ONC is pleased to announce the selection of 28 practicing providers & office staff from 18 states to serve as the inaugural class of Health IT Fellows. These Fellows are clinicians, office staff and administrative office champions who have taken meaningful use and leveraged it to become more efficient and innovative in their practices.

Health IT Fellows will hinge on past experiences to promote patient-oriented care

With the Health IT Fellows program, we hope to help other providers overcome challenges faster and more efficiently by sharing key lessons learned. If these lessons are specific and actionable, we can help both providers and patients become more informed – and empowered.

The Health IT Fellows will help promote and focus attention on stories, tools, and technical assistance that can be used in providers’ offices nationwide – and to help make these tools better with the goal of keeping the patient at the center of care.

How were the Health IT Fellows chosen?

The Health IT Fellows are practicing health care professionals who have turned their attention toward innovation and improvement in patient care by using and leveraging new technologies in their practices. The Fellows were nominated due to their stature as recognized health IT leaders in their communities, and ONC based their selection on a variety of factors, including:

• Experience in leveraging Meaningful Use
• How that experience can help other clinicians and office staffs replicate solutions to common problems

Diversity of experience brings unique viewpoints to the Health IT Fellows team

The Health IT Fellows represent a variety of unique viewpoints, as they come from a variety of settings, such as:

• clinical backgrounds
• specialty backgrounds
• locations
• practice roles

In addition, many of the Health IT Fellows are already lending their insight to ongoing national conversations—for instance, in areas such as patient safety and implementation of the Million Hearts initiative.

We are honored to have such a dedicated group of champions, and we look forward to moving forward together through our Health IT Vanguards program. We encourage you—providers, office staff, and administrators everywhere—to join in this conversation by telling your story and emailing us at HealthITVanguard@hhs.gov.

Spring 2013 Health IT Fellows.
Front Row (left to right): Christopher Tashjian, Bethany Sanders, Felix Carpio, Frank Maselli, Sumir Sahgal, Bambi McQuade-Jones, Lisa Lyon, Annick Hebou
Back Row (left to right): John Berneike, Dennis Saver, Gustin Ho, Drew Jackson, Frank Sonnenberg, Angela Murphy, Paulo Pinho, Farzad Mostashari, Raj Desai, Douglas Ashinsky, Eugene Heslin, Jen Brull, Emily Krohn, Emily Milton, Lisa-Nicole Danehy, Angie Walker
Not pictured: Alan Barton, Robyn Chatman, Tiffany Nelson, Karen Smith, Steve Stark, Brian Yeaman