Health IT leadership shakeup

With help from Arthur Allen (@arthurallen202) and Darius Tahir (@dariustahir)

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Quick Fix

Lots of AI talk in Washington coming up. CompTIA’s hosting a briefing this morning with the House AI Caucus. Next week, the House Science Committee is convening a hearing on the “societal and ethical implications” of AI (more on that below). First, here’s what else we’re tracking:

— Health IT leadership shakeup: CMS’ first chief health informatics officer is out after a few months on the job. And over at HITAC, billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong stepped down from the ONC advisory committee.

— Baby steps on FCC’s telehealth pilot: FCC commissioners will vote next month on a proposal for a $100 million fund supporting remote monitoring and telehealth.

— BadRabbit strikes four hospitals: Four Romanian hospitals hit by ransomware attacks saw slower admissions, discharges and prescriptions.

eHealth tweet of the day, whose answer we’d also like to know: Sherry Reynolds @Cascadia, “When you integrate #ML and #AI into a care plan how much of the underlying data and algorithm do you disclose to the provider and patient? @rohanpdsouza#CambiaGroveSummit”

It’s FRIDAY at Morning eHealth. Your author’s devoted a huge chunk of her financial and calorie budgets to La Colombe’s oat milk draft latte and needs a reasonably tasty substitute. Pitch healthier and cheaper alternatives to [email protected]. Tweet the team at @arthurallen202, @dariustahir, @ravindranize, @POLITICOPro and @Morning_eHealth.

Driving the Day

INTEROPERABILITY JOB OPENING? — CMS’ first chief health informatics officer has departed after just a few months, leaving vacant a position whose primary role is developing the agency’s health IT strategy, including interoperability. Mark Roche leaves as ONC and CMS are processing comments on their respective information blocking and interoperability proposals.

CMS began the search for its first CHIO last year, and Roche has held the role since March, his LinkedIn page says. He was formerly a senior adviser to ONC and an adjunct professor at Northwestern University. He’ll also be stepping down from his role as CMS’ federal representative to HITAC. Read the entire story on POLITICO Pro.

...In other health IT policy personnel news, Soon-Shiong has stepped down from HITAC, citing a busy schedule, our colleague Darius Tahir reports. As Darius has written for eHealth, Soon-Shiong has several biotech and technology companies, and owns the Los Angeles Times. He said this week he “felt guilty” he couldn’t give HITAC his full attention.

As Darius has reported, Soon-Shiong has used not-for-profit resources to benefit his for-profit interests while operating the Verity Health System and at his foundations. He was appointed to HITAC by then-House Speaker Paul Ryan. Read the entire story on his departure at POLITICO Pro.

...Also at HITAC’s full committee meeting this week, members deferred voting on the second draft version of TEFCA — the Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement, which includes a set of principles for more seamless health data exchange — til next month.

PLANS FOR FCC TELEHEALTH FUND SLOWLY TAKE SHAPE — FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr says the going’s been slow for his planned $100 million telehealth pilot fund, but it’s just because of regulatory red-tape, he tells Morning eHealth. This week he announced that commissioners will vote in July on proposed rulemaking outlining potential elements of the fund, including a possible 85 percent discount on certain internet costs for remote monitoring or telehealth programs. Carr said he doesn’t expect pushback from his FCC colleagues.

...It’s been almost a year since Carr articulated the initial concept with Sen. Roger Wicker. Commissioners voted to issue a public inquiry shortly after about who could benefit from such a fund and how to set it up. Now, Carr says, “we’re kind of narrowing in on some of the proposal.”

Carr said he expected the fund would support around five to 10 providers who have some experience with remote monitoring, and they needn’t be limited to rural areas. He also said the pilot fund could play a small role in expanding telehealth, but Congress needs to take action on licensing and reimbursement for those services to boost accessibility.

ROMANIAN HOSPITALS SUFFER BADRABBIT RANSOMWARE ATTACK — A cyberattack hit four hospitals in Romania, including Bucharest’s infectious disease hospital Victor Babeş, our POLITICO Europe colleague Carmen Paun writes. They were all victims of the so-called BadRabbit ransomware, which encrypts computer files and asks for payment to restore access.

The Romanian Intelligence Service said none of the affected hospitals had antivirus software in place, which might have detected the ransomware. The ransomware spread through emails with attachments including fake invoices and tickets. Read the rest of the story on POLITICO Pro.

LAWMAKERS EXAMINE ETHICS OF AI — House panel leaders will discuss social media, misinformation and the ethics of artificial intelligence in hearings next week, our POLITICO colleague John Hendel reports.

— The House Homeland Security Committee is holding a Wednesday hearing on “Examining Social Media Companies’ Efforts to Counter Online Terror Content and Misinformation.” It didn’t announce witnesses.

— The House Science Committee has another hearing Wednesday on the “societal and ethical implications” of AI. AI and “predictive algorithms more generally are increasingly influencing hiring decisions, credit and loan determinations, and even criminal sentencing, even as such systems remain woefully susceptible to longstanding biases,” Rep. Don Beyer, who sits on the committee, said in a statement. He suggested that “the technology being deployed today is not ready for such widespread operation.”

Health IT Business Watch

UBER DIGS DEEPER INTO HEALTH — Uber and tech company Grand Rounds are partnering to give employees of Grand Round customers free ride-hail transportation to medical appointments. Grand Rounds helps its customers — large employers — coordinate medical benefits for their employees.

Names in the News

Peter Cleveland, Intel’s top in-house lobbyist, is leaving the company, our POLITICO Influence colleagues report. ... Jaewon Ryu has been appointed president and CEO of Geisinger.

What We're Reading

— Stephen Russell, Sanjay Desai and Brian Garibaldi write in the Baltimore Sun about the need for attention to clinician burnout.

— CNBC’s Chrissy Farr reports on a study concluding that Google Assistant is better than other voice-controlled assistants at understanding medication information.

— Elizabeth Payne reports for the Vancouver Sun on low morale at The Ottawa Hospital as it unrolls a new EHR system.

— Victoria Knight writes about OpenNotes and the benefits of seeing your own medical records for Kaiser Health News.