First class of HHS innovation fellows announced

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced the first class of the HHS External Innovation Fellows. Selected from an applicant pool of more than 100 innovators, the six External Fellows will spend the next six to 12 months working on projects focused on solving critical healthcare problems.

Organizations represented by the fellows include: Microsoft Corporation, Intel, the Louisiana Department of Health and the U.S. Postal Service. The External Fellows were selected based on their expertise and demonstrated ability to innovate. The External Fellows are paired up with HHS internal innovators or “Host Fellows” to establish innovation as a key process and core capability at HHS.

“The HHS Innovation Fellows Program pairs up internal and external innovators to tackle some of the most complex healthcare problems we face,” said Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. “The fellows bring entrepreneurial and innovative expertise that will help revolutionize the way things are done in government.”

The projects and External Fellows are:

• Accelerating clinical quality measures for the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act: The Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT, in partnership with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), would like to develop new clinical quality measures that incorporate information available in EHRs to monitor the impact of the implementation of the HITECH Act and PPACA.
  Mindy Hangsleben, innovator in the Lean Methodology in Portland
• Designing the infrastructure for Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) eligibility: CMS would like to develop an electronic infrastructure that states can integrate to implement the Modified Adjusted Gross Income method for determining eligibility for Medicaid and the CHIP eligibility required under PPACA.
  Zachery Jiwa, healthcare technology executive in Baton Rouge, La.
  Chris Lunt, experienced entrepreneur based in San Francisco
• Building health resilience technology to withstand natural disasters: The Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response of HHS and the Federal Emergency Management Agency in the Department of Homeland Security would like to develop innovative solutions that will allow individuals with access and functional needs to continue to use their durable medical equipment (DME) during prolonged power outages. DME includes medical devices powered by electricity, such as oxygen concentrators, ventilators and IV infusion pumps.
  Frank Sanborn, eCommerce technologist in Seattle
• Devising electronic tracking and transport of the nation’s organ transplant system: The Health Resources and Services Administration would like to revise the existing organ transplantation system to improve identification, labeling, packaging and transport of the nation’s organs for transplantation, and include electronic components for identifying organs and tracking their movement, to minimize the potential for misdirection or other delays in organ transportation and reduce the chance of incorrect transplantation.
  David Cartier, IT supply chain executive in Roswell, Ga.
  Clive Hohberger, applied physicist and barcode and RFID expert in Chicago