Roughly one year after creating the position of chief privacy officer, the Department of Health and Human Services' Office of the National for Health Information Technology found its fit. Joy Pritts, an assistant research professor with the Georgetown University Health Policy Institute steps into the role created under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
Pritts will be primarily responsible for helping national health IT coordinator Dr. David Blumenthal in creating privacy and security policies, reports Government Health IT. Blumenthal believes that Pritts' work with members of Congress regarding the HITECH Act shows that she is well prepared for the task at hand.
"She has a combination of an understanding of government, understanding of the issues, and her legal background is very important-her research and policy qualifications," Blumenthal said.
In working with the O'Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law at Georgetown, Pritts worked on health information privacy issues.
To learn more about Pritts' appointment:
- read this Government Health IT article