Dr. Gregory N. Larkin, the former global medical director at Eli Lilly and Co., was appointed Indiana’s new health commissioner Wednesday by Gov. Mitch Daniels.

He will replace Dr. Judy Monroe, who is leaving her position March 8 to become deputy director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and director of the CDC’s new Office of State, Tribal, Local and Territorial Support. He will join the health department April 1.

Since retiring from Lilly in 2007, Larkin has been chief medical officer for the Indiana Health Information Exchange, which promotes health information technology for the advancement of patient and community care.

During his 22-year career at Lilly, Larkin was the company’s global medical director, and managed five domestic health care clinics and the company’s domestic employee and retiree health plan.

Larkin, who has undergraduate and medical degrees from Indiana University, operated a family practice in Greencastle from 1975 to 1986, has been a member of the Healthy Indiana Plan task force and served as chairman of the board of the Indianapolis Medical Society and the Indiana Blood Center.