David Brailer has resigned as National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, HHS Secretary Michael Leavitt announced yesterday afternoon. Brailer served in the post for almost two years, having been appointed to execute President Bush’s executive order for widespread deployment of health information technology within 10 years. Brailer “made significant progress in advancing the president’s health IT agenda and laying the building blocks for future progress,” said Leavitt. Brailer will serve as vice-chair of the American Health Information Community, the group charged helping facilitate development and adoption of standards-based healthcare IT. He will also be a consultant to HHS on “the president’s healthcare transparency initiative,” said Leavitt. A Financial Times report quoted Brailer as saying he was resigning to spend more time with his family. Until a replacement is named, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology will be run by its four directors.
