Secretary Shalala Names Chairman and Nine New Members to National Advisory Committee

HHS Secretary Donna E. Shalala today announced the appointment of a new chairman and nine new members of the National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics. The 16-member committee advises the Secretary on a variety of issues in the areas of health data, statistics, privacy and health information policy, and serves as a forum for collaborative endeavors with the health industry, the research community and state and local government.

The new members were selected from nearly 200 nominees who have distinguished themselves in the areas of health statistics, electronic interchange of health care information, privacy and security of electronic information, population-based public health, purchasing or financing health care services, integrated computerized health information systems, health services research, consumer interests in health information, health data standards, epidemiology, and the provision of health services.

The committee will assist HHS in addressing new and emerging issues in health data, statistics, and health information policy, including health data standards and privacy. The committee will also advise on implementation of new HHS responsibilities relating to administrative simplification and privacy under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, signed by President Clinton August 21.

The new chairman is Don Detmer, M.D., Senior Vice President, University of Virginia, and University Professor of Health Evaluation Sciences and Surgery. An expert in health administration, medical informatics, health policy and ambulatory surgery, Dr. Detmer chaired the National Library of Medicine's Board of Regents, the Institute of Medicine's Study on Computer-based Patient Records, and the Institute of Medicine's Study on the Nation's Physician Workforce. He replaces Judith Miller Jones, Director of the National Health Policy Forum, who has served as a member of the committee since 1988 and chairperson since 1991.

The newly appointed members are:

Hortensia de los Angeles Amaro, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences and Child Health Program, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts. A researcher, Dr. Amaro has written extensively on alcohol and drug abuse, mental health, and women's health with a particular emphasis on Hispanics and African-Americans.

Simon P. Cohn, M.D., MPH, Clinical Information Systems Coordinator, Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program, Oakland, California. Dr. Cohn is a nationally recognized expert in the development and implementation of comprehensive health information systems, health care data management, clinical classifications, and electronic transmission of health care data, and has been the leader in Kaiser Permanente's efforts to develop comprehensive health information systems to support both the delivery of health care and health research.

Kathleen A. Frawley, J.D., Director, Washington Office of the American Health Information Management Association. Ms. Frawley is an expert in the areas of hospital information systems, health data standards, confidentiality, administrative simplification and medical classification issues.

Robert M. Gellman, J.D., Privacy and Information Policy Consultant, Washington, D. C. Mr. Gellman, an attorney, is a leading expert in health care privacy and played a major role in the development of the Fair Health Information Practices Act introduced in the 103rd Congress.

Thomas A. LaVeist, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Health and Public Health Policy, Department of Health Policy and Management, School of Hygiene and Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland. Dr. LaViest is a researcher with broad experience in health topics of concern to low-income, minority and elderly populations.

John R. Lumpkin, M.D., MPH, Director, Illinois Department of Public Health, Springfield, Illinois. In addition to directing the Illinois Department of Public Health, Dr. Lumpkin serves on several expert panels of the National Academy of Sciences dealing with data systems for public health, and is the current President of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials.

Clement J. McDonald, M.D., Co-Director, Regenstrief Institute for Health Care, Indianapolis, Indiana. A Distinguished Professor of Medicine at Indiana University, and a practicing internist, Dr. McDonald is one of the pioneers in medical informatics as well as a leader in the development of standards needed to transmit patient data electronically between computer systems in a health care institution to support patient care and research.

Vincent Mor, Ph.D., Professor of Medical Science, Brown University Department of Community Health, Providence, Rhode Island. Dr. Mor is a researcher who has focused on the areas of long term care, nursing homes, home heath care, disability and chronic disease, and has developed econometric models to estimate disease costs.

M. Elizabeth Ward, M.N., Assistant Secretary, Epidemiology and Health Statistics Division, Washington State Department of Health, Seattle, Washington. Ms. Ward directs the epidemiological and statistical program for the Department of Health, and served as the executive sponsor for the design and planning phase for Washington State's integrated statewide health information system.

Continuing members of the committee are: Carlos Arce, Ph.D, President, Nu-Stats, Incorporated, Austin, Texas; Kathryn Coltin, MPH, Director, Clinical Management Information Center, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, Boston, Massachusetts; Lisa Iezzoni, M.D., Associate Professor, Harvard Medical School; Sheila Leatherman, M.S.W., President, Center for Health Care Policy and Evaluation, United HealthCare Corporation, Minneapolis, Minnesota; Barbara Starfield, M.D., Professor and Head of the Division of Health Policy, Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland; and George Van Amburg, M.P.H., M.S., State Registrar and Chief, Center for Health Statistics, Michigan Department of Public Health, Lansing, Michigan.