WASHINGTON – Mark Leavitt, MD, announced on Friday he would retire from his role as chairman of the Certification Commission for Health Information Technology on March 31.

According to the board of trustees, a national search for Leavitt's successor has been launched.

"The board accepts Mark's decision with reluctance but appreciates his commitment to overseeing a seamless transition," said H. Stephen Lieber, chairman of the board of trustees and president and CEO of the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS).

"Mark's vision and leadership has been nothing short of remarkable. He has unquestionably been the right leader at the right time, maturing an industry and setting up an adaptive and strong entity ready for the next round of challenges," added Linda Kloss, CCHIT trustee, and CEO of the American Health Information Management Association.

But, times have changed, said Glenn Laffel, Practice Fusion's senior VP, clinical affairs.

According to Laffel, Leavitt seemed to fight the idea "that the EHR community and those it serves can be best served by a group of certification agencies that implement criteria HHS has itself developed, with input from many stakeholders."

John Moore, founder and managing partner of healthcare IT analyst firm Chilmark Research, says the news of Leavitt's departure comes at a "challenging time," particularly with all the changes going on in certification. "With his departure, it will be a challenge to fill his shoes, and CCHIT may simply fade away," Moore said.

"I argue that if CCHIT wants to remain a leader in the field, it still has work to do," said Laffel. "In particular, it must expunge from its board of trustees all members that currently hold positions with EHR companies. Once that's done, CCHIT can be viewed in the marketplace as a fair, unbiased certification organization with much to offer," he said.

Lieber said CCHIT trustee Frank Trembulak, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Geisinger Health System, will chair the search committee for Leavitt's replacement, and that a firm has been retained to conduct the search.

Duties and qualifications for the position will be posted to CCHIT's Web site shortly, he said.

"Having the privilege to launch and lead this volunteer-based, nonprofit organization has been one of the most rewarding and educational experiences of my life," said Leavitt. "Now it is time for me to keep a promise I made to myself and my family when I first took on this role five years ago, knowing that I will leave it in the hands of an exceptional group of volunteers and a highly capable and knowledgeable staff."

Leavitt says he is confident in CCHIT's ability to carry forward in serving the group's mission.

"I don't think it will be difficult for anyone taking (Leavitt's) place," said Justin T. Barnes, vice president of marketing and government affairs at Greenway Medical Technologies. "There are a lot of great thought leaders in our industry that can carry on the momentum," he said.

"It will certainly be a blow to CCHIT, at least initially, to lose Leavitt. But, if they restructure and get good replacement leadership, I think they can stay useful as a certifying entity under the new HHS rules," David Kibbe, MD, senior advisor American Academy of Family Physicians.

HIMSS and AHIMA founded the certification commission in 2004.