Mostashari outlines challenges

Last month, Farzad Mostashari, MD, was named national coordinator for health IT, taking on the job from David Blumenthal, MD, who held the post for two years and left to return to an academic role at Harvard Medical School. Mostashari has the background to hit the ground running in his new job. During Blumenthal's tenure, Mostashari had been deputy national coordinator for programs and policy since July 2009. Mostashari spoke to InformationWeek Healthcare about his priorities as the new ONC leader and the challenges ahead as the country's healthcare system undergoes reform, and as U.S. healthcare providers move forward implementing health IT systems under the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act's meaningful use programs.