Keeping IT Brief: The Power Perspective

The healthcare sector is ramping up activity regarding its implementation of AI technology. Recently, the American Hospital Association expressed support for a “sector-specific” approach to AI regulations to both mitigate patient risk and allow organizations to harness the potential of these technologies. The following week, the NSA launched the AI Security Center to lead AI security protocols, analyzing its effect on U.S. hospitals and health systems.

As healthcare organizations continue to adopt AI solutions into their operational workflows, it’s imperative that the benefits and risks are thoroughly analyzed, and proper security regulations are in place to protect patient data while providing the highest quality of care available. 

Judy Jiao, Chief Information Officer at National Government Services, an Elevance Health Company
Judy Jiao serves as the Chief Information Officer at National Government Services. She’s leading the organization through a digital transformation based on human-centered design, which is in alignment with the government’s path to modernization. With over 20 years of experience in the health care industry, she’s driven by her passion to help people improve their health conditions. Judy takes pride in providing the best business technology solutions possible to advance the effectiveness and quality of health care. 

National Government Services
For more than 50 years, National Government Services has been empowering federal healthcare agencies to improve lives and communities and deliver care to millions of Americans through outcome-driven innovation. The company helps bridge the technology gap to make IT an enabler of healthcare, not an obstacle to operations. Its core business areas include digital health, providing federal IT solutions and services for healthcare, and business process solutions. This includes its role as a Medicare contractor for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. 

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Is AI gearing up to take over the world?  Today we talk with Art Villanueva the Chief AI/ML Technology Architect at Dell Federal Strategic Programs about the types of AI and what he sees for the future.


Art Villanueva
Chief AI/ML Technology Architect
Dell Federal Strategic Programs
Dr. Art Villanueva is the Chief AI/ML Technology Architect for Dell Technologies’ Federal Strategic Programs where he advises, evangelizes, and molds Dell Federal’s posture in the rapidly evolving world of artificial intelligence.

Prior to Dell, Dr. Villanueva’s experience spanned multiple other industries. In the Defense sector, he served as Chief Architect for billion-dollar programs at Northrop Grumman. In the public transportation arena, he led systems engineering activities for large-scale city-wide transportation systems at Cubic. Dr. Villanueva was a successful entrepreneur, having co-founded two startups in the sustainable energy industry, one now publicly trading on NASDAQ.

Dr. Villanueva is an inventor, holding utility patents and publishing peer-reviewed papers. He holds a D.Eng. degree in Systems Engineering from Colorado State University, specializing in meta-algorithmics for natural language processing, an M.A.S. degree in Architecture-based Enterprise Systems Engineering from UCSD, and a B.S. degree in Applied Mathematics with a Specialization in Computing from UCLA.

Dell Technologies
Dell Technologies is a global technology leader, with a strong commitment to advancing artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) solutions both through internal research and development and strategic partnerships. Leveraging their extensive expertise in hardware, software, and services, Dell Technologies empowers organizations to harness the full potential of AI and ML to solve their most challenging use cases.
 
Dell offers a comprehensive portfolio of AI-ready infrastructure, including powerful servers and storage solutions designed to accelerate AI workloads. Dell also collaborates with leading AI partners, resulting in innovative and tailored solutions for various industries, from healthcare, energy, defense, and virtually any other industry.
 
Dell ensures that customers have access to cutting-edge AI technologies and expertise, enabling them to unlock new insights and drive digital transformation. Their commitment to AI ethics and responsible AI development underscores their dedication to delivering ethical and secure AI implementations in collaboration with their trusted partners.

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As the federal government makes continuous strides toward modernizing health IT programs, such as the federal EHR program, healthcare organizations have become a prime target for cybercriminals given the incredible volume of sensitive data and digitized patient records.
 
At the same time, healthcare agencies must have the ability to share, access and analyze critical data to support projects focused on population health and patient journey or patient experience.
 
Today we talk to Mark Mellott, Executive VP of DOD and VA at iTech AG, to discuss: 

• The essential role cybersecurity strategies play in federal healthcare initiatives and why it's essential for sensitive topics/data. 
• Steps for overcoming barriers in the ability to share healthcare/patient data, such as adopting platform governance structures. 
• How healthcare agencies can effectively modernize without compromising security through a Zero Trust approach. 

Mark Mellott, Executive Vice President of Defense and Veteran Affairs 

Mark Mellott is the Executive Vice President of Defense and Veteran Affairs for iTech AG. He leverages his government, military, and health IT background to help defense agencies streamline operations and create impactful results through modern IT solutions.

