White House holds private town hall meeting on health IT progress

The White House held a two-hour town hall meeting to get the pulse of how health IT is advancing nationwide. Justin Barnes, vice-president of marketing, industry and government affairs for Greenway Medical and chairman emeritus of the EHR Association, who served as a panelist at the invitation-only meeting, said some 100 people attended, mainly hospital executives, nurses and physicians, along with other stakeholders. Presiding over the meeting were Cecilia Munoz, director of the White House Domestic Policy Council, and Liz Fowler, special assistant to the president for healthcare and economic policy, according to Barnes. Farzad Mostashari, MD, the national coordinator for health information technology, moderated the discussion. The intent of the meeting was to focus on advancements in improving care quality and patients' health in relation to health IT and what solutions can we share as leaders to increase the momentum. It was a "very, very lively" discussion, Barnes said.