology at the Texas Department of State Health Services. It focused on projects aimed at improving the state’s capacity to collect, manage and share key public health data, including through the use of disease surveillance systems. It is also engaged in the development of standards, such as the United States Master Data for Interoperability and the HL7 Situational Awareness for Novel Epidemic Response standard. Mr. Eichner also leads a support group for patients with Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva and advises a patient support organization, the International Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva Association, on technology projects. He received his Masters of Public Administration from Florida Atlantic University.

Rajesh godavarthi, MRS, is Associate Vice President of Technology and Interoperability at MCG Health, where he is responsible for their technology roadmap and interoperability strategy, as well as the development and maintenance of support software. widely used clinical decision. Mr. Godavarthi is also an active collaborator of the HL7 Da Vinci project, focused on data standardization for value-based care programs, has helped develop and deliver training on HL7 FHIR standards and serves on the board of administration of the working group for electronic data exchange. . He holds a Master of Science in Computer Science from Osmania University and a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics from Acharya Nagarjuna University.

Hung S. Luu, PharmD, MD, is the director of clinical pathology at Children’s Health, a health system with hospitals in Plano and Dallas, Texas. Dr Luu is also Associate Professor of Pathology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. He is the co-chair of the Food and Drug Administration’s SHIELD Initiative Implementation Committee, a multi-stakeholder initiative to improve the quality, interoperability and portability of laboratory data. He is also an active member of the Informatics and Standards Committees of the College of American Pathologists. Dr Luu received his doctorate in pharmacy from Drake University and his doctorate in medicine from the Oregon University of Health and Sciences.

Aaron Neinstein, MD, is the vice president of digital health at the University of California at San Francisco (UCSF), senior director of the UCSF Digital Health Innovation Center and associate professor of medicine at UCSF. He has led the development and implementation of a wide range of health technologies, with a focus on improving patient access and engagement through telehealth and surveillance at distance from patients. He also provides endocrinology and diabetes care to patients, and is active in medical education and research. He received his MD from the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California.

Eliel Oliveira, MBA, MS, is Director of Research and Innovation at Dell Medical School, University of Texas at Austin, and provides executive leadership for Central Texas Health Information Exchange. He helped lead the development of a mobile patient engagement platform – with a focus on involving under-represented populations in the design process – and a patient management platform. community-wide referrals that integrate social service referrals, clinical data and personal needs assessments. Mr. Oliveira previously held leadership positions in information technology at the Louisiana Public Health Institute and the Louisiana Cancer Research Center. He received his Masters in Business Administration and Masters of Science in International Development from Tulane University.

Fillipe Southern Country is the Director of Healthcare Solutions at Yardi Systems, Inc., one of the nation’s largest health information technology developers serving long-term and post-acute care providers, and is member of Choctaw Nation. Mr. Southerland is an active participant in the Carequality Interoperability Framework, where he focuses on connecting long-term and post-acute healthcare providers to the framework. He is also a Commissioner of the LeadingAge Center for Aging Services Technologies, is an active member of HL7 and a Sequoyah Fellow of the American Indian Science and Engineering Society. He received his Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering from California Polytechnic State University.

#####

The Government Accountability Office, known as the investigative body of Congress, is an independent, non-partisan agency that exists to help Congress fulfill its constitutional responsibilities. GAO also works to improve the performance of the federal government and ensure its accountability to the American people. The agency reviews the use of public funds; evaluates federal programs and policies; and provides analysis, recommendations and other forms of assistance to help Congress make informed decisions on oversight, policy and funding. GAO provides Congress with timely, objective, factual, non-ideological, fair and balanced information. GAO’s commitment to good government is reflected in its core values ​​of responsibility, integrity and reliability.