News 6/4/18

Top News

In North Carolina, the nearly 100 Mecklenburg Medical Group physicians who have decided to break away from local health system Atrium Health name their new multispecialty physician practice Tryon Medical Partners. After a somewhat contentious legal process, Atrium decided to release the physicians from their non-compete agreements so they can begin practicing independently September 1. TMP plans to start seeing patients at between five and 10 locations just after Labor Day. Its placeholder-like website gives no clues as to what health IT systems the group will use once it opens for business.

Webinars

June 5 (Tuesday) 1:00 ET. “Increase Referrals and Patient Satisfaction with a Smarter ‘Find a Doctor’ Web Search.” Sponsors: Phynd Technologies, Healthwise. Presenters: Joseph H. Schneider, MD, MBA, FAAP, retired SVP/CHIO, Indiana University Health; Keith Belton, VP of marketing, Phynd. A recent survey found that 84 percent of patients check a hospital’s website before booking an appointment. However, ‘Find a Doctor’ search functions often frustrate them because their matching functionality is primitive and the provider’s information is incomplete or outdated. Referring physicians need similarly robust tools to find the right specialist and to send the patient to the right location. Attendees of this webinar will learn how taxonomy-driven Provider Information Management improves patient and referrer satisfaction by intelligently incorporating the provider’s location, insurance coverage, specialty and subspecialty, and services offered that can be searched via patient-friendly terms.

June 12 (Tuesday) 2:00 ET. “Blockchain in Healthcare: Why It Matters.” Sponsor: Quest Diagnostics. Presenter: Lidia Fonseca, CIO, Quest Diagnostics. Blockchain technology is gaining traction in many industries, including healthcare. It’s not only a hot topic, but is also showing promise with real-world applications. This webinar will share how blockchain may play a key role in the future of healthcare IT by helping to solve some of the industry’s challenges, distinguishing the hype from reality by discussing how it works, how it can impact healthcare providers, and its future application in healthcare IT.

June 21 (Thursday) noon ET. “Operationalizing Data Science Models in Healthcare.” Sponsor: CitiusTech. Presenters: Yugal Sharma, PhD, VP of data science, CitiusTech; Vinil Menon, VP of enterprise applications proficiency, CitiusTech. As healthcare organizations are becoming more adept at developing models, building the skills required to manage, validate, and deploy these models efficiently remains a challenging task. We define operationalization as the process of managing, validating, and deploying models within an organization. Several industry best practices, along with frameworks and technology solutions, exist to address this challenge. An understanding of this space and current state of the art is crucial to ensure efficient use and consumption of these models for relevant stakeholders in the organization. This webinar will give an introduction and overview of these key areas, along with examples and case studies to demonstrate the value of various best practices in the healthcare industry.

Previous webinars are on our YouTube channel. Contact Lorre for information.

Announcements and Implementations

Glenwood Systems adds GlaceOffice, a collection of administrative, security, and auditing software, to its GlacePremium EHR, PM, and RCM platform.

Physician’s Computer Company adds online payment capabilities to its patient portal.

Family Health Care Clinic implements TruMed’s AccuVax Vaccine Management System across its facilities in Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi.

Modernizing Medicine company GMed adds mobile capabilities to its EHR for gastroenterologists. The company will rebrand to Modernizing Medicine Gastroenterology later this year.

Acquisitions, Funding, Business, and Stock

Physician-led practice management, consulting, and RCM company Vituity opens an additional office in Leawood, KS and hires 65 staffers. The California-based company rebranded from CEP America in January, bringing its MedAmerica and MedAmerica Billing Services subsidiaries under one umbrella.

Good News Clinics (GA) embarks on a campaign to raise $1 million that will enable it to connect to North Georgia Health System’s Epic software. The free clinic, whose volunteer physicians use Epic at their other healthcare sites, will transition from Practice Fusion and a separate LIS.

People

Adam Feldman (Qualifacts) joins DrCloudEHR vendor EnSoftek as SVP of business development.

Payspan names Kernie Brashier (CaptureRx) CTO.

OCHIN hires Josh Lemieux (Intel) as VP of development and foundation engagement.

Telemedicine

Stratus Video adds remote language interpretation capabilities to its telemedicine video conferencing system.

