(Editor's note: No hearing was held. Instead, Dr. Karen DeSalvo's appointment has been sent to the full Senate by unanimous consent of the HELP Committee. Please see "DeSalvo's HHS appointment heads to full Senate".)
Dr. Karen DeSalvo is scheduled to testify before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on Thursday as part of confirming her nomination as assistant secretary for health at HHS.
DeSalvo has served as the fifth leader of the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology at HHS since January 2014. A typical term as ONC chief has been about two years, but DeSalvo, who has a background in public health as the former health commissioner of New Orleans, was named acting assistant secretary last October to head up the U.S. government's response to the Ebola virus threat. She has held both roles ever since.
As health commissioner in New Orleans, she was credited with deploying health IT in innovative ways to improve public health.
Modern Healthcare recently named DeSalvo one of the Top 25 Women in Healthcare.
The ONC faces significant challenges, like the need for effective electronic health-record certification requirements. The certification program, led by the ONC, plays a part in allowing providers to fulfill the government's requirements for meaningful use of health IT.
