PREDICTIVE, RATHER THAN REACTIVE, TECHNOLOGY IS THE KEY TO AN INDIVIDUALIZED CANCER CARE PATHWAY Insight with Philips Articles & FEDHEALTHIT Interviews 2022 WINNER The Great Divide: Win Themes vs. Best Value Tradeoffs Your First Year as a Federal CIO is Behind You, What’s Next? Leading Your Organization to be More Human-Centered: 6 Reasons Why Most Fail Favorable Prognosis for Federal Health IT M&A in 2023 The Magical Mystery Tour of Point-Scoring Bids Executives & Leaders | Winter 2023
H E A LT H On the frontlines of innovation. T E C H N O LO GY | H E A LT H SYST E M S | S C I E N C E gdit.com/health
CONTENTS 6 28 48 PHILIPS JOHN OWENS MARC MARLIN + BRIAN Predictive, Rather Than Reactive, Your First Year as a Federal CIO is TUNNEY Technology is the Key to an Behind You, What’s Next? Favorable Prognosis for Federal Health Individualized Cancer Care Pathway IT M&A in 2023 33 10 EVENT 51 EVENT HIMSS 2022 + Impact Series EVENT Disruptive Tech Summit: Change Communicator of the Year Agents Shifting the Landscape 34 SUZANNE BOYD 52 14 Leading Your Organization to be EVENT EVENT More Human-Centered: 6 Reasons FedHealthIT100 - Hall of Fame Disruptive Tech Summit: Programs Why Most Fail Shifting the Landscape 58 40 EVENT 16 EVENT FedHealthIT100 - 2023 Winners BRIAN HEBBEL Leading for Impact, Women in The Great Divide: Win Theme vs. Best Leadership Awards 68 Value Tradeoffs JOE SALGADO 47 The Magical Mystery Tour of Point- 20 EVENT Scoring Bids EVENT DHITS + Impact Series 2022 FedHealthIT Innovation Awards 74 THANK YOU Corporate Members
CREDITS FedHealthIT Magazine Visit us at FedHealthIT.com PUBLISHER CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Follow us on Twitter FedHealthIT Suzanne Boyd @FedHealthIT and www.fedhealthit.com Brian Hebbel @G2XHealth 8171 Maple Lawn Boulevard Marc Marlin Suite 200 Mercedes Marx Fulton, MD 20759 Joe Salgado Follow us on Sustan Sharer LinkedIn CEO, FEDHEALTHIT Brian Yunney FedHealthIT and Susan Sharer G2Xchange Health OUR THANKS TO EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Martijn Hartjes Copyright © 2022 Amanda Schrauben Reginald Humphries FedHealthIT and G2XHealth John Owens All Rights Reserved. ASSOCIATE EDITORS Laurie Basalyga V8.1 Materials may not be Missy Brandenburg reprinted or republished. Mary Ann Brown Julie Cooper Have a story to share with Jackie Gilbert us? Connect with us: Alexis Keller [email protected] Scott Robinson www.fedhealthit.com Jenny Reed Maureen Stiles Cindy Stallworth ART DIRECTOR Brianna Moyer Disclaimer: Limit of Liabiltiy/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher and authors have used their best efforts in preparing this magazine, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this publication and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by written materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a professional where appropriate. Neither the publisher, nor the authors, shall be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damages, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages. 4 | Wi n te r 2 0 2 32
Follow us @FedHealthIT FedHealthIT Magazine PUBLISHER’S LETTER Susan Sharer CEO, FedHealthIT If I had to pick a word for the year, it would be “Data.” In every corner of our lives, Data is at the forefront, as with Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning, Robotic Process Automation and Cyber Security dotting the vernacular across the Federal and Military Health IT landscape. Each maintains a focus on accelerating IT modernization and digital transformation. However, Data has never more critical or powerful than in the case of Healthcare - lives literally depend on it! In this issue we celebrate and highlight programs, Agencies and Government and industry leaders who push the envelope using these emerging and disruptive technologies to innovate and collaborate, to bridge gaps and continue to drive the missions they undertake. We see that the lynchpin to harnessing the power of Data is collaboration with the heart of that effort resting in the people it serves. Improving outcomes, Healthcare equity and optimal care for everyone are the foundation upon which technology priorities are created. As we look ahead to 2023, there is potential in not only this mass of Data but in the people across the Federal Health IT community who will use that Data to change the way Healthcare is delivered. This occurs through partnerships not only across organizations, but among Federal Agencies, Military Health organizations, and private industry each remaining mission-focused and forward thinking. Our Federal Health IT community continues to be an integral part in connecting those involved in setting the stage for what’s to come! Personally, I can’t wait to see our community ‘Bring It’ once again in 2023! Wi n te r 2 0 2 32 | 5
PHILIPS FedHealthIT Magazine Visit us at FedHealthIT.com Predictive, Rather Than Reactive, Technology is the Key to an Individualized Cancer Care Pathway According to RBC Capital, by 2025 the amount of Healthcare data is expected to grow by 36% per year. We sat down with Martijn Hartjes, Global Business Leader, Clinical Informatics for Philips to uncover the opportunities this rise in data collection can offer. In this interview, Hartjes discusses the path to individualized oncology journeys and the role Government and industry collaboration, informatics and innovation play in improving patient outcomes and experiences. Vital Partnership: Government and Industry effective, there must be interoperability and the ability to share information from across platforms In 2016, then Vice President Joe Biden launched the and devices to ensure accessibility by clinical teams. Cancer Moonshot with the mission of accelerating With a more comprehensive and complete data pool, progress in cancer prevention, diagnosis and advanced analysis tools like artificial intelligence (AI) treatment. The aggressive goal of reducing cancer can also assist in quickly and efficiently supporting death rates by at least 50 percent over the next 25 clinical decision making. For true innovations like years and improving the experience of living with AI-enabled solutions to take hold, they need to and surviving cancer resonated with all of us at integrate into practitioner’s workflows in addition Philips. It is in line with Philips overall purpose of to the daily routine of patients. Therefore, initiatives improving lives, and so immediately we knew that like the Moonshot show great promise as a means of we must be a part of reaching this ambitious goal. removing those barriers. We have a dedicated team that works with the Government on an array of initiatives to provide Transforming the Oncology Patient Journey insight and learn what they are prioritizing in Healthcare. In particular, progress in the early Healthcare technology is always a work in progress; detection of lung cancer has been realized as the it is transforming as we speak. We are continually result of Government, industry and caregivers seeking ways to improve workflows and patient- working together. centered care. To that end, there have been great strides in diagnostic and staging methods by Healthcare has historically been conservative, and improving imaging, identifying biomarkers and oftentimes research shows that new ways of working advancing pathology techniques. This digital and better technology are needed. Unfortunately, transformation opens up the possibility for AI they are repeatedly met with roadblocks to adoption, which can unite this data from multi-disciplinary such as payors not being aligned. This is where the teams to craft the best treatment plan. In this way, Government is so critical – not only in larger efforts AI impacts the entire Healthcare continuum by like with the Moonshot, but also in legislating data augmenting the expertise of Healthcare providers sharing to make these ecosystems come to fruition. and supporting their decision-making, improving Imagine a Veteran, for instance, going to multiple operational efficiency to help Healthcare providers Healthcare facilities amid a cancer journey and how focus on patient care and empowering people to this journey would be improved if each clinician take better care of their health and well-being. AI has had access to that Veteran’s entire medical record. boundless capabilities offering both predictive and This data sharing is critical for getting deeper, more reactive data and insights, such as the likelihood of meaningful insights for patients and for it to be truly patient readmission within 30 days, ways to improve 6 | Winter 2023