Seattle-based telemedicine company 98point6 expands its chat-based service area to include Texas.

Other

Hennepin County Medical Center (MN) installs a self-teaching CPR training kiosk in an effort to help people become more comfortable and confident when performing hands-only CPR. The Whack-a-Mole-like kiosk is the state’s first, and dovetails nicely with its effort to ensure that all public high school students become certified in the technique.

InstaMed’s latest payment trends report finds that 65 percent of patients would consider switching physicians for one that offers better payment options. Seventy percent admit to being confused by their medical bills, which is probably why 80 percent wait three weeks before paying them.

Sponsor Updates

• Nordic reports that its score of 98.1 on KLAS’s “HIT Assessment & Strategic Planning 2018” report is the highest of all companies mentioned.

Blog Posts

• Why corporate values fail to resonate (and how to make sure yours do) (Nordic)
• Strong Physician and IT Collaboration Drive Organization Success (Medicomp Systems)

Contacts

Jenn, Mr. H, Lorre

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News 5/30/18

Top News

Membership-based primary care company Qliance Medical Management files for bankruptcy after abruptly shutting its doors last year. The Seattle-based provider launched in 2007 with $33 million in support from investors like Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and venture capitalist Nick Hanauer, both of whom were bought out by CEO Erika Bliss, MD and President Cheryl Kilodavis in 2016. Bliss attributed the closing to lender fraud, though former employees have hinted that money woes were ongoing.

Bliss has gone on to open nearby Equinox Primary Care, a similarly-modeled company that is listed among Qliance’s 100-plus creditors.

Webinars

June 5 (Tuesday) 1:00 ET. “Increase Referrals and Patient Satisfaction with a Smarter ‘Find a Doctor’ Web Search.” Sponsors: Phynd Technologies, Healthwise. Presenters: Joseph H. Schneider, MD, MBA, FAAP, retired SVP/CHIO, Indiana University Health; Keith Belton, VP of marketing, Phynd. A recent survey found that 84 percent of patients check a hospital’s website before booking an appointment. However, ‘Find a Doctor’ search functions often frustrate them because their matching functionality is primitive and the provider’s information is incomplete or outdated. Referring physicians need similarly robust tools to find the right specialist and to send the patient to the right location. Attendees of this webinar will learn how taxonomy-driven Provider Information Management improves patient and referrer satisfaction by intelligently incorporating the provider’s location, insurance coverage, specialty and subspecialty, and services offered that can be searched via patient-friendly terms.

June 12 (Tuesday) 2:00 ET. “Blockchain in Healthcare: Why It Matters.” Sponsor: Quest Diagnostics. Presenter: Lidia Fonseca, CIO, Quest Diagnostics. Blockchain technology is gaining traction in many industries, including healthcare. It’s not only a hot topic, but is also showing promise with real-world applications. This webinar will share how blockchain may play a key role in the future of healthcare IT by helping to solve some of the industry’s challenges, distinguishing the hype from reality by discussing how it works, how it can impact healthcare providers, and its future application in healthcare IT.

June 21 (Thursday) noon ET. “Operationalizing Data Science Models in Healthcare.” Sponsor: CitiusTech. Presenters: Yugal Sharma, PhD, VP of data science, CitiusTech; Vinil Menon, VP of enterprise applications proficiency, CitiusTech. As healthcare organizations are becoming more adept at developing models, building the skills required to manage, validate, and deploy these models efficiently remains a challenging task. We define operationalization as the process of managing, validating, and deploying models within an organization. Several industry best practices, along with frameworks and technology solutions, exist to address this challenge. An understanding of this space and current state of the art is crucial to ensure efficient use and consumption of these models for relevant stakeholders in the organization. This webinar will give an introduction and overview of these key areas, along with examples and case studies to demonstrate the value of various best practices in the healthcare industry.

Be sure to check out the recording of last week’s webinar, “Converting Consumers Into Patients: Strategies for Creating Engaging Digital Experiences People Demand.”

Additional previous webinars are on our YouTube channel. Contact Lorre for information.

Announcements and Implementations

Pompano Beach, FL-based CentralReach – an EHR and practice management company focused on therapy and applied behavioral analysis providers – acquires State College, PA-based behavior change analytics vendor Chartlytics.

