May 17th, 2011 at 10 AM

Nationally recognized health leaders representing the federal government, military/veterans, and industry will share their perspectives on the ongoing transformation of healthcare using information technology. Topics discussed will include barriers faced in achieving interoperable health systems, interagency initiatives in healthcare information technology, diversity initiatives to ensure that no community is left behind, and examples of providers harnessing the best use of information technology in healthcare and strategic use of health IT across the United States.

Moderator: Carla Smith, NCMN, FHIMSS – Executive Vice President, HIMSS

Panelists:

Honorable James B. Peake, MD – Senior Vice President, Health Industry CGI Federal, Lieutenant General, USA (Ret) and U.S. Army Surgeon General (2000 – 2004) Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs (2007 – 2009)
David Hunt, MD, FACS – Medical Director, Office of Provider Adoption Support, Office of the National Coordinator, Department of Health and Human Services
Charlene S. Underwood MBA, FHIMSS – Senior Director of Government and Industry Affairs, Siemens Medical Solutions Member, U.S. Health IT Policy Committee

About the Panel:

Honorable James B. Peake, MD
Senior Vice President
Health Industry
CGI Federal, Lieutenant General
USA (Ret) and U.S. Army Surgeon General (2000 – 2004)
Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs (2007 – 2009)

In December 2009, James Peake was appointed Senior Vice-President for the Health Industry. In his new role, Jim will be responsible for the overarching US and European strategy for growing CGI’s business in the evolving Health and Health Insurance industries. He will remain a member of the CGI Federal Board of Directors

James Peake, M.D., was nominated by President George W. Bush to be Secretary of Veterans Affairs on October 30, 2007. He was unanimously confirmed by the Senate on December 14, 2007, and served from December 2007 through January 2009.

Dr. Peake was the principal advocate for veterans in the U.S. government and directed the nation’s second largest cabinet department, responsible for a nationwide system of health care services, benefits programs, and national cemeteries for America’s veterans and dependents. During his tenure VA employed more than 280,000 people at hundreds of medical centers, nursing homes, benefits offices, and national cemeteries throughout the country. VA’s budget for fiscal year 2009 was $97.5 billion.

A St. Louis, Mo., native, Peake received his Bachelor of Science degree from U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 1966 and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army Infantry. Following service in Vietnam with the 101st Airborne Division where he was awarded the Silver Star, a Bronze Star with “V” device and the Purple Heart with oak leaf cluster, Peake entered medical school at Cornell University in New York. He was awarded a medical doctorate in 1972.

Peake began his Army medical career as a general surgery resident at Brooke Army Medical Center, Fort Sam Houston, Texas. He retired from the Army in 2004, following service as a general surgeon, cardiac surgeon and commander of several medical organizations culminating in his appointment as U.S. Army Surgeon General from 2000 to 2004. As Army Surgeon General, Peake commanded 50,000 medical personnel and 187 army medical facilities worldwide. Prior to that, he served as Commanding General of the U.S. Army Medical Department Center and School, one of the largest medical training facilities in the world with 30,000 students annually.

After retiring as a Lieutenant General, Peake served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Project HOPE, a non-profit international health foundation operating in more than 30 countries. Just prior to his nomination as Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Peake served as Chief Operating Officer and a member of the Board of Directors for QTC, one of the largest private providers of government-outsourced occupational health and disability examination services in the nation.

Dr. Peake is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, Society of Thoracic Surgeons, and the American College of Cardiology. He has been honored with the Order of Military Merit; the “A” Professional Designator; and the Medallion, Surgeon General of the United States.

David Hunt, MD, FACS
Medical Director, Office of Provider Adoption Support
Office of the National Coordinator
Department of Health and Human Services

Dr. Hunt joined the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology in October 2007. He currently serves as the Medical Director for National Provider Engagement in the Office of Provider Adoption and Support (OPAS). There he focuses on coordinating and strengthening the policy and operational aspects of ONC programs for clinicians and conveying the value proposition of those programs to the clinical community. To that end, he also functions as a provider ombudsman, developing the strategic framework to identify and address provider concerns around achieving meaningful use.

At ONC, Dr. Hunt merges years as a practicing surgeon and leader in surgical quality and patient safety with hands-on experience at all levels of information technology from programmer to systems analyst and software developer. Prior to joining ONC, from 2002 through 2007, he served at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) in Baltimore. There he led the measure development, design, testing, and implementation of the Surgical Care Improvement Project (SCIP), the most extensive surgical quality and safety program in the United States. During that same period Dr. Hunt also ran the Medicare Patient Safety Monitoring System (MPSMS), a nationwide surveillance project aimed at identifying the rates of specific adverse events within the Medicare population. As a result of his leadership in those programs he has served on the Safe Practices Consensus Committee of the National Quality Forum since 2005.