Mark retired from the U.S. Army after more than 24 years of service. Additionally, Mark is a Senior Lecturer at Clemson University for the Master of Public Administration Program (MPA). He is published in peer-reviewed academic and professional journals and has presented his work at various conferences and consortia.

iTech AG

Founded in 2008, iTech AG is a technology consulting firm that helps federal, state, local, and private organizations streamline their operations to achieve better, faster, and more predictable results. Using a wide range of innovative solutions, the company modernizes customers’ systems and processes to help them unlock their true potential. iTech AG is the only 8(a) disadvantaged small business that is a ServiceNow Elite Partner, and were recently awarded 8(a) STARS III, a Government Wide Acquisition Contract (GWAC) vehicle with a $50 billion ceiling.

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The DOD’s Defense Healthcare Management System Modernization program, known as DHMSM, is a technology and healthcare transformation project designed to standardize the delivery of healthcare for nearly 10 million service members and their families. DHMSM is a program management office under the Program Executive Office, Defense Healthcare Management Systems (PEO DHMS)

The MHS GENESIS electronic health record system, developed by PEO DHMS and the Leidos Partnership for Defense Health, is a commercial solution that connects inpatient and outpatient medical and dental information, from the point of injury to the military treatment facility, providing a single longitudinal record. DHMSM leads MHS GENESIS deployment.

PEO DHMS and LPDH have now successfully deployed MHS GENESIS to all primary DOD location in the Continual United States (CONUS). The team is now taking additional steps to deploy the system overseas through OCONUS waves in Europe and Asia by the end of 2023, as well as to a joint VA-DOD facility in early 2024.

I’m joined today by Col. Christina Sheets, DHMSM program manager, and Mr. Raymond Okeke, Senior Vice President, and LPDH program manager.

Col. Christina Sheets, DOD Healthcare System Modernization (DHMSM) Program Manager

Col. Christina Sheets of the United States Air Force serves as the program manager for the DOD Healthcare Management System Modernization (DHMSM) program management office. In this role, she provides acquisition leadership and management expertise for deploying the Department of Defense's electronic health record, MHS GENESIS. Col. Sheets is also a practicing dentist.

Raymond Okeke, Senior Vice President, and LPDH program manager at Leidos

Mr. Raymond Okeke currently leads and manages the Leidos Partnership for Defense Health (LPDH) to execute the $4.3B Defense Healthcare Management System Modernization (DHMSM) program. LPDH is a diverse team, with two dozen partner companies and ~5,000 employees dedicated to building, deploying and innovating the MHS GENESIS Electronic Health Record (EHR) system for the Department of Defense (DOD) and other Federal government agencies.

MHS GENESIS, with 60+ system interfaces and over 1,000 workflows, is arguably the world’s largest single, modern EHR system and is transforming the way the DOD provides military and veteran healthcare. Deployed to over 3,000 locations worldwide with more than 160,000 end-users, the system delivers and documents healthcare for nearly 7 million beneficiaries (9.6 million beneficiaries when fully deployed in 2024).

About DHMSM:
DHMSM leads DOD deployment and sustainment activities for MHS GENESIS, the federal sector’s modernized electronic health record. DHMSM is a program management office under Defense Healthcare Management Systems (DHMS); DHMS reports directly to the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment.

About Leidos:
Leidos is a Fortune 500® technology, engineering, and science solutions and services leader working to solve the world's toughest challenges in the defense, intelligence, civil and health markets. Leidos' 46,000 employees support vital missions for government and commercial customers. Headquartered in Reston, Va., Leidos reported annual revenues of approximately $14.4 billion for the fiscal year ended December 30, 2022. For more information, visit www.leidos.com. 

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The Technology Modernization Fund (TMF) announced the latest round of CX investments, and as part of the current funding round, the VA has been awarded $7.4 million to help streamline veterans’ access to health care, disability benefits, and education by digitizing forms.

Today, we speak with Rita Breen of NGS on how IT modernization initiatives such as the digitization of government forms can drastically improve CX and EX at federal health agencies. However, to ensure such initiatives are successful and deliver maximum value for users, it’s imperative to utilize human-centered design (HCD) principles.