PulseMD Urgent Care (NY) replaces its e-faxing system with medical record sharing and tracking software from Medsender at its five locations.

San Diego-based FQHC San Ysidro Health selects Medicare and Medicaid insurance verification, enrollment, and appointment reminder technology from PointCare.

Delaware Health Information Network will work with Danio Diary, a consumer health record and app company, to offer Delaware residents a free personal health record that leverages DHIN data-sharing capabilities.

Urologist Kiritkumar Pandya, MD becomes the first member of OneHealth New Jersey, an HIE launched in January by the Medical Society of New Jersey.

People

E-consult and health IT company AristaMD names consultant and former VA telemedicine implementation expert Adam Darkins chief strategy officer.

Acquisitions, Funding, Business, and Stock

Denver-based SonderMind raises $2.5 million in a financing round led by Kickstart Seed Fund. The company has developed a Web-based tool that matches patients with best-fit behavioral health providers in its network of clinics, and ensures patient care is covered by insurance.

Government and Politics

The FDA announces an innovation challenge to encourage developers to create medical devices, including digital health tools, that will help detect, treat, and prevent opioid addiction.

Telemedicine

The local paper looks at the unique business model of Refine Acne Clinics, a brick-and-mortar dermatology practice that relies heavily on telemedicine consults. Launched in March by Barry LaBine, MD and his son, Sam, the practice sees new patients initially via virtual consult, then brings them in for in-person follow-ups. Sabine has been able to cut the wait time down for new patient appointments from six months to several days.

Portland-based health information network OCHIN will offer virtual consult and specialist referral services from Safety Net Connect and RubiconMD to its Epic and NextGen end users.

Research and Innovation

An analysis in Health Affairs finds that 502 primary care practices participating in the Medicare-focused Comprehensive Primary Care Initiative have seen improved care access, management for high-risk patients, and care coordination; and reduced ED visits.  Despite those metrics, they were not able to reduce spending enough to cover associated expenses.

Other

Joon Song, MD of New York Robotic Gynecology & Women’s Health sues patient Michelle Levine for $1 million in damages plus legal fees after she posted negative reviews on Healthgrades, Yelp, and Zocdoc. Song’s suit contends that Levine’s reviews, which referenced “poor and crooked” billing-related business practices, amount to defamation and libel, both of which have caused emotional distress. Levine took the reviews down after the lawsuit was filed, and says she has spent $20,000 so far in legal fees.

In my efforts to totally unplug over the long Memorial Day weekend, I missed the initial onslaught of GDPR-related email communications from the thankfully small amount of vendors I receive marketing info from. I suppose I didn’t realize just how far-reaching the EU-focused data protection policy would reach. I laughed out loud when I read the email above from one of my favorite comedians – more because two of my  interests (cybersecurity and comedy) had collided in a totally random way than because of the content. I hope he appreciates that his missive got a laugh, unintended though it may have been.

Sponsor Updates

• Aprima will exhibit at the Association Professional Sleep Societies Annual Meeting June 4-6 in Baltimore.

Blog Posts

• Best Practices to Improve Patient Payments (AdvancedMD)
• Developing a Quality & Patient Safety (QPS) Program (Culbert Healthcare Solutions)

Contacts

Jenn, Mr. H, Lorre

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From the Consultant’s Corner 5/23/18

Single Billing Office Planning & Design
By Brad Boyd

Brad Boyd is president of Culbert Healthcare Solutions in Woburn, MA.

Consolidating professional and hospital revenue cycle functions into a centralized Single Billing Office structure presents several benefits. The most significant include:

• Enhanced patient experience through the reduction in statements and simplification of customer service.
• Reduction in statement costs.
• Improved self-pay collection performance.
• Staffing and operational efficiencies.

The ability to capitalize on these benefits is largely dependent on an organization’s ability to manage risk associated with organizational change. An effective planning and design framework involves three separate but integrated planning activity components.

The first step is for an organization to conduct an SBO risk and readiness assessment. Based on the findings of this analysis, an organization is better prepared to determine the scope of their initial SBO capabilities. This is known as the SBO design. For many organizations, SBO represents the consolidation of patient statements and the centralization of customer service operations. Professional and hospital billing teams remain separated, with two separate leadership teams, typically reporting up to one revenue cycle executive representing the health system.

