The 16 commissioners that will comprise the American Health Information Community have been named by Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt.

Leavitt, who will chair the committee, has established the advisory body to take care of matters relating to the creation of interoperable EMRs and a national health information network. Private sector commissioners will include:

• Scott Serota, president and CEO of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association;
• Douglas Henley, MD, executive vice president of the American Academy of Family Physicians;
• Lillee Smith Gelinas, RN, chief nursing officer of VHA Inc.;
• Charles Kahn III, president of the Federation of American Hospitals;
• Nancy Davenport-Ennis, CEO of the National Patient Advocate Foundation;
• Steven Reinemund, CEO and chair of PepsiCo.;
• Kevin Hutchinson, CEO of SureScripts Inc.;
• Craig Barrett, chair of the Computer Systems Policy Project.
• Government representatives commissioners include:
• E. Mitchell Roob, secretary of the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration;
• Mark McClellan, MD, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services;
• Julie Louise Gerberding, MD, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention;
• Jonathan Perlin, MD, under secretary for health in the Department of Veterans Affairs;
• William Winkenwerder, Jr., MD, assistant secretary of defense in the Department of Defense;
• Mark Warshawsky, assistant secretary for economic policy in the Department of Treasury;
• Linda Springer, director of the Office of Personnel Management;
• Michelle O'Neill, acting under secretary for technology in the Department of Commerce.

The American Health Information Community will have its inaugural meeting on Oct. 7 in Washington. More information is available here: www.hhs.gov/healthit.