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PHILIPS FedHealthIT Magazine Visit us at FedHealthIT.com the precision of radiology and patient population a key role in the area of access to care worldwide. management. For instance, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation helps achieve equity in care for emerging countries. It all comes back to the way we are innovating, creating an ecosystem that is unique to the Looking Ahead industry. It is not enough to build widgets and tools; those widgets need to have relevant and The sad reality is that we will see cancer cases impactful changes to the ways patients are served. rise as a downside of an aging population. The We do this by better understanding every step in good news is that we should see an acceleration in the patient journey and gaining insights into how new techniques as far as diagnosing, staging and and where to improve care delivery, which in turn treatment which will improve the quality of life and improves both care and outcomes. The interface follow-up for cancer patients. The technology exists between departments gives critical insight into the to make radiation and chemotherapy more precise patient experience. That journey mapping and deep and targeted. We almost need a ten-year strategic understanding of the care journey then leads to a plan in conjunction with the Government laying out personalized approach to a complex care pathway. what initiatives to focus on. We want this holistic care approach to lead us to the right choices in Informatics Pivotal in Advancing Care innovation. Cancer diagnosis and treatment cannot occur Now is the time to be predictive in our care rather in a silo; it must involve multiple teams across than reactive. The end goal is to get there as early as multiple departments. Because of this, patients possible because cancer is so complex. For example, often experience a lag from diagnosis to treatment. advances in imaging can give real-time feedback as Creating ways to cut that lag through information to how a tumor is responding to treatment. That data platforms designed to facilitate a more holistic view is specific to the patient and will guide treatment of the patient is the future of oncology. Making the and follow-up protocols. No two people with the shift to enable a connection - not just for data but same type of cancer will have the same experience, for the people behind the care pathway - leads with the goal to make it more personalized to a to collaboration and better care. We also rely on patient’s history, genetics and response. Relying on strategic partnerships across health systems, informatics available along the treatment journey research, universities and private industry to empowers caregivers and patients alike and allows enhance our capabilities and bring new value to us to focus on the most important goal of all: patients and providers through the integration of improving lives. disparate platforms. It is through these partnerships that we are able to truly work together to improve ABOUT MARTIJN HARTJES cancer care. Martijn Hartjes is an experienced Global View Healthcare executive with a professional track record in multiple disciplines of There is definitely more of an opportunity for global the medical device industry. Currently, collaboration with Governments and foundations. he serves as Business Category Leader, The Moonshot could be replicated globally, or Clinical Informatics at Philips. In this role, he is responsible at least serve as a learning experience for other for leading the strategy and further scaling the innovative countries. What we find is that organizations all over solutions that are part of the Clinical Informatics the world that are considered the best of the best in Category: Imaging Clinical Applications and Platforms their niche - whether research or a specific cancer (ICAP), Clinical AI strategy, Digital Pathology, Oncology pathway - can be brought together on a global level. Informatics & Genomics (OIG) and Disease Management Foundations, not necessarily Governments, play Solutions (DMS). 8 | Winter 2023
Follow us @FedHealthIT FedHealthIT Magazine PHILIPS Ad Space Together we can transform healthcare Now more than ever, health systems are rapidly evolving to face new and unprecedented challenges. At Philips, we understand the solution goes beyond delivering technology. It requires responsive collaboration. It requires long-term strategic partnerships. It requires bold new ways of working together to extend how and where care is delivered, to facilitate a better patient experience and to help improve care outcomes. That's why we are working with federal agencies to help transform healthcare for veterans, military members and their families. Together, we make life better. To learn more, visit philips.com/gov Winter 2023 | 9
This award recognizes Federal IT and Consulting leaders from both industry and Government who are working every day to take calculated risks and positively disrupt the Federal market, while having a measurable impact on the culture and the important missions of the organizations they serve. 10 | Winter 2 023
Follow us @FedHealthIT FedHealthIT Magazine EVENT Wi nte r 2 0 2 3 | 11 BEN AMOR, PHD KEN GERSING, MD Lead, Healthcare and Life Sciences, Director of Informatics, Division of Clinical Innovation, National Center for Advancing Palantir Technologies Translational Sciences, MARIA (COQUI) ASPIAZU National Institutes of Health Digital Branch Chief, Office of Communications, Substance Abuse and MATT GRAVISS, PHD Mental Health Services Administration Chief Data Officer, Department of State RICH BACA STEVEN GREENSPAN Chief Data Officer, Marketing and Regulatory Senior Director, ECS Federal Programs, Department of Agriculture POLLY HALL Executive Director, Procurement Innovation ANNE LORD BAILEY Director, Clinical Tech Innovation, Veterans Lab, Department of Homeland Security Health Administration Innovation Ecosystem MIKE HORTON RITA BREEN Chief Data Officer, Agile and HCD Practices Director, Department of Homeland Security National Government Services PAMELA ISOM ROBERT BURGER Director, Artificial Intelligence and Director, Division of Applications Technology Office, Department of Energy Development & Support, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services RAM IYER Chief Data Officer, DONALD BURGESS Food & Drug Administration Deputy Chief Information Officer, Office MARK JUNDA of the Assistant Secretary of Health, Acquisition Advisor, Digital Service Expert, Department of Health & Human Services United States Digital Service MOHAMMED SOHAIL CHAUDHRY Chief Technology Officer, OLEXIY (ALEX) KARAKCHEYEV Food & Drug Administration IT Specialist, Office of Communications, MIKE EDDINGS Substance Abuse and Mental President and Chief Executive Officer, Health Services Administration OptumServe Technology Services, RUPAL LAMORENA OptumServe Managing Director, Technology, ZACH FAIN Accenture Federal Services Senior Vice President of Business Transformation, Signature Performance VIDIT MAJMUDAR Sr. Technical Advisor, Data and Systems RACHEL FUHRMAN Group Center for Medicaid & CHIP Services, Assistant Director, Veterans Benefits Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administration, Department of JAN MILLARD Veterans Affairs Technical Project Manager, Internal Revenue Service ABRAHAM GEORGE Program Manager, Customer Experience BARBARA C. MORTON & Data Science, Office of Information and Deputy Chief Veterans Experience Officer, Technology, Department of Veterans Affairs Veterans Experience Officer, Department of Veterans Affairs
EVENT FedHealthIT Magazine Visit us at FedHealthIT.com LAURA MORTON AUGIE TURANO, PHD Program and Management Analyst Director, Data Migration and Data (Evaluation Data Strategy), Farm Production Syndication, Department of Veterans Affairs and Conservation, DAVE VENNERGRUND Department of Agriculture Vice President, Artificial Intelligence and JASON NEMECEK Data Insights, GDIT National Soil Data Applications Scientist, Natural Resources Conservation Service, RAYMOND WEDGEWORTH Director, Data Analytics and Systems Group, Department of Agriculture Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services MARK PLAUGHER PRESTON WERNTZ Deputy Director, Information Systems Chief Data Officer, Cybersecurity and Group, CCSQ, Centers for Medicare & Infrastructure Security Agency, Medicaid Services Department of Homeland Security AMANDA PURNELL, PHD MICHAEL WHITECAR Director, Data and Analytics Innovation, Chief Operating Officer, Avētus Veterans Health Administration ROBERT WOOD Innovation Ecosystem Chief Information Security Officer and Director of the Information Security and BROCK RAMOS Privacy Group, Centers for Medicare & Technical Project Manager, Office of Research, Applied Analytics and Statistics, Medicaid Services Internal Revenue Service G. NAGESH RAO Chief Information Officer, Bureau of Industry and Security, Department of Commerce DONNA ROY Strategic Advisor, National Security Sector, Guidehouse CHAD SHERIDAN Chief Innovation Officer, NetImpact Strategies DAVID SPIRK Chief Data Officer, Department of Defense MARTIN SWANSON Supervisory Tax Analyst, Internal Revenue Service KATE MAYNOR SWEENEY Section 508 Program Director, Office of Governance, Strategy, and Policy, Office of Enterprise Services, Office of the Chief Information Officer, Office of the Secretary, Department of Health & Human Services 12 | Winter 2 023
From AI and IoT to RPA and APIs and the focus on SECURITY in DevSecOps, emerging technology solutions, products and processes offer opportunities to support the Federal mission and modernization mandate that were unavailable just a few short years ago. The G2Xchange/FedHealthIT Disruptive Tech Awards: Programs Shifting the Landscape recognizes disruptors that are leading and transforming Federal information technology. 14 | Wi nte r 2 0 23