At the other end of the centralization spectrum, some organizations fully integrate their billing teams into one cohesive entity responsible for claims submission, denial management, A/R management, revenue integrity, self-pay, and customer service. This involves a greater degree of transformation – the benefits and risks of which need to be fully understood and planned for in the design process. The final step, the SBO implementation roadmap, coordinates all implementation tasks into a comprehensive execution plan.

The intent of this post is to share lessons learned and highlight tactics that have assisted organizations in effectively aligning their SBO initiative with the strategic goals of their institutions. A thorough planning process is necessary to effectively mitigate the various risks in order to enhance both patient satisfaction and financial performance.

What follows is a best-practice approach for successful SBO planning and design.

Step 1: SBO Risk & Readiness Assessment

The goal of an SBO risk and readiness assessment is to clearly identify and understand the variances, or gaps, between professional and hospital revenue cycle operations. These gaps must be addressed to diminish disruptive change and decrease risks to ensure a successful transformation effort.

There are four key risk areas to assess and evaluate:

1. People: R the current state of hospital and professional billing team sizes, structure, job descriptions, compensation plans, and competencies to support current operations and future-state SBO requirements.
2. Process: Review of processes, policies, and procedures related to hospital and professional billing operations.
3. Technology: Conduct a high-level review of the system build that supports self-pay management and customer service (i.e., workqueue design, clearinghouse capabilities, real-time eligibility, including propensity to pay and payment estimation tools), and any additional third-party solutions supporting the organization’s revenue cycle systems.
4. Culture: Conduct a cultural assessment to determine the organization’s ability to adapt to change.

The risk and readiness assessment should result in a formal document that includes the following:

A. Current-state assessment of professional and hospital billing operations:

• Revenue cycle-related policies and procedures (small balance write-offs, payment plans, partial payment allocation methodologies, GL reconciliation, etc.).
• Job descriptions including compensation plans, staff management structure, staffing levels, and competency.
• Self-pay related workflows – particularly as it relates to the POS collection initiative. Examples might include pre-arrival, financial clearance, calculated patient cost sharing obligations prior to patient arrival, and notifying patient in advanced patient notifications by front office staff. These activities align with overall revenue cycle operations. They also align with new system POS collection policies and the executive vision and goals.
• Billing system setup and functionality to support self-pay management including workqueue design, account prioritization algorithm, clearinghouse capabilities, and real-time eligibility, including propensity to pay and payment estimation tools.
• Customer service operations (i.e., hours of operation, telephony, third-party technologies, etc.).
• Banking relationships and lock-box structure.
• Use of third-party collection vendors.
• Statement design.
• High-level review of other billing and A/R management workflows.

B. Gap analysis to evaluate the degree of variance between policies, procedures, workflows, and staffing structures between professional and hospital billing operations.

C. Risk and readiness assessment.

Step 2: SBO Design

After completing a review of the current state and completing the risk and readiness assessment, the next step is to develop a recommended future-state organizational SBO structure. This will include key design recommendations related to the following areas:

• Governance.
• Scope of services to implement at SBO module go-live.
• Statement design.
• Partial payment allocation methodology.
• Standardized policies and procedures.
• Workflows.
• Staff productivity levels.
• Reporting.

Most organizations enter the SBO planning process with one of two principle definitions of SBO – centralized self-pay management and customer service, or truly integrated hospital and professional billing operations. Both approaches provide benefits and risks. Many health systems have taken an incremental approach to SBO consolidation, initially focused around self-pay and customer service centralization. However, the risk and readiness assessment is a valuable process for organizations to make initial SBO design decisions that lay the foundation and provide the flexibility for future consolation and centralization opportunities.

Step 3: SBO Implementation Road Map

The implementation roadmap should include major tasks and milestones, resource requirements, and timeline. It should incorporate the following areas:

• Internal and external communications strategies.
• Staffing levels and management structure.
• Technology configuration (revenue cycle systems, telephony, third party tools).
• Integrated test plan.
• Training strategy and user proficiency requirements.
• Change management program.

