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David Blumenthal Named as National Coordinator for Health Information Technology
 On March 20, 2009, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) announced that David Blumenthal, MD, MPP, founding director of the Mongan Institute for Health Policy (MIHP) and Samuel O. Thier Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, will become the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (HIT). Dr. Blumenthal plans to assume that position in mid-April, taking a leave from the MIHP and Thier professorship.
As National Coordinator, Dr. Blumenthal will lead the nationwide effort to build an HIT infrastructure as mandated in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), signed by President Barack Obama in February. The ARRA provides $19.5 billion for investment in HIT, with the ultimate goal of improving the quality, safety, and efficiency of health care services. In the press release announcing Dr. Blumenthal’s appointment, DHHS spokeswoman Jenny Backus stated, “Health information technology is a critical part of the President’s strategy to reform our health care system and as one of the nation’s leading health information technology experts, Dr. Blumenthal has the experience and the vision to help make this effort a reality.”
With his extensive knowledge of health policy, leadership experiences, and decades of serving patients as a primary care physician at the Massachusetts General Hospital, Dr. Blumenthal is uniquely positioned to understand both the challenges and promise of his new role. As a clinician, he witnesses first hand the invaluable contribution of HIT and other electronic information systems in clinical care, noting in a 2002 commentary that, “In the future, physicians must demonstrate that they are expert at marshalling … new information technologies for their patients’ benefit.” As a researcher, though, he has also helped define the enormity of the challenges awaiting him as National Coordinator. In a project led by Cait DesRoches, HMS Assistant Professor of Medicine and MIHP faculty member, along with several other MIHP faculty including Dr. Blumenthal, the researchers found that only 4% of U.S. physicians have a fully functional electronic medical record system, and just 13% have even a basic system (New England Journal of Medicine 2008). Their research identified the numerous barriers that have thus far blocked widespread adoption of HIT by physicians.
“I look forward to tackling these problems,” Dr. Blumenthal says, “and having the opportunity to serve President Obama and the American people. I truly believe in the power of HIT to modernize our health care system.” The decision to take a leave from the MIHP came hard, however. “I was part of building this organization and am truly dedicated to its success. But the MIHP has a terrific faculty and is conducting important work that will continue to inform health policy, including policy related to my new job – building the nation’s HIT infrastructure.” Given his long history advising senators, presidential candidates, and other public officials about improving U.S. health care, Dr. Blumenthal felt the National Coordinator position gave him a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to get into the trenches and make a critical difference.
During Dr. Blumenthal’s absence, Lisa Iezzoni, MD, MSc, HMS Professor of Medicine and currently MIHP associate director, will direct the MIHP.
Blumenthal D. Doctors in a Wired World: Can Professionalism Survive Connectivity? Milbank Quarterly 2002;80:525-46.
DesRoches CM, Campbell EG, Rao SR, Donelan K, Ferris TG, Jha A, Kaushal R, Levy DE, Rosenbaum S, Shields AE, Blumenthal D. Electronic Health Record Adoption in the Ambulatory Setting: Findings from a National Survey of Physicians. N Engl J Med 2008;359: 50-60.
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