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GAO Announces Appointments to Health Information Technology Policy Committee

Washington, DC (April 3, 2009) - Gene L. Dodaro, Acting Comptroller General of the United States and head of the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), today announced the appointment of 13 members to the Health Information Technology Policy Committee, a new advisory body established by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The committee will make recommendations on creating a policy framework for the development and adoption of a nationwide health information technology infrastructure, including standards for the exchange of patient medical information.

"Electronic sharing of information has the potential to improve the quality of health care in the United States. Many excellent candidates applied to serve on this committee, and the men and women named today reflect an impressive breadth of professional expertise and experience," Dodaro said.

The Act, also known as the stimulus legislation, directed the Comptroller General to appoint 13 members to the committee for terms of three years, although the members first appointed by the Comptroller General have staggered terms. An additional seven members will be appointed by the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Majority and Minority leaders of the Senate, and the Speaker and Minority leader of the House of Representatives. The President can appoint other members as representatives of relevant federal agencies.

The 13 members the Acting Comptroller General has appointed across 10 different categories are:

Advocates for Patients or Consumers

1. Christine Bechtel, Washington, D.C. (3 year term) Vice President, National Partnership for Women & Families

2. Arthur Davidson, M.D., Denver Colorado (2 year term) Denver Public Health Department; Director, Public Health Informatics; Director, Denver Center for Public Health Preparedness; Medical epidemiologist; Director, HIV/AIDS Surveillance, City and County of Denver

3. Adam Clark, Ph.D., Austin, Texas (1 year term) Director of Research and Policy, Lance Armstrong Foundation

Representatives of Health Care Providers, including 1 physician

4. Marc Probst, Salt Lake City, Utah (3 year term) Chief Information Officer, Intermountain Healthcare

5. Paul Tang, M.D., Mountain View, California (2 year term) Vice President and Chief Medical Information Officer, Palo Alto Medical Foundation

Labor Organization Representing Health Care Workers

6. Scott White, New York City, New York (1 year term) Assistant Director, Technology Project Director, 1199 SEIU Training and Employment Fund

Expert in Health Information Privacy & Security

7. LaTanya Sweeney, Ph.D., Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (3 year term) Director, Data Privacy Lab, Associate Professor of Computer Science, Technology and Policy, Carnegie Mellon University

Expert in Improving the Health of Vulnerable Populations

8. Neil Calman, M.D., New York City, New York (2 year term) President and CEO, The Institute for Family Health, Inc.

Research Community

9. Connie Delaney, R.N., Ph.D., Minneapolis, Minnesota (1 year term) Dean, School of Nursing, University of Minnesota

Representative of Health Plans or Other Third-Party Payers

10. Charles Kennedy, M.D., Camarillo, California (3 year term) Vice President, Health Information Technology, Wellpoint, Inc.

Representative of Information Technology Vendors

11. Judith Faulkner, Verona, Wisconsin (2 year term) Founder, CEO, President, Chairman of the Board, Epic Systems Corporation

Representative of Purchasers or Employers

12. David Lansky, Ph.D., San Francisco, California (1 year term) President and CEO, Pacific Business Group on Health

Expert in Health Care Quality Measurement and Reporting

13. David Bates, M.D., Boston, Massachusetts (3 year term) Medical Director for Clinical and Quality Analysis, Chief of General Internal Medicine, Partners HealthCare/Brigham & Women's Hospital

For more information about the Health Information Technology Policy Committee, contact the Office of Public Affairs at the Department of Health and Human Services, at (202) 690-6343. All other calls should be directed to GAO's Office of Public Affairs at (202) 512-4800.

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GAO, the investigative arm of Congress, helps meet legislators' need for timely and reliable information on a wide range of government activities. The agency seeks to improve the performance of the federal government and hold it accountable to Congress and, ultimately, the American people. GAO examines the use of public funds; evaluates how well programs and policies are meeting their objectives; and provides analyses, recommendations, and other assistance to help Congress make sound oversight, policy, and funding decisions.

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