ONC's Mostashari Announces Departure

No clear reason or firm date was given for Farzad Mostashari's plan to exit the Office of the National Coordinator. His unexpected move comes at a critical time as HHS grapples with complex issues over the implementation of Meaningful Use Stage 2.

The physician leading the federal government's sweeping and aggressive efforts to implement healthcare information technology has announced that he will leave the job this fall.

After four years at the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology  and leading the office since 2011, Farzad Mostashari, MD, ScM, made the unexpected announcement Tuesday in a letter to colleagues.

"It is difficult for me to announce that I am leaving. I don't know what I will be doing after I leave public service, but be assured that I will be by your side as we continue to battle for healthcare transformation, cheering you on," Mostashari wrote.

He declined to say why he was leaving and did not say what he planned to do after leaving the office. Officials at HHS declined to comment on the reasons for his departure.

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius issued a statement praising Mostashari's tenure as a "time of great accomplishment."

"Farzad has been an important advisor to me and many of us across the Department. His expertise, enthusiasm and commitment to innovation and health IT will surely be missed. In the short term, he will continue to serve in this role while a search is underway for a replacement," Sebelius said. 

While no firm date for Mostashari's last day at ONC was given beyond "the fall," his departure comes at a critical time as HHS grapples with complex issues and grumbling from providers over the implementation of Meaningful Use Stage 2, which goes into effect for hospitals on Oct. 1, and on Jan. 1, 2014 for physicians. The American Hospital Association and the American Medical Association have asked Sebelius to roll back the implementation dates.

Mostashari has resisted calls to roll back the implementation date. He is the lead author in a study published this week in Health Affairs which shows that health information exchanges between hospitals and other providers jumped 41% from 2008 to 2012. The study examined national surveys and found that six in 10 hospitals routinely swapped electronic health information with providers and hospitals beyond their walls in 2012.

"We know that the exchange of health information is integral to the ongoing efforts to transform the nation's health care system and we will continue to see that grow as more hospitals and other providers adopt and use health IT to improve patient health and care," Mostashari said in remarks accompanying the study. "Our new research is crystal clear: health information exchange is happening and it is growing. But we still have a long road ahead toward universal interoperability."

With Mostashari leaving, it's not clear if HHS will reconsider rolling back the implementation dates.

In his letter Tuesday to colleagues, Mostashari conceded that "there are formidable challenges still ahead for our community, and for ONC. But none more difficult than what we have already accomplished. In these difficult and challenging times, your work gives us hope that we can still do big things as a country. That government and the private sector working together can do what neither can do alone. We have been pioneers in a new landscape, but that landscape is one changed forever, and for better."

As news of Mostashari's departure spread Tuesday, the paeans rolled in.

"Through Dr. Farzad Mostashari's leadership, we saw the Office of the National Coordinator lead our nation's providers through the first gates of measured, meaningful use of electronic health records, and address in reality those initial standards that make our health information portable across the U.S. healthcare system," College of Healthcare Information Management Executives President/CEO Russell P. Branzell and Chairman George T. Hickman said in a joint statement.

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American Hospital Association senior vice president of policy Linda Fishman issued a statement saying: "We appreciate the hard work of Dr. Mostashari in supporting the adoption of electronic health records and working toward our shared vision. America's hospitals are on a pathway toward a reformed health system that is supported by the use of EHRs. We wish him the best of luck in his next endeavor and we will continue to work collaboratively with HHS to realize our shared vision."