Medical Group Considerations

The benefits of an SBO are real, particularly improvements to the patient experience and self-pay yield. The major concern of medical group leadership and physicians involves partial patient payments, including point of service patient payments collected within a physician practice, being applied to larger hospital balances. An effective SBO design process mitigates these concerns through the establishment of effective governance, and by designing a partial payment allocation methodology that incentivizes the collection of patient balances within physician practices. Typically, the location which collects the cash receives full credit for that payment before any funds are allocated to other balances. Not only does this incentivize practices to collect patient responsibility at the time of service, but it is also an effective tactic for alleviating the loss of autonomy over an increasingly expanding portion of the overall revenue cycle.

Contacts

Jenn, Mr. H, Lorre

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News 5/23/18

Top News

Health IT reseller and consulting company DAS Health raises $6 million to further its acquisition strategy. The Tampa, FL-based company has bought five companies in the last three years, including EMDs reseller Integra IT Solutions.

Webinars

May 24 (Thursday) 1:00 ET. “Converting Consumers into Patients: Strategies for Creating Engaging Digital Experiences People Demand.” Sponsor: Healthwise. Presenters: Antonia Chappell, director of consumer solutions, Healthwise; Josh Schlaich, senior product manager, Healthwise. Nearly three-quarters of US adults use a digital channel to manage their health and the internet to track down health information. It’s clear that consumers have come to expect online interactions as an integral part of their overall patient experience. In fact, the Internet may be the first way people come in contact with your organization. They have more choice than ever on where to get healthcare services, and their decisions are increasingly influenced by how well organizations connect with them in the digital space. This webinar will show you how to create engaging digital and web experiences that convert casual consumers into patients and keep them satisfied throughout their entire patient journey.

June 5 (Tuesday) 1:00 ET. “Increase Referrals and Patient Satisfaction with a Smarter ‘Find a Doctor’ Web Search.” Sponsors: Phynd Technologies, Healthwise. Presenters: Joseph H. Schneider, MD, MBA, FAAP, retired SVP/CHIO, Indiana University Health; Keith Belton, VP of marketing, Phynd. A recent survey found that 84 percent of patients check a hospital’s website before booking an appointment. However, ‘Find a Doctor’ search functions often frustrate them because their matching functionality is primitive and the provider’s information is incomplete or outdated. Referring physicians need similarly robust tools to find the right specialist and to send the patient to the right location. Attendees of this webinar will learn how taxonomy-driven Provider Information Management improves patient and referrer satisfaction by intelligently incorporating the provider’s location, insurance coverage, specialty and subspecialty, and services offered that can be searched via patient-friendly terms.

Previous webinars are on our YouTube channel. Contact Lorre for information.

Announcements and Implementations

Kareo develops analytics tools for billing professionals.

AdvancedMD adds appointment reminder capabilities to its new cloud-based suite of clinical, financial, and patient engagement software.

In New York, the Adirondack Health Institute will use social services-focused care coordination technology from Unite Us in the management of the Performing Provider System it runs as part of the state’s Delivery System Reform Incentive Payment Program.

Acquisitions, Funding, Business, and Stock

Healthy founders equal healthy returns: Alpha Bridge Ventures wants to invest in promising companies and the health of their CEOs. As a condition of funding, the fairly new San Francisco-based venture capital firm will allocate up to $50,000 in services that CEOs must use to stay on top of their health and wellness. The company’s ultimate goal is zero-percent founder burnout rate by 2022.

Government and Politics

ONC announces the Easy EHR Issue Reporting Challenge to entice developers to create apps that will help users identify, record, and report potential health IT safety issues in real time. Winning entries, due October 15, will receive up to $80,000 in prizes.

Telemedicine

Former President Jimmy Carter and wife Rosalynn meet with representatives from the Global Partnership for Telehealth and Mercer University School of Medicine in his hometown of Plains, GA to discuss bringing a virtual consult-based clinic to the town.

TeleWellnessMD adds text alerts to its virtual wellness services.

Other

Allied Physicians of Michiana (IN) remains mum on whether or not it paid a ransom after experiencing a SamSam cyberattack that shut down its network last week.

Sponsor Updates

• CompuGroup Medical will exhibit at COLA – Symposium for Clinical Laboratories May 30-June 2 in Miami.

Blog Posts

• The Calm After the Storm (AdvancedMD)

Contacts

Jenn, Mr. H, Lorre

More news: HIStalk.

