HIT Policy Committee needs new Patient Advocate

Established by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), the Health IT Policy Committee is one of three that makes recommendations to the ONC on standards, implementation specifications, and certifications criteria. It has been instrumental in the framework of defining meaningful use of certified technology. The HIT Policy committee members include; 3 individuals chosen by the Secretary of HHS, 13 members appointed by the Acting Comptroller General of the United States, 4 members appointed by the Majority and Minority Leaders of the Senate and the Speaker and Minority Leader of the House of Representatives. The current Chair of the committee is ONC Farzad Mostashari and the Vice Chair is Paul Tang, the Vice President and Chief Innovation and Technology Officer of Palo Alto Medical Foundation.

The ARRA also requires that 3 members of the HIT Policy Committee be advocates for patients or consumers. Termsof the members are for 3 years, except the Comptroller General designated staggered terms for the members first appointed. When vacancies are filled, the appointment is only for the remainder of that term. The new member may serve past the appointment while successors are selected. The vancany is also filled in the same manner in which the original appoinment was made.

Due to a vacancy on the Committee, GAO is accepting nominations of individuals to fill one of these three positions allocated for Patient or Consumer Advocate. For this appointment the following has been published in the Federal Register: Letters of nomination and resumes should be submitted between May 5 and 25, 2012 to ensure adequate opportunity for review and consideration of nominees.

The Health IT Policy Committee meets once a month usually in the first week of the month. Their next meeting is on June 6, 2012. Meetings are open to the public and you can participate virtually. Learn how to participate in the meetings.