Authors
Dr. Karen B. DeSalvo
Dr. Karen DeSalvo is a physician who has served as a leader through her 20-year career toward improving access to affordable, high quality care for all people with a focus on vulnerable populations through her direct care, medical education and administrative roles. Before coming to the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT, she was the New Orleans Health Commissioner and New Orleans Mayor Mitchell Landrieu’s Senior Health Policy Advisor.
Before joining the Mayor’s administration, Dr. DeSalvo was a professor of medicine and vice dean for community affairs and health policy at Tulane University School of Medicine.
Following Hurricane Katrina, she created an innovative model of neighborhood-based primary care and mental health services for low-income, uninsured and other vulnerable individuals, and was the founder and president of 504HealthNet, a consortium of safety net providers in the New Orleans region.
Dr. DeSalvo served as president of the Louisiana Health Care Quality Forum and the National Association of Chiefs of General Internal Medicine. She has served on the boards of the National Association of County and City Health Officials and the Society of General Internal Medicine.
Dr. DeSalvo was recognized as one of “Women of Excellence in Health Care” by the Louisiana Legislative Women’s Caucus and named a “Children’s Hero” by the Children’s Bureau of New Orleans and Family Service of New Orleans named her as one of their Ten Outstanding Persons. In 2013, Governing Magazine named Dr. DeSalvo one of nine Public Officials of the Year.
She earned her Medical Doctorate and Master’s in Public Health from Tulane University, and Master’s in Clinical Epidemiology from Harvard School of Public Health.
Dr. Karen B. DeSalvo's Latest Blog Posts
Dr. Karen B. DeSalvo | May 16, 2016
We have witnessed dramatic changes in the adoption and use of health information technology (health IT) over the past decade. The nation has transformed from paper-based record keeping into an environment where nearly all of the nation’s hospitals and three-quarters of the nation’s eligible providers are using certified health IT. And from accessible electronic health records to wearable fitness devices and health trackers on smart phones, health IT gives each individual the tools to actively manage their health like never before
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Dr. Karen B. DeSalvo | April 27, 2016
Seven years ago, Congress passed a law to spur the country to digitize the health care experience for Americans and connect doctor’s practices and hospitals, thereby modernizing patient care through the Electronic Health Records (EHRs) Incentive Programs, also known as “Meaningful Use.” Before this shift began, many providers did not have the capital to invest in health information technology and patient information was siloed in paper records. Since then, we have made incredible progress, with nearly all hospitals and three-quarters of doctors using EHRs.
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Dr. Karen B. DeSalvo | March 2, 2016
The great promise of technology is to bring information to our fingertips, connect us to one another, improve our productivity, and create a platform for the next generation of innovations.. Technology, when widely distributed and available, enables providers to improve patient care by distributing information and best practices and leading to better experiences of care for individuals in the health care system. And technology can make a significant difference in the rapidly modernizing Medicaid program.
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Dr. Karen B. DeSalvo | March 1, 2016
As a health care consumer, imagine if you were able to choose a software application (app) to create a secure snapshot of your health information, like pictures that extend over the course of your lifetime. Similarly, imagine as a health care provider if you could find apps uniquely tailored to your specialty or role on the care team and that provide the health information you need in a way that is safe, secure, intuitive, and actionable.
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Dr. Karen B. DeSalvo | February 29, 2016
Today, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) issued its annual report to Congress on health IT progress. Developing this report provided us with an opportunity to reflect on our collective health IT journey and the significance of the past year for HHS and our federal and private partners.
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