Todd Park: More can, should be done to capture unique EHR safety issues

As Chief Technology Officer at the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, it's Todd Park's job to be excited about innovation. And, as anyone who's seen him speak live can attest, he takes his job very seriously.

"There has never been a better time to be an innovator at the intersection of IT, data, and health care improvement," Park tells FierceHealthIT in an exclusive interview. "Market incentives are beginning to change in the direction of rewarding innovations that improve health, quality, and efficiency, and information is being liberated at multiple levels to help power these innovations. Over the past 18 months, I've talked with literally hundreds of innovators across America who are doing incredible things with data and IT to improve health and care. Many of them aren't yet broadly known--but many will be soon. To paraphrase William Gibson, the future is here, it's just not ubiquitous yet."

Despite his enthusiasm, Park acknowledges there are some very steep challenges ahead for healthcare, particularly with regard to technology. Read on to learn about some of his concerns, as well as his thoughts on being a "public sector entrepreneur."...