Respected business and IT strategy consultant and HISA member Paul Cooper has been named as acting director of digital health following the unexpected departure of Victorian Department of Health and Human Services' health sector CIO Andrew Saunders last week.

Dr Cooper, who has a PhD in science from the University of Melbourne through the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research (WEHI) and is an honorary associate professor at Deakin University, is also a Certified Health Informatician Australasia (CHIA).