Dr. Hunt, a native of Baltimore, MD, attended public schools, graduating high school from the Baltimore Polytechnic Institute. After receiving a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry from the University of Rochester (NY) he attended Howard University College of Medicine, graduating with a medical degree in 1984. Dr. Hunt, who also completed his residency in surgery at Howard University, is licensed to practice medicine in the District of Columbia and is a diplomate of the American Board of Surgery. Practicing in both private and academic settings, Dr. Hunt served as a Clinical Assistant Professor of Surgery at Howard University, chair of surgical peer review at various hospitals in the Washington metropolitan area, and has been a fellow of the American College of Surgeons since 1993. In March 2009 he was appointed to the Federal Coordinating Council for Comparative Effective Research.

Charlene S. Underwood, MBA, FHIMSS
HIMSS Board Chairperson-Elect
Member, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’
Health IT Policy Committee
Senior Director of Government and Industry Affairs
Siemens Medical Solutions

Charlene Underwood is senior director of Government and Industry Affairs for Siemens Healthcare Health Services.

A nationally recognized expert in the field of healthcare informatics, Ms. Underwood directs Siemens outreach and advocacy activities in emerging market initiatives, specifically those related to government activities in healthcare information technology (HIT) including: the U.S.

Government’s legislative and regulatory activities related to HIT; national, state, and regional healthcare information networks; Electronic Health Record (EHR) strategies; standards and interoperability; quality, patient safety, and pay for performance; and EHR product certification. At Siemens, she is Senior Key Expert in EHRs, an elite designation recognizing subject matter expertise and contributions to the industry at large.

Ms. Underwood advocates for health information technology that improves care delivery and reduces costs with key stakeholders throughout the healthcare industry and on Capitol Hill, while developing programs that enable Siemens leadership in key government and industry initiatives. She provides valuable input and direction to healthcare and government leaders on the power of HIT to transform healthcare through her leadership in high-profile industry organizations. She is a member of the Health Information Policy Meaningful Use Workgroup, the National Quality Forum Health Information Technology Expert Panel, and the HL7 Advisory Committee. She serves on the HIMSS Board of Directors and was recently elected to Chair-elect. She served as the first chair of Healthcare Information Management and Systems Society (HIMSS) Electronic Health Record (EHR) Association and is a past board member of the HIMSS Delaware Valley Chapter Board.

Ms. Underwood has a long history of actively advocating for industry use of HIT as a means to improve patient safety, reduce cost, and improve patient outcomes. She has held leadership roles in influential organizations including HL7, in which she participated in defining the organization’s EHR functional standards and model; and in the Computerized Patient Record Institute (CPRI), where she was on the founding committee of the Nicholas E. Davies award for excellence in EHR implementation. She participated in the formation of and is now on the strategic planning committee for the Collaborative for Performance Measure Integration with EHR Systems, co-sponsored by the AMA, NCQA, and HIMSS EHR Association.

A long term employee of Siemens Healthcare HIT division, she has participated in the development of many clinical solutions, including INVISION®, the healthcare industry’s most widely installed HIT system, and Soarian®, the only healthcare electronic health record solution built to streamline clinical processes through workflow engine technology.

Ms. Underwood is a Phi Beta Kappa from Purdue University with a Bachelor of Science in mathematics. She earned an MBA in marketing from Temple University.

A native of West Chester, Pennsylvania, she is married with 3 children and enjoys fitness activities, gardening, travel, and community outreach.

Carla Smith NCMN, FHIMSS
Executive Vice President
HIMSS

Carla Smith is Executive Vice President of HIMSS, the largest U.S. cause-based, not-for-profit healthcare association focused on the optimal use of information technology and management systems for the betterment of healthcare.

Smith has nearly 25 years of experience in policy development for the information technology and management systems industry, two-thirds of it focused on healthcare. She champions transformational ideas that affect quality, safety, efficiency, and payment of care in healthcare delivery.

Within HIMSS, Smith leads Patient-Centered Systems, which encompasses thought leadership, professional development, education, best practices tools, chapters & regional affairs, and government relations. In this capacity, she leverages her extensive experience in nonprofit management to ensure HIMSS strategic direction and financial health.

Before joining HIMSS in 2001, Smith served for seven years as the Chief Executive Officer of the Center for Healthcare Information Management (CHIM), where she built the first healthcare IT focus on government relations representing vendors and end-users.

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