The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services last week named David Blumenthal as the national coordinator for health information technology.

In this newly created position, Blumenthal will lead the Obama administration's planned expansion of electronic health records that will be spurred on by the $19.5 billion in health information technology dollars included in the economic stimulus package approved by Congress last month.

HHS spokeswoman Jenny Backus said in a statement that Blumenthal has "the experience and the vision" to carry out the president's IT plans. He's served as a physician and director of the Institute for Health Policy at The Massachusetts General Hospital/Partners HealthCare System in Boston. He's also been a professor of medicine and health care policy at Harvard Medical School.

Over the years, Blumenthal has become an expert on health information technology, as well as quality management in healthcare and other related issues.

For more on Blumenthal and his new job:
- check out this MarketWatch article