ONC Selects Principal Deputy National Coordinator

Vindell Washington, MD, will join the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology as principal deputy national coordinator on January 25.

In his role, Washington “will provide high level executive direction and leadership for all ONC programs, operations, and policies and will advance key administration initiatives, such as delivery system reform, the Precision Medicine Initiative, and implementation of the interoperability roadmap,” says Karen DeSalvo, National Coordinator for Health IT.

Washington was most recently president and chief medical information officer at Baton Rouge, La.-based Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System Medical Group, which provides care to 40 percent of Louisiana’s population.

At the group, Washington led more than 500 physicians, advanced practitioners and 1,400 employees in more than 70 care locations, with a focus on transforming ambulatory care delivery models. Washington’s health system was an early adopter of technology, DeSalvo said in a memo announcing the appointment, including the integration of medical device information into electronic health records and the widespread deployment of clinical decision support within the provider documentation workflow.

Before working at Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System Medical Group, Washington served as CEO of Piedmont Healthcare Management Group in Charlotte, NC, where he led the development efforts of coding and billing process technologies.

He received a BS from Pennsylvania State University, an MD from the University of Virginia, and an MS in Healthcare Management from the Harvard University School of Public Health. He is board certified in emergency medicine and a fellow of the American College of Emergency Physicians.