Blumenthal to Step Down from ONC

David Blumenthal, M.D., will be stepping down this spring as the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, according to industry sources. Blumenthal, 62, was named coordinator in March 2009 by President Obama. He is reportedly said to be returning to Harvard University, where he has been a researcher.

Blumenthal has been instrumental in the push toward HIT adoption with his help passing the 2009 American Reinvestment and Recovery Act/Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act and his championing of electronic medical records. Blumenthal, an internist by trade, has held positions at the Institute for Health Policy at the Massachusetts General Hospital/Partners HealthCare System in Boston, Harvard Medical School, and the Harvard University Interfaculty Program for Health Systems Improvement.