Follow us @FedHealthIT FedHealthIT Magazine EVENT AI & Disability Inclusion Toolkit, Partnership on National COVID Cohort Collaborative (N3C) Employment & Accessible Technology National Institutes of Health Partnership on Employment & Accessible Technology, National Emergency Tele-critical Care Network Office of Disability Employment Policy, (NETCCN) Department of Labor U.S. Army Medical Research & Development Command’s Chronic Conditions Warehouse and Virtual Research (USAMRDC) Telemedicine & Advanced Data Center Technology Research Center Portal Operational Intelligence (POI) Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services ClaimsXM Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Recreation.gov Department of Veterans Affairs Compliance Data Warehouse Knowledge Graph US Forest Service/ US Army Corps of Engineers/ National Park Service/ US Fish and Wildlife Service/ Bureau of Environment (CKGE) Land Management/ Bureau of Reclamation/ National Office of Research, Applied Analytics and Statistics, Archives and Records Administration/ Federal Highway Administration (National Scenic Byways)/ Tennessee Internal Revenue Service Customer Experience (CX) Analytics Solution Valley Authority/ the Smithsonian/ National Oceanic and Office of Research, Applied Analytics and Statistics, Atmospheric Administration/ Bureau of Engraving and Printing Internal Revenue Service RTI Rarity Device Interoperability and Autonomy Coordinating Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Center (DIACC) SEDRIC U.S. Army Telemedicine and Advanced Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Technology Research Center Smart White Cane Fall Prevention Socks National Center for Collaborative Healthcare Innovation, Veterans Health Administration VHA Innovation Ecosystem GioStent Tiberius Office of Discovery, Education, and Affiliate Networks Department of Health & Human Services/ Centers for (DEAN), Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center, Disease Control and Prevention Veterans Health Administration Use of Virtual Reality as a Nonpharmacological HCQIS Infrastructure and Data Support Program Approach within Western North Carolina VA CCSQ-Information Services Group, Centers for Medicare Healthcare System Western North Carolina VA Healthcare System, & Medicaid Services Veterans Health Administration HHS Protect VA eCheckIn Modernization Office of the Chief Technology Officer, Department of Health & Human Services/Centers for Department of Veterans Affairs Disease Control and Prevention Veteran-facing Services Platform (VA.gov) Department of Veterans Affairs ICF Digital Services Center Model Department of Health & Human Services/ Food & Drug VR Utilization at VA Sierra Nevada Health Care System Administration/ Federal Communications Commission/ VA Sierra Nevada Health Care System, Veterans Health Administration Department of State IDDOC Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Light Electronic Action Framework (LEAF) Department of Veterans Affairs Wi nte r 2 0 2 3 | 15
Follow us @FedHealthIT FedHealthIT Magazine HEBBEL I have been retired from Federal Service for five Of recent past studies conducted regarding why years. My time in Government service is now just Government contractors win or lose, the biggest a fleeting memory. However, as these memories contributing factors to a contractor being on the fade, certain aspects of a great divide between losing end of a proposal submission is the wrong Government source selection processes and targeted price. industry proposal solutioning remains divided. As a result, from my perspective, The largest divide I see exists when Government procurements are awarded on a Best Value Tradeoff contractors should always assume basis, yet industry representatives continuously prepare their proposals based on Win Themes. On that their proposal is going to the surface it is easy for contractors to be confused and see little difference between the two. However, be the highest technical score the chasm that exists often makes the difference between contractors winning or losing a contract. and have the highest price. If In the past few months, my company has performed you assume this, you will always a Simulated Technical Evaluation Panel Exercise for industry and for Government Contractor solution your proposal to include Technical Representatives (CORs). We simulate a Government technical evaluation panel process. Best Value Tradeoff attributes. Attendee experience being on a Government Technical Evaluation Panel. When performing this So, what is the difference between Win Theme and at Government Agencies, at the beginning of the Best Value tradeoff? Google notes that, “According COR training exercise, I would ask Government to The Shipley Proposal Guide, “win themes (or CORs if they ever heard of a “Win Theme.” Over major themes) apply to the entire proposal. They dozens of trainees, not one CORs had ever heard of usually tie a single, unique discriminator to a critical a Win Theme. They, however, do know/understand customer need.” In layman’s terms, win themes are Best Value. How can this be? How can it be that statements you make that illustrate why a client industry’s thoughts and perspectives do not match should choose your offering.” It also noted on with how the Government selects contractors? Google that, “It’s important not to have too many win themes in your proposal. The most effective Shipley’s process for creating win themes is based proposals typically focus on between one- and on sound principles. Feature, Proof and Benefit three-win themes. By narrowing the number of win are certainly very good approaches for creating themes in your proposal you can take your time strong proposals. When we do our Simulated developing them, fine-tuning them and creating a Technical Evaluation Panel Training Exercise, we compelling narrative.” use What (what is a strength?), Why (why is it a strength?) and Impact (what is the impact?) to have In my opinion, Best Value Tradeoff is very different panels document which aspects of a proposal are than a Win Theme. A Best Value tradeoff decision a strength, weakness, significant weakness or a is the perceived benefit of merit in the proposal to deficiency. As contractors are doing their solutioning allow a contracting officer to pay a higher cost/ or writing a proposal, they must consider what price. On the Government side of the house, these proposal aspects are their strengths and how can are identified as a strength or significant strength they write the proposal in a way to make it easy for a during the evaluation process. As alluded to earlier, a Government Technical Evaluation Panel (TEP) to pull Best Value tradeoff decision is made if a contractor’s out their strengths. Certainly, sound principles such proposal is rated the highest technical score and as this are sure bets to writing strong proposals. the highest price. If they are the highest technical Winter 2023 | 17
HEBBEL FedHealthIT Magazine Visit us at FedHealthIT.com that the contracting officer will be able to pull-out of the proposal, and document the key aspects of the proposal in the official contract file to support an award to a high tech, high-priced proposal. The larger the dollar differential (not percentage) between your proposal and your competitor’s proposal, the harder it will be for a contracting officer to provide rationale to support this tradeoff analysis. score and the lowest price, it is always a winner, Sure, a Best Value tradeoff factor could be a and a tradeoff does not come into play. Best Value discriminator noted in your proposal as noted by tradeoffs can also come into play if your proposal Shipley, but a Best Value tradeoff discriminator was the lowest technical score and the lowest cost, requires much more thought by thinking like a but that is a point not discussed in this article. contracting officer/source selection official. If you have 40 strengths documented in a proposal, which The FAR 2.101 notes that Best Value is, “The strength will provide the contracting officer (and expected outcome of an acquisition that in the technical evaluation panel) that perceived benefit Government’s estimation, provides the greatest that will merit additional costs along with the overall benefit to the Government.” FAR 15.101-1 (c), rationale? In my opinion, to have a higher chance Tradeoff Process notes that, “This process permits of winning, you must think like the TEP and the tradeoffs among cost or price and non-cost factors contracting officer before you submit your proposal. and allows the Government to accept other than the Your solutioning must include the aspects of your lowest priced proposal. The perceived benefits of proposal that will support a tradeoff analysis. the higher priced proposal shall merit the additional cost, and the rationale for the tradeoffs must be Remember that a Best Value tradeoff is the documented.” Hence, the Best Value tradeoff perceived benefit of the higher priced proposal to decision. merit the additional cost! If you do not know the key strengths or aspects of your proposal that will enable The Best Value tradeoff decision must include a contracting officer to select your company if you aspects of a proposal that will provide rationale are the high tech, high-cost proposal, don’t expect for the contracting officer to select your company, that the contracting officer will be able to find them assuming you are the highest rated technical either. If you don’t, it may not be a happy landing for proposal and the highest cost proposal. Is this all your proposal writing efforts. the thought contractors have when currently solutioning their proposal and creating win theme ABOUT BRIAN HEBBEL discriminators? From what I have seen since my retirement, this is not the case. Brian Hebbel had more than 34 years of Federal contracting experience, prior to What is the best way to provide Best Value tradeoff his retirement in 2017. He was a Senior solutions? Acquisition Official (Group Director) at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Include tradeoff solutions that will reduce risk, add Office of Acquisition and Grants Management. Prior to his value and/or exceed requirements. Careful attention retirement, he was the longest serving contracting official must also be paid to the evaluation criteria so you’re at CMS, provided oversight to three contracting divisions Best Value tradeoff points are in accordance with awarding $1,500,000,000 in contract awards in FY2017. He these criteria. The contractor personnel involved in provides consulting services and unique contract training solutioning and writing your proposal must know to industry. what are the specific aspects of your proposal He is an author of “How to Market & Sell to the U.S. Government, A View from the Inside.” Brian is the President of Bring Acquisition Results to Contractors (BARC). 18 | Wi nte r 2 0 2 3
