[ihc] Dozen to Drive I.T. Certification Task

Sept. 3, 2004

A dozen health care leaders have been appointed to serve on the Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology. The commission will lead the initiative to certify ambulatory electronic medical records and other health care information technology products. The program was launched in July by the American Health Information Management Association, Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society, and National Alliance for Health Information Technology. The initiative supports Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson's call for private sector certification of electronic health records. The commissioners, who will serve one-year terms, represent clinicians, I.T. vendors, and health care purchasers or payers prepared to offer incentives and support for I.T. adoption. The commissioners will hold their first meeting Sept. 14 in Chicago to start developing certification policies, procedures and criteria. They plan to have initial requirements and processes ready for testing by next summer.

The commissioners are:

* C. Martin Harris, M.D., CIO of the Cleveland Clinic Foundation

* Douglas Henley, M.D., executive vice president and CEO at the American Academy of Family Physicians

* John Hummel, senior vice president and CIO of Sutter Health

* Charles Kennedy, M.D., vice president of clinical informatics for WellPoint Health Networks

* Graham King, strategic advisor at McKesson Corp.

* Mark Leavitt, M.D., commission chair and medical director at HIMSS

* Jane Metzger, vice president at First Consulting Group Inc.

* Susan Postal, vice president at health information management services at HCA Inc.

* Wes Rishel, research director at Gartner Inc.

* John Tooker, M.D., executive vice president and CEO at the American College of Physicians

* Reed Tuckson, M.D., senior vice president of consumer health and medical care advancement at UnitedHealth Group

* Andrew Ury, M.D., CEO of Physician Micro Systems Inc.

The commission also includes two non-voting, ex-officio members. They are

* Lori Evans at the Office of the National Health Information Technology Coordinator

* Clay Ackerly, special assistant to the administrator for health information technology at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

For more information on the Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology, visit www.ahima.org, www.himss.org, or www.nahit.org.

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