Dr. McCoy named ONC's first chief health info officer, and other news makers

HHS' Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology has named Dr. Michael James McCoy its first chief health information officer as the agency shifts its focus toward improving the interoperability of EHR systems.

McCoy, 61, an OB-GYN with a decade of experience in healthcare IT standards development, will report directly to ONC chief Dr. Karen DeSalvo and lead development of ONC clinical policy for standards and regulatory matters.

He has served on the international board of directors of Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise, a not-for-profit founded by the Radiological Society of North America and the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society to promote health IT interoperability.

Kent Wallace has been named executive VP and COO at Louisville, Ky.-based Kindred Healthcare, which operates nearly 2,400 healthcare facilities across the U.S. Wallace, 59, will replace Benjamin Breier, president and COO, who will take on the CEO role on March 31.

Before joining Kindred, Wallace served as CEO of RegionalCare Hospital Partners, a Brentwood, Tenn.-based operator of community hospitals. He was also president and COO of Vanguard Health Systems, also in Brentwood, where he helped develop the company's integrated-care market strategy.

Pamela Paulk has been named president of Johns Hopkins Medicine International, a division of the academic medical system that develops international collaborations and provides medical concierge services for patients who come for treatment from abroad.

Paulk, 60, was most recently senior VP of human resources for Johns Hopkins. The president position replaces a former CEO role, last held on a permanent basis by Steven Thompson, who stepped down in 2011. After the international division was created in 1998, Paulk became VP of global services, guiding the group through due diligence as it looked for ways to build relationships with organizations abroad.

Dr. Paul Anderson has been named chief academic officer and senior VP of research at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. He has been serving in the roles on an interim basis since June.

Anderson, 58, is a senior rheumatologist at the hospital and a professor at Harvard Medical School. The hospital will soon embark on a new focus on teaching and research, with plans to develop and implement a strategic plan to build up the facility's research and education efforts. Anderson is expected to lead that project, as well as formation of collaborative relationships within the hospital, with its parent system, Partners HealthCare, and with public and private funding entities.

Martin Hamlette has been named executive director of the National Medical Association, the nation's largest and oldest national organization representing African-American physicians.

Hamlette, 40, an attorney, has experience in the public and private sectors. Since 2012, he has served in private practice as counsel and administrator to medical providers, state government and a professional medical association on issues related to the Affordable Care Act.

In 2007, Adrian Fenty, then mayor of Washington, named Hamlette chief health policy adviser in the mayor's office of policy and legislative affairs.