Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine will be relinquishing his role to a soon-to-be elected successor in a few months"but not before setting the stage for the state to maximize its chances for receiving federal health IT stimulus funds.

On Tuesday, Kaine announced the creation of a Health Information Technology Advisory Commission to manage Virginia's pursuit of some $1 billion in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) grant funds earmarked for health information exchange projects, broadband, and other forms of health IT.

"This initiative will ensure that the Commonwealth remains a leader in this area by leveraging the expertise and efforts of our public and private partners," Kaine said.

The commission will be chaired by Marilyn Tavenner, Virginia's secretary of health and human resources and include physicians, privacy experts and technology and insurance executives. Local health IT leaders, including the heads of CareSpark, a regional health information organization (RHIO) in southwest Virginia, and MedVirginia, a health information exchange in Richmond, will also be on the panel.

Kaine's executive order also puts the Virginia Department of Health in charge of the health IT effort within the state. To carry out the assignment, Health Department officials have already created an Office of Health Information Technology, which advise the governor on health IT issues, staff the new commission and ensure its efforts align with other health IT plans in Virginia.

State government officials have previously encouraged a more decentralized, experimental approach to health IT, with the state focused primarily on expanding broadband access and encouraging providers to adopt standards-based software.

Kaine's office has also provided more than $1 million in state health IT grants to the most promising initiatives in each of its eight regions.