 Rita Breen, Agile and Human-Centered Design Practices Director at National Government Services, an Elevance Health Company
In her current position as the Agile and Human Centered Design Practices Director at National Government Services, Rita’s primary goal is to solve mission-critical challenges for federal health customers. She has nearly two decades of project management (PM) experience and has been a part of the National Government Services team since 2018. Rita supports the technical project management and human-centered design teams that drive a customer-centered approach to federal health solutions. She and her team focus on solving major pain points while bolstering quality and improving customer experiences. Rita is truly passionate about identifying the key needs of citizens, setting actionable metrics and striving to meet them with empathy and understanding.

National Government Services
For more than 50 years, National Government Services has been empowering federal healthcare agencies to improve lives and communities and deliver care to millions of Americans through outcome-driven innovation. The company helps bridge the technology gap to make IT an enabler of healthcare, not an obstacle to operations. Its core business areas include digital health, providing federal IT solutions and services for healthcare, and business process solutions. This includes its role as a Medicare contractor for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

Follow the show on your favorite podcast platform, and discover more conversations with the FORUM Media Network at GovForum Podcasts. 

Adopting a CX-focused approach to AI in public health services is crucial for improving healthcare delivery in today's digital world. By harnessing the power of AI and focusing on user needs, government health agencies can drive innovation, improve results, and build a healthcare system that puts the well-being and satisfaction of people front and center. This podcast will help you understand ways to leverage CX when building AI solutions and vise versa and the outcomes achieved by integrating the two.


Rujuta Waknis
REI Director of Solution Engineering
Rujuta Waknis is the Director of Offerings at REI Systems, with over 20 years of experience creating technology products and innovative solutions in public sector domains such as grants management and acquisitions. She is an advocate for the improvement of systems through mindful technology transformation, human centered design, data driven-decision making and AI technology. She has successfully helped modernize numerous enterprise systems for federal agencies over her career. She holds a masters degree in systems engineering from Virginia Tech.

Amanda Thomas
REI Principal Customer Experience
Amanda Thomas is a Principal Customer Experience Designer at REI Systems with over 10 years of experience in product design and media production. Specializing in modernizing and optimizing complex systems, she aims to leverage emerging technologies such as AI and machine learning to enhance product outcomes. With a focus on creating intuitive user experiences, Amanda's expertise lies in transforming the way users interact with digital products.



REI Systems
REI Systems provides reliable, effective, and innovative technology solutions that advance federal, state, local, and nonprofit missions. Our technologists and consultants are passionate about solving complex challenges that impact millions of lives.
 
We take a Mindful Modernization® approach in delivering our application modernization, grants management systems, government data analytics, AI/ML, and advisory services. Mindful Modernization is the REI Way of delivering mission impact by aligning our government customers' strategic objectives to measurable outcomes through people, processes, and technology. Learn more at REIsystems.com.  

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Today we speak with CDC project manager from GDIT Christi Hildebrant on the challenges of taking public health to the future and what she sees as the best paths forward.

Christi Hildebrandt, CDC Project Manager, GDIT 

In her 25 years within the IT consulting, Christi has served in a diverse set of roles across a range of industries. For more than 15 years, Christi worked within public health implementing IT projects and providing technical assistance for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and state, tribal, local, and territorial (STLT) public health. She has experience with software development and product management and has a strong understanding of data, database design, and the use of standards in software development and system integration. She cares deeply about the mission of public health and constantly strives to design and implement public health IT and process solutions that will provide for the greater good.

GDIT

General Dynamics Information Technology delivers the art of the possible to support the most complex government projects. GDIT is on the front lines of health innovation, leading the way with the technology, health systems and science that drive better health. As one of the largest systems integrators for the federal government, our 30,000 employees in 30 countries worldwide provide technical expertise and mission-critical support to ensure today is safe and tomorrow is smarter.

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Today we discuss the data modernization journey with Scott Hutchison, Solutions Architect and David Holmes, PMP, SAFe Agilist, Teradata Certified Master, Vice President of Index Analytics.


Scott Hutchison | Solutions Architect at Index Analytics
Scott Hutchison is an experienced Solutions Architect with a Master's in Data Analytics from Clarkson University Graduate School. An expert in Business Intelligence Application Development, Data Analytics, and Big Data, he manages all aspects of Business Intelligence development to meet clients' needs effectively. Mr. Hutchison has a demonstrated history of producing applications that help fight healthcare fraud and providing expert analytic support to criminal investigators in identifying and developing Medicare and Medicaid fraud cases, several with exposures totaling over $100 million. This experience in high-profile analytics has given him an appreciation for the importance of data governance that produces high-quality, well-modeled data that accurately reflects underlying real-world processes. As a highly skilled programmer, developer, and data scientist, Scott provides guidance on tool and model design, serves as an expert resource for solving complex analysis and coding issues, and employs Agile processes to ensure that he delivers the tools and features that provide the most value to his clients.