The 8th Annual FedHealthIT Innovation Awards recognizes and honors the Federal Health technology and consulting community by celebrating programs nominated and selected by their peers for DRIVING INNOVATION and RESULTS across the Department of Veterans Affairs, Military Health, Health & Human Services, and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. 20 | Winter 2 023
Follow us @FedHealthIT FedHealthIT Magazine EVENT CENTERS FOR MEDICARE & MEDICAID SERVICES Appeals and Program Integrity CMS Risk Adjustment Suite of Medicare Shared Savings Program, Support Systems (RASS) Leveraging Data Science in Rulemaking Center for Program Integrity (CPI), Enterprise Systems Solutions Group, AVG/DSPPI, Centers for Medicare & Office of Information Technology, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Medicaid Services Services Predicting Risk of Adult Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Easy Access to System Information Maltreatment (PRAM) at the Services (CMS) Center for Clinical (EASi) Administration for Community Standards and Quality (CCSQ) Data Office of Information Technology, Living (ACL) Analytic Services (DAS) Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Administration for Community Center for Clinical Standards and Living, Centers for Medicare & Quality, Division of Engineering and Services Architecture, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) Medicaid Services Help Desk RADV Intake Process Automation (IPA) Tool Center for Program Integrity (CPI) Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Central Data Abstraction Tool Services Risk Adjustment Data Validation, (CDAT) Center for Program Integrity, Centers Health Plan Management System Center for Program Integrity, Centers – Part D Pricing File Submission for Medicare & Medicaid Services for Medicare & Medicaid Services (HPMS – PDPFS) Retiree Drug Subsidy CMS 1135 Waiver/Flexibility Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Request and Public Health Emergency Inquiry Helpdesk Tool Services Services Center for Clinical Standards and Quality, Centers for Medicare & Infrastructure Hosting and Workplace Intelligence Learning Centralized Connectivity Services Software Optimization Neutralizer Medicaid Services (IHCCS) Program, Rapid Cloud (WILSON) Migration (RCM) Project Office of Financial Management, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Office of Information Technology, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Services Winter 2023 | 21
EVENT FedHealthIT Magazine Visit us at FedHealthIT.com DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS Automating Insider Threat Optum Serve Health Services VA Enterprise Cloud Solutions Response Mobile Health Care Expansion & Office (ECSO), Cloud Operations and Migration Services (COMS) Cybersecurity Operations Center, Innovation Department of Veterans Affairs Department of Veterans Affairs Department of Veterans Affairs ClaimsXM Patient Check-in Experience VA Flagship Mobile App Delivery Operations, Office of Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Information and Community Care, Department of Technology, Department of Veterans Poisson Prediction Model Veterans Affairs Prediction and Service Level Affairs Cloud and Data Science Objective Modeling VA Profile Modernization of Veterans Affairs Office of Information and VA Data Analytics Product Line, Technology, Department of Veterans Financial Service Center Veterans Experience Services Department of Veterans Affairs Affairs Portfolio, Department of Veterans CloudKey/Cloud Support Services Real-Time Suicide Prevention Affairs (CSS) Technology Platform – Suicide VA Supply Chain Management Application Hosting, Cloud, and Prevention Manager (SPM) (SCM) Edge Services, Department of Memphis Health Care System, Department of Veterans Affairs Department of Veterans Affairs Veterans Affairs Revenue Operations Workflow Tool VA’s National Center for Lung Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) Enhancements Cancer Screening (LCS) Transactions Application Suite (TAS) ClaimsXM Office of Information and Veterans Health Administration Department of Veterans Affairs Technology, Department of Veterans Veteran Signals (VSignals) Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) Affairs Department of Veterans Affairs Department of Veterans Affairs Smart White Cane for the Visually Veterans Affairs Community Care The Interoperable VA Impaired Claims Processing System Support Blueprints (i-VA) National Center for Collaborative Community Care, Department of Department of Veterans Affairs Healthcare Innovation, Department Veterans Affairs Long COVID Care at VHA of Veterans Affairs Veterans Benefits Administration Veterans Health Administration – Automated Benefits Delivery Innovation Ecosystem and the Office U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Initiative of the CTO, Department of Veterans National Artificial Intelligence Veterans Benefit Administration, Department of Veterans Affairs Affairs Provider Directory Interoperability Use Case Veterans Data Integration and NEDIIS Federation Enterprise Platform Office of Information and Department of Veterans Affairs Software Product Management, Technology, Department of Veterans Office of Information Technology, Using Robotic Process Automation Department of Veterans Affairs Affairs to Help Veterans Get Benefits Faster Veterans Health Administration Opioid Advisor: Opioid Safety (VHA) Recruitment Marketing and Initiative Veterans Benefits Administration, Department of Veterans Affairs Advertising for VA Careers Veterans Health Administration Department of Veterans Affairs VA Chatbot (ABEL) Government Risk & Compliance, Veterans Legacy Memorial Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Information and Technology, Development, Security & Operations, Department of Veterans Affairs 22 | Winter 2023
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EVENT FedHealthIT Magazine Visit us at FedHealthIT.com DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES Administrative Workflow HELP4U, SAMHSA’s National Research Integrity Database Automation Services at NIH/NCATS Helpline Text Messaging Service Office of Research Integrity, Office Substance Abuse and Mental Health of the Assistant Secretary for Health, National Center for Advancing Services Administration, Department Translational Sciences, National Department of Health & Human of Health & Human Services Services Institutes of Health CDC/ATSDR Contracting Officer’s HHS CARES Scientific Computing Support Representative Community of Assistant Secretary of Services Practice (COR CoP) Administration, Office of the Chief Center for Surveillance, Information Officer, Department of Office of Advanced Molecular Epidemiology, and Laboratory Health & Human Services Detection, National Center for HHS Supply Chain Control Tower Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Services, Centers for Disease Control Assistant Secretary of Preparedness Diseases, Centers for Disease and Prevention and Response/Office of Security, Intelligence and Information Control and Prevention Combination Product Management, Department of Health Postmarketing Safety Reporting Tiberius & Human Services Coordination Operations and (CP PMSR) Dashboard Response Element, Department of Food & Drug Administration Health & Human Services COVID Immunization Tracking and iPOCUS: Intelligent Point-of-Care Reporting System (CIT) Ultrasound Indian Health Service, Department of Department of Health & Human Health & Human Services Services COVID-19 Vaccine Hotline The National Cancer Institute Division of Communication Services, Clinical Proteomic Tumor Analysis Office of the Associate Director of Consortium and Proteomic Data Communication, Centers for Disease Commons Control and Prevention Division of Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis, National Cancer Institute, Expansive and Immersive Virtual Exhibit National Institutes of Health Center for Tobacco Products, Food National COVID Cohort & Drug Administration Collaborative Privacy Preserving FDA CDER Structured Review/ Record Linkage (N3C PPRL) Workflow Management Program National Center for Advancing Office of Strategic Programs, Office Translational Sciences, National of Business Informatics, Division of Business Management Services & Institutes of Health Solutions, Center for Drug Evaluation National Electronic Disease and Research, Food & Drug Surveillance System (NEDSS) Base Administration System (NBS) Development and FDA Data Dashboard Support Office of Regulatory Affairs, Office of Information Systems Deputy Director Public Health Management, Food & Drug Science and Surveillance, Center for Surveillance, Epidemiology, and Administration Laboratory Services, Division of Health Informatics and Surveillance, National Institutes of Health 26 | Wi nte r 2 0 2 3
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Your First Year as a Federal CIO is Behind You What’s Next? 28 | Wi nte r 2 0 23
