WASHINGTON – President-elect Barack Obama has nominated former Sen. Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) to be the next Secretary of Health and Human Services, according to Capitol Hill sources.

The Obama transition team has not formally announced the Daschle nomination, nor have they confirmed the appointment is final, though sources are confirming Daschle has accepted the position.

Daschle was a close adviser to Obama throughout the Illinois Democrat's presidential campaign. It is reported that the Obama transition team has also designated Daschle to serve as the lead healthcare advisor, or healthcare "czar," for the Obama White House.

A number of key healthcare leaders agree with Obama's choice.

"Senator Daschle combines substantive knowledge of the issues with the political acumen necessary to confront the challenges of healthcare reform," said William F. Jessee, MD, president and CEO of the Medical Group Management Association. "He is clearly the right person at the right time to lead the president's team."

Deborah Peel, MD, founder of the PatientPrivacyRights Foundation, said she's hopeful her cause of patient privacy will find a listening ear in Daschle.

"Former Democratic Senator Tom Daschle has a long reputation for listening to all sides and building coalitions to find solutions to difficult problems," she said. "Healthcare reform and healthcare IT are extremely difficult problems, so his approach will be a welcome and much needed change."

"He has both style and real substance," Peel said.

John Halamka, CIO of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, said Daschle has "a deep understanding of the need to increase the value of healthcare in this country by reducing costs and enhancing quality."

Halamka said the increased use of interoperable healthcare information technologies will help the new administration achieve these goals.