Michael Martz, chief information officer at Ohio Valley Health Services and Education Corp., has been invited to join the policy steering committee of the College of Health Information Management Executives.

OVHS&E is the parent company of Ohio Valley Medical Center in Wheeling and East Ohio Regional Hospital in Martins Ferry.

In his new role on the committee, Martz will work with other information technology executives from across the United States to further changes to Meaningful Use Stage 3 of the Healthcare Information initiative.

“Meaningful use” refers to the use of certified electronic health record technology to improve quality, safety, efficiency; engage patients and their families; improve care coordination and public health; and to maintain privacy and security of patient health information.

The goal is that meaningful use compliance will result in better clinical outcomes, improved population health outcomes, increased transparency and efficiency, empowered individuals and more robust research data on health systems.

Meaningful use sets specific objectives that eligible professionals and hospitals must achieve to qualify for Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services incentive programs.

Martz joined the executive team of OVHS&E in September and is leading the organization’s implementation of Meditech 6.1, a new electronic medical record and financial system that provides a single, consistent view of the patient across all settings of care.

The implementation process should be complete in late 2016.

Martz is a graduate of Baldwin-Wallace College and Ohio State University.

He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in business administration. He is a past member of Vantage RHIO CIO Advisory Board, the Ohio Multi-Agency CIO Council and is past co-chair for the Ohio Data Privacy Subcommittee, which coordinates statewide IT security and data privacy initiatives and policy for the state.