Follow us @FedHealthIT FedHealthIT Magazine OWENS A year ago, I offered some advice for anyone newly advice. Undoubtedly, you will be launching your appointed as a Federal CIO or deputy CIO. Now it’s own procurement activities going forward and this time to look ahead to year two and beyond. is important to avoiding violations of the law or perceptions of inappropriate procurement behavior. As you move into your second year, you’ve been introduced to procurement, finance and your IT staff Accountability is simply a fact of life for the Federal and their support contractors. You’ve experienced CIO; your best course of action is to continue to the Federal budget planning cycle as the presidential deepen the relationships you have been forming administration has formulated the next fiscal year with other C-level officials in your Agency, and get to budget request. work on the new set of priorities for which you have planned and budgeted. Relationships matter and will Now you are no longer following through on your determine 50% of your success. The other 50% is predecessor’s budget. You are in control, which a balance between spending money and receiving means the authority — and the accountability — are quality on time delivery of goods and services that all yours. propel your organization’s mission and vision. In that first year you probably had to make some Getting to work choices and maybe shift some funds between programs, which always draws scrutiny. This year, As you begin to execute your own agenda, you need you will probably have your first inspector general to develop a thorough awareness of your resources. (IG) investigation. This is normal; in fact, most You need to know the contractors that you have Federal CIOs have more than one investigation available to you, under which contracts and what in their first two years. It’s part of the system of their limitations are. I suggest you take a deep look checks and balances that helps control Government at the last three years of delivery. Evaluate: spending. • Timelines The IG examines IT programs for fraud, waste • Cost overruns and underruns and abuse, which is why a separation • Quality of systems and services delivered between yourself as the deciding official • Number and outcome of helpdesk tickets and the procurement activities is • Security scans and reviews so important to protect you and the Agency. Your procurement Find those contractors that provide outstanding official should be guiding performance for the cost, and work with your you through these procurement department to replace or remediate processes; take their those that are not. Wi nte r 2 0 2 3 | 29
OWENS FedHealthIT Magazine Visit us at FedHealthIT.com Enhancing your workforce schedules can look like mismanagement. Many C-Suite executives hire contractors as independent Don’t forget to invest in your Federal employees. I experts under a business consulting contract to can’t emphasize this enough. One of the reasons independently review and verify program/project many programs in the U.S. Patent and Trademark plans, contracts and deliverables as an internal Office had failed before I became CIO was because audit mechanism. This can help show the IG proper we didn’t have people that understood, operated, stewardship of the expenditure of funds and qualify maintained and wrote software systems and who that the appropriate artifacts are available for review were empowered to exercise their own judgement. if necessary. This provided me piece of mind at a I witnessed the Government team accepting minimal cost, especially for larger programs. deliverables from contractors, but they didn’t really have the expertise to judge whether those Choosing contractors deliverables were up to the standards the Agency wanted. Finding the right contractors that consistently deliver and that will stick with you through the inevitable When you need surgery, you want the person issues with delivery is also very important. This assisting to be qualified, not an auto mechanic, relationship with proper contract and procurement right? If someone delivers a software system, oversight is worth investing in. I cannot tell you the and the accepting individual doesn’t understand number of times during my USPTO tenure that a software nor systems, then there is no control over contractor delivered something with a latent issue the quality of the deliveries. Once the Government or defect and then demanded additional payment accepts the delivery, the onus of future failures or to fix the issue they created. Good companies will quality problems are the responsibility of the CIO. do all they can to meet your needs, and stay right alongside you when things go wrong because You should seriously consider partnership relationships lead to more work. taking a few courses on the Federal Do consider small businesses when choosing Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to contractors, but be careful about how much you understand the laws, accountability expect from them. Small businesses have limited and responsibility of the parties resources and can only deliver so much before associated with the delivery of tapping out their own resources and capabilities. If products and services to the you award a small business $2 million a year, you Government and how to hold all are probably asking more from them than they can parties accountable. deliver. As a CIO, just like in industry, hiring, training and Small businesses cannot afford to have a readily retaining properly educated and informed employees available talent pool that is not earning revenue. is critical for controlling the quality vs. cost of I looked to provide small businesses with work software and systems without costly rework and appropriate to their business size that had plans missed milestone dates. These two items can lead to grow at a reasonable rate or that had strong to IG investigations, as rising costs and lengthening partnerships with large companies that could support growing rapidly to scale. Contract the large businesses for large, complex and costly deliveries because they have the resources and funding to be held accountable and invest in resources when something goes wrong. 30 | Wi nte r 2 0 2 3
Follow us @FedHealthIT FedHealthIT Magazine OWENS Blending your workforce of what you need out of an off-the-shelf secured product, just turn off the old one and go with it. That Hiring contractors has its risks, but hiring new pain of transition cannot be avoided, focus on the employees is not much easier in the Federal people and their change management. Government. The cost of IT talent is high, and often you’ll find that the skill set you needed yesterday As you work toward your IT goals, you will be doesn’t apply today. Combined with a General challenged by custom development and integrations. Service pay scale that is woefully outdated for IT This is unavoidable and I suggest to properly talent cost, you have no choice but to create a manage these activities you need to keep your healthy mix of contractor talent. business plan up to date as a living document. This is a good opportunity to hire a business consultant, As I have said in other articles, low-code/no-code to review your needs and help to assemble and solutions have their place on the IT stack, but review requirements and documentation. This has improper design and implementation of those can be a secondary benefit of providing a second opinion costly and rework can have a huge impact on quality, when that inevitable IG investigation occurs. This cost and schedule. Commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) demonstrates a proper check and balance on your and Government off-the-shelf (GOTS) products can plans and the control expenditure of funding by enable employees with less of an IT background getting a second opinion. to effectively manage and maintain those systems with minimal implementation variances and high Whatever the mix of employees and contractors availability. They cannot solve everything, but they you settle on, it is your challenge to get it right. The can go a long way. worst thing for a CIO is to spend money, go through a procurement and end up with a failure of delivery Where there is real need to build custom systems, wasting millions of dollars with nothing to show for build them. But a lot of stuff can just be purchased it. You can count on that bringing an IG investigation. and now that the Federal Risk and Authorization This will happen to you eventually, so be prepared Management Program (FedRAMP) is more with a defense of your decisions and a demonstrated widespread, certifying cloud-based offerings as safe well-managed program and associated spend with for Federal Agencies, there are even more options. the expected process documentation. I always preach the 80/20 rule: If you can get 80% Wi nte r 2 0 2 3 | 31
OWENS FedHealthIT Magazine Visit us at FedHealthIT.com Securing a legacy All you can do is to continue to develop a strong stewardship of the responsibilities you have and How long will you keep the CIO position? For many, show the value of what you deliver while improving especially for politically-appointed CIOs, two to your Agency’s security posture. three years is a good run. CIOs who are Agency employees can span many more years. I wish all CIO/Deputy CIOs much success. If you know you’re just going to be there for two or ABOUT JOHN B. OWENS II three years, you want to accumulate as many wins as you can that are press-worthy to make a name Prior to joining CGI, Mr. Owens was the for yourself to go get that bigger and better CIO job Chief Information Officer for the U.S. Patent elsewhere. and Trademark Organization (USPTO), where he served from 2008 until 2017. But even if you want to invest yourself longer, having During his tenure, he led the Agency’s a constant stream of success greater than failures adoption of innovative methods for software development, and charting steady progress can be hard. You will including agile and DevOps. encounter obstacles. One of the other C-suite people with whom you’ve cultivated a good relationship CGI Federal Inc. is dedicated to partnering with Federal for three years will leave. A project might go really Agencies to provide solutions for defense, civilian, wrong and bring a lot of scrutiny. You might lose Healthcare and intelligence missions. Founded in 1976, funding you were counting on. It is not an easy CGI is among the largest IT and business consulting job, but strong fortitude and proper planning and services firms in the world. CGI delivers an end-to-end execution can help weather the storm. portfolio of capabilities, from strategic IT and business consulting to systems integration, managed IT and business process services and intellectual property solutions.
