HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt on Wednesday announced the appointment of Robert Kolodner as national coordinator for health information technology at the department, CongressDaily reports. As the national coordinator for health IT, Kolodner, who has served as interim coordinator since September 2006, will continue to advise Leavitt on all department health care IT efforts (CongressDaily, 4/19). He also will continue to maintain and direct implementation of the HHS strategic plan to guide nationwide adoption of interoperable health care IT systems. Kolodner joined HHS from the Department of Veterans Affairs, where he served as chief health informatics officer of the Veterans Health Administration (CQ HealthBeat, 4/18). Leavitt said, "Rob's experience, dedication and enthusiasm have been evident in his work at the Veterans Health Administration and here at HHS" (CongressDaily, 4/19).

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