Clancy likely to stay at AHRQ
I’ve just learned that staff at the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality is operating under the assumption that President Obama will choose to retain Dr. Carolyn Clancy as agency director. As a non-political federal employee, Clancy stayed on past Inauguration day, unlike the heads of many other HHS agencies. Although the new president has a right to bring in his own people, the word I’m hearing is that Obama will not change leadership at AHRQ.
Clancy struck me as one of the first people within the federal government to understand the link between IT and quality, and I think it would be foolish to replace her now.
Incidentally, AHRQ stands to be in line for a pretty big expansion. The entire agency’s current budget estimate for fiscal year 2009 is $327.7 million, down from $334.6 million in 2008. But the economic stimulus legislation that the House passed last night gives $1.1 billion to AHRQ, at least according to the version of the bill introduced Monday. The AHRQ language starts on page 134. (As of this writing, the final text of the bill that passed was not online.)
The Senate companion bill, which is pending, calls for the same $1.1 billion appropriation (page 129).
Rob Kolodner, MD the practical and visionary head of the Office of the National Coordinator is also expected to stay on according to NextGov editor at large Bob Brewin in an interview last week. http://techinsider.nextgov.com/2009/01/nextgov_editor_at_large_bob.phpI imagine that both Clancy and Kolodner would have preferred that that information wasn’t revealed until after their new boss was actually confirmed but it shows tremendous industry support. Koldner, has a depth of organizational and technical knowledge combined with practical real world experience (He ran the VA’s vista program,)that is unmatched and he has demonstrated an amazing ability to get the ball through the net with very few resources outside of his team.In the past vendors primary stakeholders were hospitals not the payers and they gave them what they asked for – complex custom software that took years to implement. Once they grasp this fundamental shift I am sure they (or new players) will develop software that providers will actually use and that brings higher quality more cost effective care to consumers.Under the new administration we can finally bring everyone (providers, payers, delivery system, patients quality experts, government, private sector) to the same table and implement a new network of networks wikihealth model.When you combine the policy making power of ONC and AHRQ with the purchasing power of CMS with the collaborative grass roots model of Obama, I think we have finally reached the tipping point and quality combined with HIT not cost or coverage issues will be the lever to transform healthcare.