Dr. Freeman, a nurse in Tennessee, held the position of Assistant Vice President and Epic National Nurse Champion for the Healthcare Corporation of America (HCA) in Nashville, TN. In September 2015 she became the Chief Nursing Officer at the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) in Washington, DC for a two-year term.  Dr. Freeman provides nursing leadership and perspectives for comprehensive initiatives focusing on nursing practice, administration, research, and partnerships in support of Health IT-enabled patient care.  She also serves as a liaison to internal and external communities and provides input and responses to draft legislation and ensures expert nursing opinions and information on key proposals and inquiries.  Dr. Freeman combines her technical background with her interest and knowledge of interdisciplinary collaboration to focus on all aspects of the implementation of enterprise, interdisciplinary electronic health record (EHR) systems and other types of Health IT.  She enjoys facilitating team-building, the creation of interdisciplinary governance and clinical processes, and actively strives to engage the bedside nurse and operational owners in the Health IT development/optimization process.  Her ultimate goal is to enhance care and satisfaction for the clinician and optimize care/outcomes/satisfaction for patients, through the use of Health Information Technology.

Her work at HCA catapulted her career and prepared her for the national coordinator for Health IT appointment. When Rebecca is not facilitating teams and influencing policy, she is working on projects with her Robert Wood Johnson Executive Nurse Fellow colleagues. To learn more about Dr. Freeman and her role, please visit: https://www.healthit.gov/newsroom/rebecca-freeman-phd-rn-pmp