Upset about the federal government’s meaningful use standards? Don’t take your complaints to Dr. Farzad Mostashari. He’s stepping down from his post as national coordinator for health information technology sometime this fall.
His departure comes as physicians and hospitals are moving toward adoption of Stage 2 of meaningful use, part of the Medicare Electronic Health Record (EHR) incentive program. Dr. Mostashari also has been called to Capitol Hill in recent weeks to field questions from lawmakers on why it is taking so long to make EHR systems talk to one another.
Dr. Farzad Mostashari
In an e-mail to agency staff on Aug. 6, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius praised Dr. Mostashari for his work in linking the meaningful use of EHRs to population health goals and laying a "strong foundation" for increasing the interoperability of health records.
Dr. Mostashari, who became national coordinator in 2011, will stay on in his current post for a little while as HHS officials search for a replacement. As for his plans after leaving HHS, Dr. Mostashari said that he’s not sure.
"It is difficult for me to announce that I am leaving," he wrote in an e-mail to staff at the Office of the National Coordinator of Health Information Technology. "I don’t know what I will be doing after I leave public service, but be assured that I will be by your side as we continue to battle for healthcare transformation, cheering you on."
–By Mary Ellen Schneider
mschneider@frontlinemedcom.com
On Twitter @MaryEllenNY