In the world of electronic health records, David Blumenthal the national coordinator for health IT is a celebrity.
Health Leaders Media, in a list of the top 20 change agents in healthcare, goes even further, calling him a verifiable ârock star.â
HealthLeaders20, a compilation of healthcare figures changing the industry âfor the better,â this year details how Blumenthal, a Boston primary care physician âended his long-time love affair with his paper prescription pad and embraced electronic health systems.â
As the director of the nationâs health IT initiatives, Blumenthal has had his hands full this year, hammering out a definition for âmeaningful use,â which classifies providers whoâve made the jump to using digital records.
Blumenthalâs goals have been helped by his penchant for putting a premium on collaboration, HLM reports.
âBlumenthal has put an emphasis on input and collaborationâbacked by regulation in the form of the HITECH Act and some $20 billion in government incentives for those organizations that become meaningful usersâ of health IT,â HLM reports.
Overarching much of the Health and Human Services Department health IT initiatives is Blumenthalâs vision for completely âunconstrainedâ health records.
âWe envision a future where information follows patients,â Blumenthal told HLM. âUnconstrained by competitive rivalry, unconstrained by geographic boundaries, unconstrained by cultural disinclinations to collaborate. We want teams to emerge in local communities that make exchange possible. And we will be using the meaningful use framework and all other levers at our disposal to try to make that possible.â
Blumenthal has been coming in at the top of other end-of-the-year lists recently. ExecutiveBiz ranked him as one of the top 20 people to watch in the coming year, noting his efforts to provide greater clarity on the nationwide health information network and his circumspect, collaborative approach.