David Holmes, PMP, SAFe Agilist, Teradata Certified Master | Vice President of Services at Index Analytics
David Holmes is a highly accomplished PMP certified professional with 30 years of experience in leading and contributing to the success of technology programs. He is a Certified SAFe Agilist and a Teradata Certified Master, with extensive expertise in data warehousing, business intelligence, and data architecture. David is also a recognized expert in the field, with over 20 publications in journals and industry publications, as well as several patents to his name. He has contributed to the success of numerous pre-sales and proposal work for contracts at CMS, USPS, and DOJ, delivering over $1B in revenue, and has provided substantial delivery experience supporting programs for CMS, USPS, CIA, and DoD.

Index Analytics is an award-winning 8(a) certified small business that specializes in providing enterprise solutions to federal government agencies. Since 2012, the company has been delivering high-quality data and application modernization and Salesforce CRM solutions that improve ROI. With expertise in data management and analytics, cloud-based solutions, Agile development, and operational support for highly visible programs across a diverse portfolio, Index brings together business and IT professionals to drive results and boost engagement for federal clients. Visit us at index-analytics.com. 

Follow the show on your favorite podcast platform, and discover more conversations with the FORUM Media Network at GovForum Podcasts. 

On today's Keeping IT Brief, ICF’s Vice President of Digital Transformation, Tahera Zamanzada, shares the importance of bringing an empathy-first approach to human-centered design, and how mission and IT leaders looking to undergo digital modernization can find success in this approach. Tahera will explain the role of “human-centered design” in product development and management, and how it applies in a government context. 

Tahera Zamanzada, Vice President of Digital Transformation at ICF
Tahera has 15 years of experience in helping organizations and federal agencies keep up with a rapidly evolving digital landscape and improve the digital customer experience through the adoption of cloud platforms. As a thought leader and digital advisor, Tahera consults on the challenges surrounding digital transformation, cloud adoption, and technology modernization. She has a passion for multi-cloud strategies, human-centered design, and data transformation.

ICF
ICF is a global advisory and digital services provider with approximately 8,000 full- and part-time employees. Not a typical consultancy, ICF business analysts and policy specialists work hand-in-hand with digital strategists, data scientists and creatives. ICF combines unmatched industry expertise with technology to help organizations solve their most complex challenges. Since 1969, public and private sector clients have worked with ICF to navigate change and shape the future.

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Customers have hit the inflection point on cloud adoption. What are the cloud implementation and optimization aspects that the customers need to be aware of to ensure that they get their return on their investment?  Today we dig into the topic with Raman Bhasker, Technical Director at Index Analytics and Narayana Vallapuneni, Sr. DevSecOps Architect at Index Analytics.


Narayana Vallapuneni| Sr. DevSecOps Architect
Narayana is a highly skilled Senior Solutions Architect at Index Analytics, specializing in Automation, Modernization, Process Improvement, and Cost savings. He has a proven track record of streamlining processes and reducing costs while delivering high-quality solutions that meet and exceed client expectations. He is passionate about security and takes great pride in ensuring that all solutions he designs and delivers are robust, scalable, and secure. He understands the importance of protecting sensitive data and proactively addresses potential vulnerabilities and risks. In addition, he enjoys spending time with his family and watching movies.

Raman Bhasker | Technical Director
Raman Bhasker is a seasoned technology leader with more than 17 years of diverse experience in the information technology industry serving the federal government and the commercial sectors. As a Technical Director at Index Analytics, Raman leads solution implementations, mentors teams, and drives technical maturity across Index's project portfolio. He has led technical solution delivery of several data modernization initiatives, including data strategy, cloud migration, enterprise application integration, and scalable and cost-effective IT systems across several business components within the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Prior to federal government contracting, Raman led IT solution implementations in the commercial healthcare and insurance industries.


 Index Analytics is an award-winning 8(a) certified small business that specializes in providing enterprise solutions to federal government agencies. Since 2012, the company has been delivering high-quality data and application modernization and Salesforce CRM solutions that improve ROI. With expertise in data management and analytics, cloud-based solutions, Agile development, and operational support for highly visible programs across a diverse portfolio, Index brings together business and IT professionals to drive results and boost engagement for federal clients. Visit us at index-analytics.com. 

Follow the show on your favorite podcast platform, and discover more conversations with the FORUM Media Network at GovForum Podcasts.