Health IT Policy Committee Adds Three New Members

The Health Information Technology Policy Committee, which advises federal officials on health IT issues, has added three new members to its ranks.

At last week’s HIT Policy Committee meeting, Vice Chair Paul Tang introduced the three new members: Kathleen Blake, M.D., vice president for performance improvement at the American Medical Association who will serve as an expert on healthcare quality measurement and reporting; Donna Cryer, founder and president of the Global Liver Institute who will serve as an advocate for patients and consumers; and Brent Snyder, chief information officer at Adventist Health System who will represent providers. The committee will fill one additional open membership slot.

Also See: Health IT Standards Committee Seeks 10 New Members

Cryer is “no stranger” to the committee, said Tang, commenting that she has been serving on the Privacy and Security Workgroup. Last year, ONC began accepting applications for the HIT Policy Committee and Standards Committee Workgroups to “build on the workgroups’ diverse membership” with “new members that represent important perspectives and areas of expertise and add to the discussions by engaging in strategic, innovative thinking.”

Four members of the HIT Policy Committee are leaving: David Bates, M.D., senior vice president and chief information officer for Brigham and Women’s Hospital; Christine Bechtel, president and CEO of Bechtel Health Advisory Group; Charles Kennedy, M.D., chief executive officer of accountable care solutions at Aetna/WellPoint, Inc.; and Marc Probst, vice president and chief information officer for information systems at Intermountain Healthcare.