RHEEIAMLATHGINE In March, over 40,000 people made their way to Orlando, Florida. For nearly 60 years, the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) members and Healthcare professionals—from CIOs and senior executives to providers and payers to IT consultants and entrepreneurs—have attended this conference. With representation from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Veterans Affairs, the Department of Health & Human Services, and the Defense Health Agency, it’s a premier Health IT event. FedHealthIT hosted a Leading for Impact, Women in Leadership Award Winner’s luncheon this year. Previous winners from Government and industry gathered to collaborate and drive new ideas, build relationships, and gain insight.
Follow us @FedHealthIT FedHealthIT Magazine BOYD Leading Your Organization to be More Human-Centered: 6 Reasons Why Most Fail In my more than 25 years of experience leading human-centered design and customer experience initiatives for Government Agencies and enterprises, I’ve seen organizations that say that they want to become more human-centered, but for lots of reasons they fail. Now more than ever, though, it’s critical that organizations design their programs and websites with the people they serve in mind. Given that trust in the Government is at near historic lows, according to Pew Research Center, it’s no surprise that the White House released an Executive Order on Transforming Federal Customer Experience and Service Delivery that called on Agencies to do better. As Founder and CEO of Anthro-Tech, I’ve been a part of human-centered efforts that have been successful. And I’ve watched while others hit roadblocks that caused them to flounder. It turns out that many of the pitfalls are avoidable – or at least obvious if you know where to look. Borrowing from John P. Kotter’s seminal article, “Leading Change: Why Transformation Efforts Fail,” I will walk through the lessons that can be gleaned from both the success stories and those that have veered off course. Every organization will have missteps and mistakes, but I hope by pointing out common stumbling blocks you can avoid failure and find your footing. Error 1: Not establishing a great enough sense of urgency The number one reason an organization fails in its attempt to transform is because it doesn’t make it widely known that the status quo of not designing with customers’ needs in mind is no longer acceptable. Without a sense of urgency, people will keep doing what is familiar, stalling change efforts before they even get off the ground. For an organization to make the shift to become more human-centered, we need to demonstrate the negative consequences of excluding customers in design processes. As consultants, we initiate a “listening phase” to build the case for change. During this listening phase, we gather data from customers to benchmark their experience and to understand where they struggle to interact with the Agency. We examine the number of calls or customer service requests and calculate the cost of poor customer experience. At the end of our listening Wi nte r 2 0 2 3 | 35
BOYD FedHealthIT Magazine Visit us at FedHealthIT.com phase, we typically show how the customer, and in she pushed to ensure that its website was easy turn the organization, is suffering because service to use and accessible to all. But not all executive delivery and design is not customer centric. champions have as clear of a vision as this one did, as we’re about to see. “When is the urgency rate high enough?” Kotter asks in his article for Harvard Business Review. Error 3: Not having a clear vision (and not His answer is “when about 75% of a company’s communicating it enough) management is honestly convinced that business as usual is totally unacceptable.” Organizations’ efforts to become more human- centered run into trouble when they 1) don’t have The hope is that when we reach that 75% threshold, a clear vision, 2) don’t connect their vision to their that the majority of the managers in the organization mission and 3) don’t communicate their vision understand that business as usual is not sufficient, enough. and unless there is significant change their bottom line will suffer or the organization’s ability to fulfill its As Kotter pointed out, a vision clarifies the direction mission will be inhibited. your organization needs to move. Error 2: Not having an executive champion at The vision must develop a the top compelling picture of how you One of the biggest mistakes I’ve seen – and the one that impacts all the others – is not having an will serve your customers in the executive champion. What often happens is that an initiative is started at the middle layers of the future. Without such a North Star, organization and can’t get the visibility of the leaders who decide on priorities and budgets. In fact, I transformation efforts can quickly have seen transformational efforts where there is a powerful guiding coalition but even they can only spin out of control into unrelated get so far without a champion at the top. projects that do not move the A strong executive champion has the power to greenlight projects – or stop them in their tracks. organization in the right direction. One champion my team and I worked with was met with strong resistance from IT leadership when she The vision also needs to spell out how helping proposed to delay the launch of a website used by your customers succeed furthers your mission. For more than 100,000 people in a day. Because she example, if your mission is to enhance the well-being had aligned so many people to a vision of easy and of people by providing health and human services, accessible customer experience, and because she then having an easy-to-use and accessible website had earned the reputation of a highly respected that helps people understand and apply for benefits leader, she let IT know that she was willing to delay directly supports your mission. Unless you align your the launch in order to do it right. What she wasn’t vision with your mission, you will fail the very people willing to do was lower the bar. For this leader, a your organization claims to serve. successful digital product was not just one that was technically working and delivered on time, but one Even when you have a clear vision and connect your that worked for the people it was meant to serve. vision to your mission, you need to communicate that vision clearly. Employees need to have the vision This organization believed its mission was tied repeated frequently through different channels – to its customer experience and because of that, intranet, videos, town halls, presentations, customer 36 | Winter 2 023
Follow us @FedHealthIT FedHealthIT Magazine BOYD journey maps and through vision statements – to truly digest it. Often an organization will spend months or even years creating a vision and then do one town hall and think their work is done. Repetition is key. Keep hammering home the vision until it’s clear that everyone in the organization understands that this is where you are headed and the importance of doing so. Error 4: Not creating and celebrating small wins You need to be able to show people within your Anthro-Tech researchers conducting interviews at a transit station to organization the fruits of their labor within 12 to 18 better understand customer needs. months or you’re going to lose them. The way to do that is to pick a small project that aligns with your Lastly, we measure engagement points with vision, that you can deliver, so people can celebrate stakeholders - how many minds and hearts a win in a short amount of time. are we touching as we stay the course on our transformation to become a more human-centered My team and I worked with a Federal Agency that organization. wanted to change their website to be more usable, but we knew that effort would take several years. This is a long-term process, but we create several We started by changing the homepage to focus on milestone moments along the way to show that our customers’ top tasks and needs. Within 60 days we efforts are working. were able to test and share metrics that showed that customers were accomplishing more tasks, and Error 5: Letting liaisons stand in for the the organization was getting fewer phone calls and customer complaints. Even though the larger project wasn’t complete, we were able to celebrate a baby step I’ve encountered organizations that say they practice along the way. human-centered design but believe they don’t need to talk directly to the customer. Often, this is because Small wins can also be created by sharing key decision-makers feel they “already understand their milestones that show how customer input is customers.” They talk to them every day. They sell improving the design of your services. Show the to them. They respond to their customer service results and video clips of customer interviews, card requests. And so, when it comes time to design a sort studies or usability studies of prototyped new service or streamline a process, they think “we versions of your new design. At each of these already know everything.” milestones, celebrate customer-driven small wins and metrics such as task completion, customers’ This couldn’t be further from the truth. perception of ease of use or alignment with accessibility standards. Anthro-Tech’s Human-Centered Design Process Wi nte r 2 0 2 3 | 37
