David Brailer surpasses Bush as most powerful person in healthcare for 2004

David Brailer, National Healthcare IT Coordinator, has been voted by readers of Modern Healthcare as the most powerful person in healthcare for 2004.

Brailer, who was appointed as the nation's first healthcare IT coordinator just three months ago, surpassed his boss, President Bush (who dropped from number 1 to 6), to rise to the top of the "100 Most Powerful People in Healthcare" list.

Brailer's top listing indicates a developing consensus -- the future of America's healthcare system is in fact tied to IT. "I feel like I've been standing here, working on the same things for the last 15 years, and the rest of the world has finally caught up," Brailer says with a laugh. "I guess this means that people think healthcare IT is important."

U.S. Senator Bill Frist finished second for the second year in a row; Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton made her first appearance on the list this year in third; Senator Edward Kennedy finished fifth and Democratic Presidential nominee John Kerry finished twelfth.

The complete list of the "100 Most Powerful People in Healthcare" can be found in the August 23 issue of Modern Healthcare or online at modernhealthcare.com.

"IT and patient safety go hand in hand, and this year's ranking picked up on that connection as well as the universally recognized need -- with or without IT's help -- to improve the quality of care provided to patients by hospitals and physicians," said David Burda, editor of Modern Healthcare. More than 9,600 nominations were received for this year's "100 Most Powerful People in Healthcare" ranking. The final ballot was comprised of the top 300 nominees, with more than 178,900 votes being cast to determine the final 100.

Published by Crain Communications, Modern Healthcare delivers the most comprehensive and trusted healthcare news and information in print, online and via email. Modernhealthcare.com, the Daily Dose, Modern Healthcare Alert and our new electronic magazine, Health IT Strategist, each provide news that helps industry executives do their jobs better.