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Peter Garrett

Portrait of Peter Garrett

Peter Garrett served as the Director of ONC’s Office of Communications (OCOMM), reporting directly to the Principal Deputy National Coordinator. OCOMM is responsible for overseeing all communications and public affairs on behalf of the National Coordinator. In this role, OCOMM designs, manages and maintains all Web assets, including HealthIT.gov, develops effective, graphically-consistent education materials, works with the news media, coordinates HITECH stakeholder relationships across HHS, and provides guidance and support to ONC’s programs and their grantees. Additionally, OCOMM is ONC’s liaison to the HHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs, Assistant Secretary for Legislation and the Office of Health Reform. All OCOMM’s work is in support of ONC’s mission. Prior to joining ONC in May 2010, Peter was a consultant representing clients on a wide range of health care communications and policy projects. With over 20 years of Washington experience in public service and consulting, Peter’s practice focused on helping organizations and individuals communicate about their public policy issues to decision makers, including public officials and stakeholders. From strategic planning to message development and delivery to implementation, Peter’s role was helping his clients succeed in educating public policy makers about issues that matter. Peter helped his clients develop solutions for putting their issues into a broader context in order to ensure that they were noticed as a priority. His clients included the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation; the Alliance for Community Health Plans, the American Society of Health System Pharmacists; the National Academy of Social Insurance; the National Institutes of Health; George Washington University; and the Academy for Educational Development. Prior to becoming a public affairs consultant, Peter founded GYMR, LLC, a Washington, DC-based public relations firm specializing in health and health policy issues. Peter also served President Clinton in the Department of Health and Human Services, and worked at two large public relations firms, Fleishman Hillard and Porter Novelli. Peter graduated from Bowdoin College with an AB is European History & Western Philosophy.

Peter Garrett's Latest Blog Posts

Better Health Info, Better Health: Announcing ONC’s Certified HIT Mark

Peter Garrett | July 11, 2013

More and more Americans across the country are relying on their doctors and hospitals to provide them with top-quality health care. Health information technology (HIT) makes it possible for health care providers to better manage patient care with secure sharing of health information through technology like electronic health records (EHRs), helping to improve patient care.
ONC is at the forefront of this effort to modernize healthcare, supporting the adoption of certified HIT and the promotion of nationwide health information exchange to improve health care.

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Health IT Buzz Blog Goes Mobile – Accessible Anytime, Anywhere, From Any Digital Device

Peter Garrett | August 21, 2012

Here at ONC, as we promote the use of information technology to improve clinical care, we also want to be responsive to new communications technology developments ourselves. There are new expectations that the federal government should deliver and receive digital information and services anytime, anywhere, and on any device. To help meet these expectations, and build a 21st Century government that works better for the American people, the White House released the Digital Government Strategy.

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