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Dr. Dorothy Fink, named acting secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services this week, issued a five-step memorandum to all HHS heads of operating division and staff divisions to curtail outgoing communications through February 1.
Fink, the deputy assistant secretary for women's health and director of the Office on Women's Health, will head the top federal health agency as Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., awaits his confirmation hearing, which is planned for next week.
Board-certified in endocrinology, internal medicine and pediatrics, Fink previously served at the Hospital for Special Surgery and New York Presbyterian Hospital, and on the faculty of Cornell University.
The HHS communications pause requires that divisions within it – such as the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid, the Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy/Office, and 19 other sub-agencies – refrain from sending any document intended for publication to the Office of the Federal Register until it has been reviewed and approved by a presidential appointee, according to a memo originally obtained Tuesday by National Public Radio.
"Please note that the Office of the Executive Secretary withdrew from OFR all documents that had not been published in the Federal Register to allow for such review and approval," Fink noted in the memo.
In addition, the gag order extends to issuing regulations, guidance, notices, grant announcements or general communications including social media and press releases until reviewed and approved. There is also a ban on public-speaking engagements until the event and material is reviewed and approved by a presidential appointee. The agency also must coordinate with the appointee before issuing official correspondence to lawmakers and other public officials.
For any documents or communications required by statute or affecting the agency's health, safety, environmental, financial or national security functions, HHS staff should notify the executive secretary policy coordinator.
"As the new administration considers its plan for managing the federal policy and public communications processes, it is important that the President's appointees and designees have the opportunity to review and approve any regulations, guidance documents and other public documents and communications," Fink said in the memo.
Andrea Fox is senior editor of Healthcare IT News.
Email: afox@himss.org
Healthcare IT News is a HIMSS Media publication.
