MALVERN, Pa. – Siemens Medical Solutions (www.usa.siemens.com/healthcareit) has announced the appointment of Donald Rucker, MD, vice president and chief medical officer, as commissioner of the Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology (CCHIT).

In this prestigious appointment, Rucker will be working to review criteria and inspection processes for certification of healthcare information technology (HIT) solutions. Siemens believes that this voluntary participation further advances its longstanding commitment to transforming healthcare by delivering creative, effective and compliant solutions. A Recognized Certification Body for electronic health records (EHRs) and their networks, the CCHIT aims to accelerate the adoption of HIT by creating a credible and lasting product certification program. The CCHIT Board of Commissioners represents a broad array of stakeholders, provides strategic direction, ensures objectivity and credibility, provides guidance to the work groups and approves the final certification criteria and processes.

CCHIT Chairman Mark Leavitt, MD, PhD, said, “Dr. Rucker was selected for his individual expertise as well as to create balanced representation from our stakeholder groups. I welcome him to join CCHIT’s work in accelerating EHR adoption and eagerly look forward to his support and contributions.”


“By continuing to secure influential positions within the industry, our executives are contributing their expertise, as well as strengthening Siemens overall commitment to shaping healthcare in innovative, effective ways,” stated Janet Dillione, president, Healthcare Information Technology Division. “We look forward to continuing to collaborate with other industry leaders to foster new ways of improving healthcare quality and patient safety while reducing costs.”
Rosemary Kennedy, RN, MBA, chief nursing informatics officer, was elected Member-at-Large to the American Medical Informatics Association’s Nursing Informatics Work Group (NIWG). The NIWG promotes the advancement of nursing informatics within the larger multidisciplinary context of health informatics by working on many levels in the following arenas: professional practice, education, research, government, professional organizations and the HIT industry. For more information, visit www.amia.org/mbrcenter/wg/ni/news.asp.

Charlene Underwood, director of government and industry affairs, Healthcare IT Division, and chair, HIMSS Electronic Vendor Association, was invited to participate in the American Health Information Community’s (AHIC) Quality Workgroup. A federally chartered advisory committee, the AHIC was formed to help advance efforts to reach President Bush’s call for most Americans to have access to interoperable EHRs within 10 years. The Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services provides input and recommendations to Health and Human Services on how to make health records digital and interoperable and assure that the privacy and security of those records are protected in a smooth, market-led way. Last year, the AHIC formed workgroups to address specific issues and solicit public feedback. The Quality Workgroup was chartered to advance the use of HIT in enabling the measurement and management of quality. For more information, visit www.hhs.gov/healthit/ahic.html.

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