ONC Chief Nursing Officer headed to IBM

Another key member of the Office of the National Coordinator of Health IT (ONC) has resigned. Judy Murphy, chief nursing officer (CNO) and director of the Office of Clinical Quality and Safety (OCQS), is leaving ONC and will join IBM Healthcare Global Business Services in the role of chief nursing officer. Her last day will be Oct. 17.

Murphy joined ONC in December 2011 and served as deputy national coordinator for programs and policy, led the HITECH funded program offices to achieve key milestones, such as the regional extension centers providing assistance to 150,000 providers and helping 100,000 of them meet the Meaningful Use incentive requirements (exceeding the goal by 150 percent), In a letter to staff, ONC head Karen DeSalvo, MD, MPH, MSc, made the announcement about Murphy. DeSalvo also cited Murphy's efforts to help 1,300 critical access and rural hospitals exceed Meaningful Use goals by 200 percent and grow the Health IT Fellows Program. 

Jon White, MD, director of the health IT portfolio of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, will be on a part-time detail to ONC to serve as interim lead of OCQS and serve as ONC’s acting chief medical officer, reporting to deputy national coordinator Jacob Reider, MD, while ONC searches for permanent staff to fill these positions.