GAO Makes Appointments to Health Information Technology Advisory Committee
(Note: In November 2018, the Comptroller General reappointed Michael Adcock, Terrence O’Malley, Carolyn Petersen, Sasha TerMaat, and Andrew Truscott for additional three year terms.)
WASHINGTON, D.C. (August 3, 2017) — Gene L. Dodaro, Comptroller General of the United States and head of the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), today announced 15 appointments to the new Health Information Technology (HIT) Advisory Committee.
“It is extremely valuable to have a range of perspectives and expertise in helping the government address challenges related to health information technology,” Dodaro said. “GAO received nominations for many highly qualified individuals, and I’m pleased to announce this first round of appointments to the HIT Advisory Committee.”
Newly appointed members will serve for one-, two-, or three-year terms. All members may be reappointed for subsequent three-year terms. Members appointed for one-year terms are Michael Adcock, Terrence O’Malley, Carolyn Petersen, Sasha TerMaat, and Andrew Truscott. Members appointed for two-year terms are John Kansky, Denni McColm, Brett Oliver, Raj Ratwani, and Denise Webb. Members appointed for three-year terms are Christina Caraballo, Tina Esposito, Brad Gescheider, Kensaku Kawamoto, and Sheryl Turney.
The 21st Century Cures Act, enacted in December 2016, established the HIT Advisory Committee and gave the Comptroller General responsibility for appointing several of the members. The committee will provide recommendations to the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology on policies, standards, implementation specifications, and certification criteria relating to the implementation of a health information technology infrastructure that advances the electronic access, exchange, and use of health information.
Brief biographies of the appointees are provided below:
Michael Adcock, MS, RN, FACHE, is Executive Director of the Center for Telehealth at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, which delivers telehealth services across Mississippi. He works to give telehealth providers access to patients’ medical records and on integrating telehealth services into these records. He also helped establish a remote patient monitoring program that supports patients managing chronic diseases, such as diabetes or congestive heart failure. Prior to his current position, Mr. Adcock was a pediatric nurse and served in various roles in administration at multiple hospitals. He received his Master of Science in Nursing from the University of Mississippi Medical Center.
Christina Caraballo, MBA, is Director of Healthcare Transformation at Get Real Health, a health information technology development company in Rockville, Maryland, where she develops and implements patient engagement technology solutions and product certification for participation in federal programs. Ms. Caraballo previously worked on federal health policy issues as the Vice President of Government Solutions for Capitol Solutions Group, and as the Director of Health Policy and Advocacy at the Alliance for Patient Advocacy. Ms. Caraballo holds a Master of Business Administration and a Graduate Certificate of Health Information Technology from the George Washington University.
Tina Esposito, MBA, RHIA, FACHE, is the Vice President of Information and Technology Innovation at Advocate Health Care, a hospital network in Illinois. She leads Advocate’s technology innovation activities and has overseen the creation of population health management tools that combine data from numerous sources, including various electronic health record systems, to help improve care efficiency and outcomes. Ms. Esposito received her Master of Business Administration from DePaul University.
Brad Gescheider, MBA, is Senior Director of Provider and Payer Solutions at PatientsLikeMe, a platform where patients can share experiences about their health conditions and connect with others who have similar conditions. His responsibilities include determining ways that patient-reported health data can facilitate interactions between patients, providers, and others to improve health outcomes and manage costs. Mr. Gescheider also serves on the Blue Cross Blue Shield Medical Advisory Board. He received his Master of Business Administration from the University of Southern California.
John Kansky, MBA, MSE, is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Indiana Health Information Exchange, where he is responsible for planning, operations, and financial management. He previously worked as a consultant on health information technology and privacy compliance issues and as a health care Chief Information Officer. Mr. Kansky holds a Master of Business Administration from Indiana University and a Master of Science and Bioengineering from the University of Washington.
Kensaku Kawamoto, MD, PhD, MHS, is Associate Chief Medical Information Officer, University of Utah Health, and Assistant Professor, University of Utah Department of Biomedical Informatics. He conducts research to develop standards-based, interoperable applications and software services to improve health care. He is also a co-chair of the HL7 Clinical Decision Support Work Group, and he founded OpenCDS, a multi-institutional initiative to enable advanced, standards-based, and open-source clinical decision support and electronic clinical quality measurement. Dr. Kawamoto received his degree in medicine, his PhD, and his Master of Health Sciences from Duke University.
