Process for standing up the AHIC successor becomes clearer

The leaders of the nation’s health IT community are close to agreement on a process that will lead to a privatized health IT policy body.The as yet unnamed successor to the American Health Information Community, a federal government advisory panel, will be led by a board of directors to be selected in August and September.Nominations for the board, which probably will have 18 members, will be due in the second half of July, according to a timeline discussed in conference calls today. The board’s precise makeup is still under discussion, including the number of seats to be allocated to the federal government.Seats have been reserved for state government and consumers, as well. The speakers on today’s call, who have been planning for the succession, said they are committed to balance and diversity on the board.The initial board is likely to include the four people who will sign their names to the documents incorporating the successor organization as a non-profit. They are Dr. John Tooker, executive vice president and chief executive officer of the American College of Physicians; Dr. Jonathan Perlin, chief medical officer and president of clinical services, for hospital operator HCA; John Glaser, vice president and chief information officer of Partners HealthCare System Inc., and Lillee Gelinas, vice president and chief nursing officer at VHA, an alliance of health care facilities.Gelinas is a member of today’s AHIC, and Perlin served on the AHIC when he headed the Veterans Health Administration.Those four individuals also will select the board members after a nominating committee of four comes up with two candidates for each board seat.The board is expected to be announced at the end of September.