DeSalvo leaving ONC for Ebola response team
Nine months after being named national coordinator for health IT, Karen DeSalvo, MD, MPH, MSc, is moving to a new role within the Dept. Health and Human Services (HHS) focusing on the Ebola crisis.
HHS Secretary Sylvia Burwell asked DeSalvo to serve as acting assistant secretary for health, effectively immediately. As such, she will join the HHS Ebola response team and work directly with Burwell.
"Karen has deep experience managing large public health efforts from her work on [Hurricane] Katrina recovery. The move makes sense," John Halamka, MD, CIO of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston and member of the federal Health IT Policy Committee, told Clinical Innovation + Technology.
"At the same time Karen is taking on a new role, I sense a new energy in the private sector around interoperability. As the Meaningful Use program winds down, I wonder if the energy of the private sector will sustain the momentum of the national healthcare IT program, despite several recent departures from ONC."
Coming from a public health background, it makes sense that she would assist with a public health emergency, said William F. Bria, II, MD, president of the Association of Medical Directors of Information Systems. Compared to her predecessors, Desalvo was less comfortable in the ONC role and much less communicative, he said, adding that he does not believe she will return to the position once the Ebola situation is under control.
"Karen has a well-deserved reputation for public health competence and getting the job done," said Peter Basch, MD, medical director, ambulatory EHR and health IT policy for MedStar Health based in Columbia, Md. "She is a great choice for that work but I'm sorry to see her go from ONC. I am not sure how long it will take to find someone to replace her but from those I know within ONC, there is no shortage of talent and dedication so I am confident that ONC will not be 'rudderless' in the interim."
ONC Chief Operating Officer Lisa A. Lewis will serve as the acting national coordinator.
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.