HHS names new health IT national coordinator

Dr. Farzad Mostashari took the helm this week as the Health and Human Services Department’s new National National Coordinator for Health Information Technology. HHS officials announced his appointment April 8, effective immediately.

Mostashari previously served as the deputy national coordinator for programs and policy for two years under former national health IT coordinator Dr. David Blumenthal, who has returned to Harvard University Medical School.

Mostashari will oversee the ongoing distribution of $20 billion under the 2009 economic stimulus law that was allocated to hospitals and doctors' offices that buy and meaningfully use electronic health systems for their patients.

Mostashari came to HHS in 2009 from the New York City Health and Mental Hygiene Department, where he was assistant commissioner in charge of facilitating adoption of prevention-oriented health IT by more than 1,500 providers in underserved communities. He also led the New York City Center of Excellence in Public Health Informatics and established the Bureau of Epidemiology Services for the city.

Mostashari did his graduate training at the Harvard School of Public Health and Yale Medical School. He was a lead investigator for the West Nile virus and anthrax outbreaks in New York.