BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina

S.C. BlueCross Official Named to Federal Health IT Committee

May 11, 2009

Columbia, S.C. – The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has named Anne Castro, a BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina assistant vice president, to its Health Information Technology (HIT) Standards Committee.

A federal advisory body, the HIT Standards Committee is charged with making recommendations to the National Coordinator on standards, implementation specifications, and certification criteria for the electronic exchange and use of health information.

Castro is chief design architect of BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina’s information systems.

Castro’s appointment was made in an announcement by DHHS of the appointments of members to the Health Information Technology (HIT) Policy Committee and the HIT Standards Committee. The two committees were established by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

Dr. David Blumenthal is the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology at HHS and Chairman of the Policy Committee. "I am confident that these committees will provide valuable insight to help develop important health IT policy in the next few years," he said in a DHHS news release (http://www.hhs.gov/news).

The committees will promote the development and adoption of a nationwide interoperable health information infrastructure, including standards for the secure and private exchange of patient medical information.

Headquartered in Columbia, S.C., BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. The only South Carolina-owned and operated health insurance carrier, BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina and its family of companies include more than 20 subsidiaries involved in health insurance services, U.S. DoD health program and Medicare contracts, and other insurance and employee benefits services.