I do have to say he did a very good job there and when it was first announced,
all including self wondered how it would play out but it did very well and offered support that was needed as the vendors and REC office all worked together.
Funds are getting near the end at some point as it stands now. Some REC offices were very much out there while others, like the one in the OC where I’m at drug their feet but eventually got moving a bit. The RED offices, unless additional funding is given are slated to close in 2015. BD
This month, someone you probably don't know, but who had a major impact on healthcare IT, will be leaving your employ. And as he leaves office, the major project he built is in danger of disappearing as well.
Mat Kendall steps down March 21 from the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology at HHS. There he has quietly headed the department that created a nationwide network of regional health IT extension centers known as RECs. The RECs are creatures of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
Kendall has been ONC's director of the Office of Provider Adoption Support for 4½ years. Since their inception, the 62 RECs have been Kendall's babies.
The RECs have proven to be quite popular with Modern Healthcare readers, according to our latest health IT survey in which 71% of respondents indicated they wanted to see federal support for the REC .
Amazing what you can do when given a couple of billion? Timing makes sense - he failed to meet the goals of the HITECH act which required that the REC's develop plans for sustainability and self funding. I also imagine the recent GAO report about the problems with quality under the MU program (his shop) along with the on-going investigation into ethics of the no-cost extension given to RECs might account for the timing of his departure. Heard from DC friends he is a bully and his entire team turned over last year. FYI - Not surprised about the ethics questions though - his Dad was both Enron's and Bill Clinton's attorney and sure he will land on his feet as a wealthy beltway bandit.
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