The Government Accountability Office has released a list of 15 individuals selected to serve on a committee mandated by the 21st Century Cures Act that will offer guidance on health IT policies and standards.
The appointments made by the U.S. Comptroller General to the new Health Information Technology Advisory Committee include various IT executives at provider organizations, including the Marshfield Clinic, the University of Utah Health and Advocate Health Care. But the lineup is also peppered with representatives from the insurance industry, several patient advocacy organizations and software companies, including a director at Epic and a managing director at Accenture.
“It is extremely valuable to have a range of perspectives and expertise in helping the government address challenges related to health information technology,” Gene L. Dodaro, the comptroller general of the United States and head of the GAO, said in an announcement.
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Under the 21st Century Cures Act, the U.S. Comptroller General is required to nominate 15 members to the HIT Advisory Committee, which replaces two separate health IT committees that operated under the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC). The GAO's nominations make up the majority of the 25-member committee, with the remaining appointments coming from the Department of Health and Human Services secretary and from leaders on both sides of the aisle in the House and Senate.
Late last month, the ONC issued a call for applications due Friday, August 4.
Five other members have already been appointed by lawmakers including Steven Lane, M.D., Sutter Health’s clinical informatics director of privacy, information security and interoperability; IBM Chief Health Informatics Officer Anil K. Jain, M.D.; and a controversial nomination from House Speaker Paul Ryan in biotech billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong, M.D.