And, of course, he "became well known for his trademark bow tie and contagious enthusiasm for all things health IT," my colleague Kate Ackerman writes for iHealthBeat, our sister publication.
A couple weeks ago, Kate spoke with Mostashari about his tenure at ONC, touching on everything from his biggest disappointments to his prolific tweeting.
"These are intense jobs, and it's been an intense four years for me in public service that I wouldn't exchange for anything," Mostashari said in the interview. "But I knew that I wouldn't be effective if I stayed another three years to the end of [President Obama's] term."
"Given that," he added, "I thought leaving while things are relatively stable—the organization was in pretty good shape, we're between rulemaking cycles—[and] getting the next national coordinator here at a time when they can really put their stamp on the next stage would be the wise thing to do."
- Mostashari at last month's National Population Health Symposium. The outgoing ONC chief urged attendees to "focus on what kills people." Namely, he said to focus on the "ABCs." Find out what he meant.