ONC exodus continues; Murphy headed to IBM
Yet another member of the Office of the National Coordinator of Health IT (ONC) is leaving. Judy Murphy, chief nursing officer (CNO) and director of the Office of Clinical Quality and Safety (OCQS), is leaving ONC for the role of chief nursing officer with IBM Healthcare Global Business Services.
Her last day will be Oct. 17.
Murphy joined ONC in December 2011 and served as deputy national coordinator for programs and policy, led the HITECH funded program offices to achieve key milestones, such as the regional extension centers providing assistance to 150,000 providers and helping 100,000 of them meet the Meaningful Use incentive requirements (exceeding the goal by 150 percent), ONC head Karen DeSalvo, MD, MPH, MSc, wrote to let employees know of the impending departure. DeSalvo also cited Murphy's efforts to help 1,300 critical access and rural hospitals exceed Meaningful Use goals by 200 percent and grow the Health IT Fellows Program, "giving us real boots on the ground to help providers adopt and use EHRs."
In her time at ONC, she received several awards spotlighting her work, including the HIMSS Federal Health IT Leadership Award, the AMIA President’s Leadership Award and the Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award from her alma mater, Alverno College, in Wisconsin.
Jon White, MD, director of the health IT portfolio of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, will be on a part-time detail to ONC to serve as interim lead of OCQS and serve as ONC’s acting chief medical officer, reporting to deputy national coordinator Jacob Reider, MD, while ONC searches for permanent staff to fill these positions.
Andrew Gettinger, MD, from Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, will lead the OCQS safety team and the patient safety work, DeSalvo wrote.
Editor
Editor Beth earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism and master’s in health communication. She has worked in hospital, academic and publishing settings over the past 20 years. Beth joined TriMed in 2005, as editor of CMIO and Clinical Innovation + Technology. When not covering all things related to health IT, she spends time with her husband and three children.