BOYD FedHealthIT Magazine Visit us at FedHealthIT.com Very often, our insider knowledge can lead us to this significant change to the way they do business. overlook opportunities for improvement and skim Our warning to him was that many organizations over risks in our designs or processes. The art have purchased a solution that doesn’t work for of implementing change in any organization is customers, forces the organization to make awkward understanding the nuances of how people behave. process changes or requires expensive technology What is the precise moment a customer experiences changes post-launch. Instead, pause and take a a problem? What do they need when? And why? step back. Give yourself room for discovery and What small details trip them up or slow them down? iteration to course-correct, and don’t expect magic What seemingly insignificant features could 10x their to happen. understanding of your services? The way you find the answers to these questions isn’t by guessing or Most importantly, none of these silver bullet options assuming. It’s by observing, listening, testing and can replace the value of talking with your customers, finding out what is working, and what’s not, that we getting their insights on a regular cadence to truly improve the customer experience and evolve our shape your services so they meet the needs of the services. people you’re serving. Error 6: Believing there is a silver bullet In Summary approach Leading your organization to be more human- There are those leaders who believe there is a magic centered is no easy task. Even organizations that solution that will solve all their problems instantly. A are successful at becoming more human-centered training, a new process or an off-the-shelf tool that took a lot of time, effort and human-centered will get their organization to the finish line faster. I design expertise to get there. Understanding where am here to tell you: there are no shortcuts when it organizations go wrong will hopefully help you avoid comes to changing your organization’s processes, the errors that others have made. And, as Kotter mindset and culture to become more human- said, “fewer errors can spell the difference between centered. success and failure.” I understand how leaders get to this breaking point. ABOUT SUZANNE BOYD It usually happens when there is funding pressure, timeline pressure or internal politics that make the Suzanne is the Founder and CEO at organization want to show some kind of result, fast, Anthro-Tech, Inc. As a trusted advisor for even if it is not ultimately what the organization changemakers across the Government, needs. This is usually a symptom of something Suzanne champions human-centered design projects and larger: the leader doesn’t have a clear vision, they demonstrates the impact of putting the people that the are strapped for personnel or they don’t have the Government serves at the center of everything they do. champions - so there’s not enough momentum internally. Anthro-Tech is a human-centered design consultancy focused on Government Agencies, nonprofits and But there is no silver bullet. enterprises with a social impact mission. Over the past 25 years, they have partnered with dozens of organizations to transform how they engage their customers. My team and I recently worked with an organization that wanted to transform the way the business sold physical goods online as well as in stores. This organization’s leader was trying to find (and/or build) a piece of technology based on assumptions about customers, and an incomplete picture of the process and organizational changes needed to make 38 | Wi nte r 2 0 2 3
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The 5th Annual Leading for Impact, Women in Leadership Awards recognizes women creating IMPACT, leading organizations and mission-focused strategic programs across the Federal Civilian, Federal Health and Military Health, Technology and Consulting Community. This award recognizes and celebrates women guiding, mentoring and driving the industry through their impactful leadership; driving technology and business transformation and modernization; and/or driving efforts to initiate the next positive disruption that will truly change how Federal Agencies support their mission. 40 | Winter 2 023
Follow us @FedHealthIT FedHealthIT Magazine EVENT Marybeth Carragher Mary Affeldt Debbie Dean Chief Executive Officer, Senior Vice President, Consulting VP Health Analytics, mPower Incorporated Services, GDIT Royce Allen CGI Federal Keia B. Eaves Director, Enterprise Security Srivasavi Chaganti, MD President & CEO, Architecture, Office of Information Founder, President, and CEO, Olive Branch Innovations Chags Health Information Ariele Faber and Technology, Technology, LLC (C-HIT) Chief Experience Officer, Department of Veterans Affairs Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Meghana Chalasani Beth Angerman Lead Clinical Analyst, CDER, OND, Services Chief Operating Officer, Laura Garrison MetaPhase Consulting Food & Drug Administration Salesforce Deputy Practice Lead, Tina Cheatham Joanie Barr Deputy COO, Octo Chief Technology Officer, Mary Garrison Health Resources & Services Vice President, Children and IntelliBridge Administration Youth Portfolio, Sanja Basaric AI Program Lead, LaShanda Cobbs ICF Department of Health & Human President & CEO, Optum Serve Molly Gatti Preparedness and Emergency Office of Business Integration, Services Chief Solution Delivery, Amber Bellsdale Response Veterans Business Administration Acting Deputy Director Christine Cocrane Division of Enrollment Policy and Senior Vice President, (VBA) Operations, Marketplace Eligibility Management Advisory Services, Pawla Ghaleb and Enrollment Group Center for Founder and CEO, Consumer Information & Insurance LMI PBG Consulting, LLC Oversight (CCIIO), Amy Cohen Yael Harris, PhD Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Program Manager, Chief Executive Officer, Unissant, Inc. Laurel Health Advisors, LLC Services LTC Chani Cordero Megan Hicks Suzanne Boyd Chief Information Officer, Founder & CEO, Brooke Army Medical Center Director, Anthro-Tech Dara Corrigan REI Systems Hannah Bradley Deputy Administrator and Cori Hughes DHA ERMF Program Manager & Director, Center for Program Program Integration Director, DHCRM PMO Civilian Lead, Integrity, Centers for Medicare & Federal Electronic Health Record Naval Information Warfare Center – Medicaid Services Modernization (FEHRM) Office Atlantic, Department of Defense Lee Ann Crochunis Melissa Bryant Director, Applications and PEO Senior Advisor for Strategic Management Group, OIT, Defense Healthcare Engagement, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Management Systems Office of the Secretary, Jennifer Kenney-Smith Department of Veterans Affairs Services Area Sales Manager, Teddra Burgess Faye Curran, PhD Managing Director, Federal Civilian, Program Manager, GitLab Karen Ketchum Google Cognosante Vice President, Data Analytics, Susan Burke Kathrine Dass Sr. Program Director, Chief Delivery Officer, ICF Cognosante Ventech Solutions Wi nte r 2 0 2 3 | 41
EVENT FedHealthIT Magazine Visit us at FedHealthIT.com Jennie Lucca Amy E. Kirby, PhD Helga Rippen, MD, PhD National Wastewater Surveillance Chief Executive Officer, Chief Interoperability Officer, The Children’s Inn at NIH Office of Technical Integration, System Program Lead, Department of Veterans Affairs Centers for Disease Control and Joanne Martin Vice President, Joanna Robbs Prevention DHA CyOC Chief, Naval Darya Kulyk Leidos Information Warfare Center – Sr. Customer Success Manager, Rachel Miller LaunchDarkly Chief of Staff, Atlantic, Colleen Kummet, PhD Department of Defense Data Scientist Consultant, WellHive Kimberly Mingo Shalika Robie, DET GDIT VP Goverment Sales and Business Regional Director of Student Jennifer Kwok Services – KIPP Nashville, Learning ITSM Team Lead, Strategy, National Cancer Institute (NCI) Philips Designer, SR Learning Designs, LLC Danni Liu Kristin Porter Senior Manager, Technology Risk, Partner and VA Account Leader, Suzanne Roosen Director, Resource Planning and EY Guidehouse Lt Col Vikki L. Lopez Laura Prietula Strategic Management, Chief Information Officer, Deputy Chief Information Officer, Office of Food Policy Response, Air Force Medical Service EHRM Integration Office, Department of Veterans Affairs Food & Drug Administration Tracie Loving Jennifer Rosas Director, Office of Organization Tobi Pulley Development and Engagement, Senior Program Director, Vice President of Health Solutions, Visual Connections, LLC EM Key Solutions, Inc. Office of Information and LTC(P) Sharon Rosser Technology, Department of Angela Reddix, PhD Acting Commander, President/Chief Executive Officer, Veterans Affairs A. Reddix and Associates (ARDX) Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research Center (TATRC) 42 | Wi nte r 2 0 2 3
