healthy4u: Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology

Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC): A One Man Show?

Generally, transparency in government means that the public it serves knows who that government is. Yet the "<a href="http://healthit.hhs.gov/portal/server.pt?open=512&objID=1200&&PageID=15521&mode=2&in_hi_userid=10741&cached=true">Office of the National Coordinator: Key Personne</a>l" page at HHS shows only this, the name of the Coordinator himself, Dr. David Blumenthal: <div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_g_kzFCUbXTD0J8KVCw3KZbIxNPztHZWZCCwaAITR0Zm1ge68SjHIHOM9C8LDGCV8Z6QTLZrBW5vNCGTySjKXalElai8Agpt0t44kISbvYzphTo-P1vjKAISaHvkDuzra1trnE8n7OCiW/s1600-h/onc.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5426614649024801090" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_g_kzFCUbXTD0J8KVCw3KZbIxNPztHZWZCCwaAITR0Zm1ge68SjHIHOM9C8LDGCV8Z6QTLZrBW5vNCGTySjKXalElai8Agpt0t44kISbvYzphTo-P1vjKAISaHvkDuzra1trnE8n7OCiW/s320/onc.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 357px; height: 180px;" /></a>Only one person works at ONC? click to enlarge </div> What about the others as per the <a href="http://healthit.hhs.gov/portal/server.pt?open=512&objID=1200&&PageID=15520&mode=2&in_hi_userid=10741&cached=true">Org Chart</a>? <div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTWvpRu4RhyphenhyphenFgn1nzBySKFjWWOu0-AvyLsVtXhBZ5Qy586nvodeGsX_fQ2JUo5sdhJsAPMeuUrpCz1w_lFj6tN3fTrjoUcU-WLwaV5hLvwSCXyWl_uRrl0xJjD5edkWBotEjYVfvRPcgUq/s1600-h/onc_orgchart.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5426616307910309138" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTWvpRu4RhyphenhyphenFgn1nzBySKFjWWOu0-AvyLsVtXhBZ5Qy586nvodeGsX_fQ2JUo5sdhJsAPMeuUrpCz1w_lFj6tN3fTrjoUcU-WLwaV5hLvwSCXyWl_uRrl0xJjD5edkWBotEjYVfvRPcgUq/s320/onc_orgchart.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 244px;" /></a>ONC Org Chart (click to enlarge) </div> In the case of the Office of the National Coordinator for Healthcare IT, there are a number of possibilities for this apparent informational lapse: <ul><li>There is only one person working in this office;</li></ul><ul><li>Only one person is considered "Key Personnel";</li></ul><ul><li>This office, responsible for the national program for health IT and Electronic Medical Records in the U.S. that will "<a href="https://exchangeweb.drexel.edu/owa/redir.aspx?C=a559d6ae422c4e049617c4084f967d7b&URL=http%3a%2f%2fweb.archive.org%2fweb%2f20080714203445%2fhttp%3a%2f%2fwww.hhs.gov%2fhealthit%2fvision.html">revolutionize</a>" healthcare through better record keeping, has been careless in updating its Electronic Personnel Records; </li></ul><ul><li>The names are buried somewhere not easy to find, or the identities of the personnel are being entirely withheld from the public to prevent the public from knowing who they are and what their past and present affiliations might be.</li></ul> Why might that be an issue? Pro-IT industry conflicts of interest, qualifications, and anti-physician biases come to mind as just a few possibilities. Where's the transparency? Just asking. -- SS

Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC): A One Man Show?

Generally, transparency in government means that the public it serves knows who that government is.Yet the "Office of the National Coordinator: Key Personnel" page at HHS shows only this, the name of …

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14 Jan 2010