HHS gets new acting chief data officer

The Department of Health and Human Services has a new acting chief data officer in Kevin Duvall.

Duvall filled the role in February, according to his LinkedIn, taking over for Perryn Ashmore, CIO of HHS, who had been dual-hatted since September.

Having previously served as deputy CDO of HHS since July, Duvall was instrumental in the release of several key datasets in December showing granular hospital COVID-19 admissions and use, as well as community outcomes.

HHS has gone through its fair share of acting CDOs since the Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act, which took effect in 2019, began requiring all CFO Act agencies to appoint a nonpolitical CDO.

Mona Siddiqui had been CDO within HHS’s Office of the Chief Technology Officer to that point, when then-CIO José Arrieta claimed the departmentwide role for himself in an acting capacity.

Arrieta held both positions through the start of the pandemic before abruptly resigning in August, shortly after overseeing the launch of the system intended to inform the Trump administration’s COVID-19 response: HHS Protect.

Ashmore took over the acting CDO role on August 28 to ensure a seamless transition. His successor, Duvall, has been with HHS since April 2018.