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Follow us @FedHealthIT FedHealthIT Magazine EVENT Leah Siskind Monica Rosser Olivia Trivisani Bowker Chief Growth Officer, Chief of Staff, Digital Service, Founder & CEO, Favor TechConsulting, LLC Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Amivero Nara Um Faith Roy Services Deputy Chief Information Security Lisa Slaughter Deputy Chief Medical Informatics Senior Vice President, Officer, Veterans Health Officer, Office of Information Security, Office of Information and Maximus Administration, Federal Electronic Penni Spriggs Health Record Modernization Technology, Program Manager, (FEHRM) Office Department of Veterans Affairs Kate Wetherby Sierra7 Deputy Director, Marketplace Pam Rubin Sophie Stern IT Group (MITG), Center for Principal, Managing Director, Consumer Information and Booz Allen Hamilton Insurance Oversight (CCIIO), Joni L. Rutter KPMG Marketplace IT Group (MITG), Acting Director, National Center Ling Sukri for Advancing Translational Vice President of Health IT, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Sciences Precise Software Solutions, Inc. Services (NCATS), Rhonda Taylor National Institutes of Health (NIH) CSSP IPT Lead (Acting), Naval Krista Yager Suzanne Shirley Information Warfare Center Chief Digital Officer, Director, Community Engagement (NIWC) - Atlantic, National Government Services and Fellowship, Department of Defense VHA Office of Healthcare Theressa Kim Thomas Diane Yarnell Innovation and Learning Chief Executive Officer, Executive Vice President and Nikita Singh Resolution Think, LLC President & CEO, Chief of Staff, Saliense Consulting GRSi Winter 2023 | 45
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After a hiatus, the Defense Health Information Technology Symposium (DHITS) conference was held in person on August 16-18, 2022. This annual conference provides Government, Military, and industry information technology professionals the opportunity to share knowledge, discuss lessons learned, and hear about new developments within the Military Health System. During the event, FedHealthIT hosted a Leading for Impact: Women in Leadership Award Winner’s luncheon. During an interactive fishbowl conversation, LTC Chani A. Cordero, Chief Information Officer, Brooke Army Medical Center, Lt Col Vikki Lopez, Chief Information Officer, Air Force Medical Service, and CAPT Donna Poulin, Chief, Engineering Solutions Analytics Division, DADIO/J6, Defense Health Agency participated in a discussion with members of the audience. Winter 2 023 | 47
MARLIN/TUNNEY FedHealthIT Magazine Visit us at FedHealthIT.com FAVORABLE PROGNOSIS FOR FE Federal heath continues to be an attractive has long been considered a harbinger of success destination for mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and a “must-have” for large strategics wanting interest across the Government contracting access to the VA’s well-funded, bipartisan-supported landscape. Consistent investment themes dovetail mission dating back to its predecessor award, the with budget priorities with Government as the original T4. As companies look ahead to the eventual payer – Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services follow-on contract (T4NG has an ordering period (CMS), provider – Department of Veterans Affairs that expires in March 2026), the runway for securing (VA)/Defense Health Agency (DHA) and advocate relevant past performance qualifications is rapidly – National Institutes of Health (NIH), Food & Drug shrinking. Administration (FDA) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) with technology front and T4NG’s limited number of unrestricted positions center. As COVID-related priorities move to the has motivated a flurry of M&A activity since its background, emerging and continuing trends initial award in 2016, a trend that continued with command significant M&A interest from corporate the January 2022 announcement of B3 Group’s acquirers, as well as financial sponsors and their acquisition by Octo (Arlington Capital). Multiple joint portfolio companies. ventures (JVs) have also been formed to pursue and secure a spot on T4NG during its on-ramp period. VA Presence Continues to be Priority Area for This increasingly popular approach has also been Acquisition Interest relevant on the acquisition front, as large strategics have formed mentor-protégé JVs to acquire service- M&A activity oriented toward the VA is nothing disabled veteran-owned small business (SDVOSB) new. Its flagship Transformation Twenty-One Total positions under T4NG, thus preserving the set-aside Technology Next Generation (T4NG) contract vehicle distinction while also gaining access to the vehicle. 48 | Winter 2023
Follow us @FedHealthIT FedHealthIT Magazine MARLIN/TUNNEY EDERAL HEALTH IT M&A IN 2023 With approximately 20 million numerous other offices focused on enhancing Veterans, and a mission to serve the health and well-being of all Americans, a these heroes, the VA should strong presence at HHS creates considerable continue to enjoy bipartisan growth avenues. In order to access these growth support, with strong budgets avenues, we have seen continued M&A interest in maintaining its position as a targets that possess select contract vehicles and blanket purchase agreements (BPA) with HHS – of particular note would be companies holding a Chief Information Officer – Solutions and Partners 3 (CIO- SP3) contract, or who are otherwise well-positioned for its successor contract, CIO-SP4. coveted customer and desirable In addition to the right customer/vehicle access, M&A target. technology modernization across the Department remains front and center. Possessing high-end, HHS Access and Ongoing Digital Transformation transformative capabilities is top of mind when Signal Significant Growth Opportunity acquiring or broadening a footprint at HHS. ICF’s July 2022 acquisition of SemanticBits reinforces this Access to Department of Health & Human Services trend, as ICF highlighted the compelling aspects of (HHS) customers is another frequently held desire SemanticBits’ advanced Health IT and data science among buyers and investors. With its 12 operating solutions, leading digital modernization capabilities divisions and an expansive organization spanning and strong position within CMS as driving factors for the acquisition. Wi nte r 2 0 2 3 | 49
MARLIN/TUNNEY FedHealthIT Magazine Visit us at FedHealthIT.com High-end Cybersecurity’s Growing Importance While certainly not an exhaustive list, we believe Among Federal HIT Objectives these three trends are particularly noteworthy in the current Federal Health marketplace. As buyer While technology modernization and digital desires continue to adapt and adjust, the nexus transformation are broadly sought-after capabilities of perceived budget stability and market interest Government-wide, the heightened emphasis of suggests strong Federal Health M&A momentum cybersecurity expertise is another key element into 2023. of recent M&A activity within Federal HIT markets. Early in 2022, Gunnison Consulting ABOUT MARC MARLIN (Blue Delta) acquired CENTERPOINT and its deep pool of highly technical cyber professionals. Marc Marlin is a Managing Director at With CENTERPOINT’s contract portfolio heavily KippsDeSanto & Co., an investment weighted toward comprehensive cyber solutions bank focused on the aerospace/defense, and a customer footprint predominantly focused and Government technology solutions within HHS, Gunnison is increasingly aligned to sectors. Marc has a broad base of experience in providing capitalize on the growing emphasis for embedded transaction advisory services, with a particular focus on cybersecurity solutions within health-focused mergers and acquisitions for professional services and agencies. More recently, ECS announced it had software companies. acquired IronVine Security, another mid-sized company with high-end, holistic cybersecurity ABOUT BRIAN TUNNEY expertise and a flagship contract with CMS. Each of these acquisitions represents an increased focus Brian Tunney is a Director at KippsDeSanto on the value of technology-centric solutions within & Co., an investment bank focused on the Federal Health ecosystem. As CMS and HHS the aerospace/defense, and Government increasingly lean on technology for mission success, technology solutions sectors. Brian has cybersecurity should command increased attention a broad base of experience in providing transaction and budget support and therefore M&A interest as advisory services, with a particular focus on mergers well. and acquisitions for professional services and software companies. 50 | Winter 2 023
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