GAO Appoints New Members to Health IT Advisory Committee

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has appointed five new members to the Health Information Technology Advisory Committee (HITAC).

“Widespread access, exchange, and use of electronic health information has great potential, but has been challenging to achieve,” Gene L. Dodaro, comptroller general of the United States and head of GAO, said in a press release.

“I am confident these new appointees will make valuable contributions to the committee as it continues to advise the federal government on how to best implement the great potential of electronic health information,” Dodaro added.

The 21st Century Cures Act, enacted in December 2016, established HITAC and gave the comptroller general responsibility for appointing at least 14 of the members.

The committee provides recommendations to ONC on policies, standards, implementation specifications, and certification criteria related to advancing health data interoperability.

The newly appointed members are Lee Fleisher, Katrina Parrish, Randa Perkins, Rochelle Prosser, and Mark Sendak. Each member will serve a three-year term and may be reappointed for a subsequent three-year term.

Lee Fleisher, MD, is an emeritus professor of anesthesiology and critical care and a practicing anesthesiologist at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. He conducts research focused on improving health services, with a focus on care quality. He previously served as the chief medical officer of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and as the Director of CMS’s Center for Clinical Standards and Quality, where he oversaw the development of the National Quality Strategy and electronic quality measures.

Katrina Parrish, MD, FAAFP, is the physician director of clinical informatics at Humana Health Insurance. She is also co-chair of the Data and Research Committee of the Institute for Medicaid Innovation, a nonpartisan, nonprofit, multi-stakeholder research and policy organization focused on improving the Medicaid program. Parrish previously served as the chief quality and information executive at LA Care Health Plan, the nation’s largest publicly operated health plan.

Randa Perkins, MD, MBA, FAMIA, serves as chief medical information officer and senior director for clinical informatics at the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute in Tampa, Florida. Her work focuses on the application of health IT to improve clinical care and research on health IT implementation science. Perkins is also a practicing family medicine physician in the center’s Department of Internal Medicine.

Rochelle Prosser, RN, CLNC, served as a caregiver for her daughter and husband, both cancer survivors. As a result of the challenges she experienced in helping them navigate the healthcare system, Prosser established Orchid Healthcare Solutions to assist patients and their families, as well as clinicians, with information and guidance about oncology treatment options and support. Previously, Ms. Prosser served in a variety of roles within the healthcare industry, including as a nurse analyst helping clinicians transition to EHRs.

Mark Sendak, MD, MPP, is the population health and data science lead at the Duke Institute for Health Innovation, where he spearheads the development, implementation, and evaluation of innovative care models and health IT in clinical practice. His work has included more than 20 artificial intelligence (AI) models used in both inpatient and outpatient practice settings and a COVID-19 symptom monitoring platform to support community health workers and small businesses.