U.S. Department of Health & Human Services
Improving the health, safety, and well-being of America	Frequent Questions Search

Font Size     Print     Download Reader

This is an archive page. The links are no longer being updated.

"When we flood doctors and hospitals with excessive paperwork, patients suffer the consequences," Secretary Thompson said. "This new panel will help us restore common sense to the regulatory process so that Americans can receive higher-quality health care without creating needless hassles for doctors and other health care professionals and businesses. It is important that doctors spend more time with patients and less on paperwork."

The new committee will provide advice and make recommendations to Secretary Thompson for reforming and streamlining the regulatory requirements at HHS agencies, particularly the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which have the greatest regulatory responsibilities. The committee's first meeting is scheduled for Jan. 7 at Providence Hospital in Washington, D.C.

Committee members also will hold field hearings across the country to gather insights from consumers, doctors, health-care providers and businesses. The input gathered at these hearings will help the committee develop recommendations both to change specific regulatory requirements and to develop broader reforms. The committee's goal is to focus on areas where real changes can be made that improve the quality of care provided to large numbers of patients.

The committee will be chaired by Douglas L. Wood, M.D., a practicing cardiologist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. Dr. Wood is a member of both CMS' Practicing Physicians Advisory Council and the Medicare Carrier Advisory Committee in Minnesota. He has worked with the Minnesota Peer Review Organization to improve the quality of care for heart attack patients. He also is a member of the American Medical Association's CPT Advisory Committee.

Today's announcements represent the latest steps in the Secretary's broad initiative to reform the federal regulations and regulatory system that govern health care across the country. In June, Secretary Thompson created a department-wide Task Force on Regulatory Reform to steer an ongoing review of HHS regulations and to oversee changes in regulations. CMS and FDA also are taking a variety of steps with a goal of removing barriers that undermine quality care.

"We will listen carefully to the people affected by our regulations -- including both patients and providers," Secretary Thompson said. "When appropriate, we will change these requirements to make them more effective and efficient, and we will work with the Congress to change specific provisions in the law that may lead to unnecessary and excessive regulatory burdens."

As part of the regulatory reform initiative, HHS is publishing a notice in the Federal Register encouraging people to identify specific HHS regulations and requirements that get in the way of providing quality care and services to patients and how they might be changed to make them more efficient. HHS will use the input received during the 60-day comment period to help guide reform efforts.

In addition, HHS will take comments at www.regreform.hhs.gov, a new Web site featuring information about HHS' regulatory reform efforts. The comments received will all be posted on the Web site, along with information about the committee's activities and related efforts.

With 11 major operating divisions managing more than 300 programs, HHS issues some 200 regulatory actions each year. As part of its charge, the advisory panel will seek broad input and make recommendations for changes in four major areas: health care delivery, health systems operations, the development of pharmaceuticals and other products and biomedical and health services research. The committee includes members who have experience in each of these areas.

The committee members are:

Chairman Douglas L. Wood, M.D., a practicing cardiologist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.

G. Kristin Crosby, M.D., chief medical officer for Sterling Life Insurance and Olympic Health Management Systems in Bellingham, Wash.

Susan Desmond-Hellmann, M.D., chief medical officer of Genentech in San Francisco.

Bruce D. Cummings, chief executive officer of Blue Hill Memorial Hospital in Blue Hill, Maine.

Gary C. Dennis, M.D., chief of neurosurgery at the Howard University College of Medicine in Washington, D.C., and a former member of CMS' Practicing Physicians Advisory Council.

Ronald W. Dollens, president and chief executive officer of Guidant Corp, a medical technology company based in Indianapolis.

Michele M. Evink, a pharmacist and director of pharmacy for Clarke County Hospital in Osceola, Iowa.

Eugene Anthony Fay, vice president of governmental affairs, Province Healthcare Co., Brentwood, Tenn.

John Finan, Jr., president and chief executive officer of the Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System in Baton Rouge, La.

Lisa K. Gigliotti, an attorney who serves as Michigan Gov. John Engler's human services policy coordinator in Lansing, Mich.

Thomas R. Hefty, chairman, president and chief executive officer of the Cobalt Corp. in Milwaukee.

Heidi Margulis, senior vice president for government relations for Humana Inc. in Louisville, Ky.

Mary M. Martin, chairman of the board for The Seniors Coalition in Springfield, Va. Prior to her retirement, she worked for 32 years at HHS.

Stephen H. Martin, a Virginia state senator who represents Colonial Heights and most of Chesterfield County.

Gary S. Mendoza, an attorney with Riordan & Mckinzie in Los Angeles who previously oversaw California's HMO regulations as head of the California Department of Corporations.

Nancy H. Nielsen, M.D., an internist and assistant dean for the State University of New York at Buffalo, School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.

Erik Olsen, a retired health care executive from Glenbrook, Nev., who now serves on the AARP Board of Directors and is a past president of the AARP of Arizona.

Gary B. Redding, the commissioner of Georgia's Department of Community Health, which is responsible for purchasing, planning and regulating health care for the state.

Jack Rovner, a health law attorney and partner and co-chair of the Chicago Health Law Practice Group.

Judith A. Ryan, president and chief executive officer of the Evangelical Lutheran Good Samaritan Society in Sioux Falls, S.D.

Leonard D. Schaeffer, chairman and chief executive officer of Wellpoint Health Networks in Thousand Oaks, CA He previously served as administrator for the Health Care Financing Administration (now CMS) and assistant secretary for management and budget in the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (now HHS).

Patricia Osborne Shafer, a registered nurse and researcher specializing in neurology and epilepsy at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston.

Judith G. Sutherland, president and chief executive officer of the largest home care agency in Colorado, the Visiting Nurse Corp. in Denver.

William Toby Jr., a healthcare consultant in Rockville Centre, N.Y., and a former New York regional administrator and acting administrator for the Health Care Financing Administration (now CMS).

Karen B. Utterback, a registered nurse and vice president of South Mississippi Home Health in Hattiesburg, Miss.

Patricia M. Walden, executive director of the Southington Care Center in Southington, Conn., and a founding member of the Breaking the Bonds Committee organized as part of a statewide initiative to provide restraint-free care to residents of nursing homes.

Kern C. Wildenthal, M.D., president of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, Texas.

###

HHS Home | Questions? | Contacting HHS | Accessibility | Privacy Policy | FOIA | Disclaimers | The White House | USA.gov | Helping America's Youth

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services - 200 Independence Avenue, S.W. - Washington, D.C. 20201