Denni McColm, MBA, is the Chief Information Officer at Citizens Memorial Healthcare, a health care network based in Bolivar, Missouri, that includes primary care, acute care, long-term care, home health, and hospice facilities. At Citizens, she is responsible for the adoption and use of an electronic health records system that also serves as a central medical record for patients throughout the surrounding rural community who receive care at facilities outside of Citizens. Ms. McColm received her Master of Business Administration from the University of Missouri.
Brett Oliver, MD, is the Chief Medical Information Officer for Baptist Health, headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, and a practicing part-time family physician with Baptist Family Physicians of Scott County. In his role as Chief Medical Information Officer, he helps ensure that Baptist Health’s information technology systems are designed to meet the needs of staff and patients. Dr. Oliver received his medical degree from the University of Kentucky and completed his residency at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
Terrence O’Malley, MD, is a geriatrician at Massachusetts General Hospital and Spaulding Nursing and Therapy Center North End with experience providing care to patients with complex medical needs. He is also an instructor at Harvard Medical School. Dr. O’Malley previously held various administrative leadership positions, including as the Medical Director for Non-acute Care Services at Partners HealthCare and Partners HealthCare at Home. His areas of expertise are in quality measurement and process improvement, systems design, and clinical care, particularly in long-term and post-acute settings. Dr. O’Malley received his medical degree from Cornell University Medical College.
Carolyn Petersen, MBI, MS, has served as an advocate for patients in various roles since 2002, and is currently Senior Editor for Mayo Clinic’s health information website. Ms. Petersen has served as a patient stakeholder reviewer for the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute, a patient advocate for the National Cancer Institute, and a consumer representative for an advisory panel at the Food and Drug Administration. Ms. Petersen holds a Master of Biomedical Informatics from the Oregon Health & Science University, and a Master of Science in Exercise and Movement Science from the University of Oregon.
Raj Ratwani, MA, PhD, is Acting Center Director and Scientific Director of the National Center for Human Factors in Healthcare within MedStar Health, and Assistant Professor at the Georgetown University School of Medicine. He conducts research on the usability, safety, and interoperability of health information technology, including ways that software is designed, implemented, and used in health care systems. Previously, he was a postdoctoral fellow and Research Scientist at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory. Dr. Ratwani received his MA and PhD degrees in Human Factors and Applied Cognition from George Mason University.
Sasha TerMaat is a Director at Epic, a health care software company based in Verona, Wisconsin, where she oversees regulatory and quality reporting activities, including implementation of technical standards and software certification. Ms. TerMaat also serves as the Executive Committee Chair for the Electronic Health Records Association. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree from St. Olaf College.
Andrew Truscott is a Managing Director for Health and Public Service at Accenture and resides in Houston, Texas. His role includes responsibility for electronic health information management, including appropriate information technology strategy, security, digital architecture, and other related issues. He has also been responsible for the specification and design of electronic health infrastructure for multiple global programs, including security, privacy, confidentiality, and other information governance issues. Mr. Truscott previously served within the United Kingdom’s National Health Service as the Information Governance Director for the National Programme for Information Technology. He is a graduate of the University of Wales.
Sheryl Turney, MEd, is Senior Director of All-Payer Claims Database Analytics and Data Policy and Administration at Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield and resides in Aliso Viejo, California. At Anthem, she is responsible for the management and use of health data, including compliance with federal and state regulations. She also has worked with stakeholders outside of Anthem, serving on state health information technology advisory committees in Kentucky and Connecticut. Ms. Turney received her Master of Education degree from Cambridge College in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Denise Webb, MA, is Chief Information Officer of Marshfield Clinic Health System and Chief Executive Officer of Marshfield Clinic Information Services, Inc., in Marshfield, Wisconsin. She previously held multiple positions in Wisconsin state government focused on the statewide adoption and use of electronic health records and electronic health information exchange, including as the statewide coordinator for health information technology. Ms. Webb also served in the Air Force, where she retired as a Lieutenant Colonel. She received MA degrees from the U.S. Naval War College and Webster University.
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