August 07, 2009 | Diana Manos, Senior Editor

David Blumenthal, National Coordinator for Health Information Technology

WASHINGTON – David Blumenthal, the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, has joined a new presidential advisory council on science and technology.

Blumenthal joined other key health reform leaders Thursday and Friday at the White House for the first meetings of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. PCAST is an advisory group of the nation’s leading scientists and engineers, appointed by the president to augment the science and technology advice he receives from inside the White House and from cabinet departments and other federal agencies.

According to the White House, PCAST will offer insights and in many cases make policy recommendations on science, technology and innovation relevant to the policy choices facing the Obama administration. PCAST is administered by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP).

According to PCAST Co-Chairman John Holdren, assistant to the president for science and technology and director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, the group has "a spectacular cast of leaders of the science and technology community."

The 21 members include four winners of MacArthur "genius" awards, three Nobel laureates, two university presidents and 16 members of one or more of the U.S. national academies of science, engineering and medicine.

Along with Blumenthal, other council members include Aneesh Chopra, assistant to the president, associate director for technology and chief technology officer of the OSTP; and John Glaser, advisor to the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology.

By Andrew Noyes 07/15/2009

HHS Health IT Coordinator David Blumenthal said today his agency is making rapid progress on overhauling health information technology, in particular the $19 billion in incentives aimed at spurring nationwide adoption of electronic medical records.

This summer, said Blumenthal, his office will make public its plans for creating infrastructure support to help healthcare providers expand their use of health IT. In addition, it will unveil its blueprint for facilitating a health information exchange, which is vital to achieving broader healthcare coordination goals.

He made his comments at an event at the Center for American Progress this morning, just as the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee passed its healthcare overhaul along party lines.

Blumenthal said developing recommendations for a statutory definition of "meaningful use" is a top priority for him as well as for a federal advisory panel that meets Thursday.

A notice of proposed rulemaking on the topic should be published within several months to allow time for public comment before the definition takes its final form in early 2010, Blumenthal said. The definition, which will be subject to a rulemaking administered by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, will let providers know how to cash in on Medicare and Medicaid bonuses for adopting health IT beginning in 2011.

Next week, another federal panel will meet to report on what potential standards will be needed to make meaningful use realizable in actual equipment purchasing and manufacturing decisions. HHS hopes to develop health IT certification rules by the end of the year, while experts are examining the current system to find gaps or inefficiencies, Blumenthal said. He did not say whether he wants to replace the existing certification body, which has drawn criticism from some providers whose systems have not been accredited.

Source: http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov/ng_20090715_5813.php