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News 5/21/18

Top News

Local healthcare leaders consider the breakaway of 100 Mecklenburg Medical Group physicians from Atrium Health (NC) as the start of a small but growing trend of physician groups becoming frustrated with hospital employment and opting instead for independence. The former Atrium-affiliated physicians claimed they had no wiggle room to refer patients outside of the health system’s network, and ultimately opted for a somewhat high-profile lawsuit against Atrium after contract changes reduced their compensation and RN staffing levels, and added a 30-mile radius non-compete clause.

Research from Black Book also confirms the trend: Providers working for independent or physician-led organizations increased from 67 to 72 percent between 2016 and 2017, reversing a six-year decline. The research company’s latest analysis has also found that 68 percent of physician groups of 10 or more will seek outside financial and clinical help to transition to value-based care business models by Q2 of next year.

Webinars

May 24 (Thursday) 1:00 ET. “Converting Consumers into Patients: Strategies for Creating Engaging Digital Experiences People Demand.” Sponsor: Healthwise. Presenters: Antonia Chappell, director of consumer solutions, Healthwise; Josh Schlaich, senior product manager, Healthwise. Nearly three-quarters of US adults use a digital channel to manage their health and the internet to track down health information. It’s clear that consumers have come to expect online interactions as an integral part of their overall patient experience. In fact, the Internet may be the first way people come in contact with your organization. They have more choice than ever on where to get healthcare services, and their decisions are increasingly influenced by how well organizations connect with them in the digital space. This webinar will show you how to create engaging digital and web experiences that convert casual consumers into patients and keep them satisfied throughout their entire patient journey.

June 5 (Tuesday) 1:00 ET. “Increase Referrals and Patient Satisfaction with a Smarter ‘Find a Doctor’ Web Search.” Sponsors: Phynd Technologies, Healthwise. Presenters: Joseph H. Schneider, MD, MBA, FAAP, retired SVP/CHIO, Indiana University Health; Keith Belton, VP of marketing, Phynd. A recent survey found that 84 percent of patients check a hospital’s website before booking an appointment. However, ‘Find a Doctor’ search functions often frustrate them because their matching functionality is primitive and the provider’s information is incomplete or outdated. Referring physicians need similarly robust tools to find the right specialist and to send the patient to the right location. Attendees of this webinar will learn how taxonomy-driven Provider Information Management improves patient and referrer satisfaction by intelligently incorporating the provider’s location, insurance coverage, specialty and subspecialty, and services offered that can be searched via patient-friendly terms.

Check out the recording of last week’s webinar titled “You Think You Might Want to Be a Consultant?” with Frank Poggio.  Additional previous webinars are on our YouTube channel. Contact Lorre for information.

Telemedicine

Ambulatory management company Nobilis Health will add telemedicine services at its 30 facilities in Texas and Arizona.

Therachat adds EHR data exporting-capabilities to its mental health-focused app.

New York City-based eye car telemedicine startup SimpleContacts raises $16 million, bringing total funding to $26 million.

The Washington Post highlights the ways in which mental health professionals and dieticians are using telemedicine to help patients with eating disorders successfully navigate trips to the grocery store. “Grocery store therapy” (also known as exposure therapy) aided by video conference tech like FaceTime has been found to significantly reduce eating disorder symptoms, according to a recent Stanford University study.

Other

I almost laughed out loud when my dental hygienist handed me this slip of paper at the end of an appointment last week and asked me to leave a (presumably) positive review. Note to providers: Patients you’ve kept waiting 35 minutes beyond their scheduled appointment time aren’t the best ones to ask.

Jeremy Topin, MD recounts the steady drip, drip, drip of “subtle and insidious” burnout that led him to cut back hours and ultimately work part time.

“As I adjust to my new normal, I am also adjusting my sense of self. Before, I was a partner in a successful though crazy busy practice, providing for myself and my employees. I was a teammate with seven other doctors, taking on challenges as they came. But now that I am no longer that partner, that provider, that teammate, did I fail?

I don’t think so, but that’s something I am still processing.

And as I do, I am enjoying being a parent taking my kids on college visits. I am applying to study health policy and management at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, where I hope to start next January. I am a high school water polo coach, working with an amazing bunch of teenagers, and a goalie for my master’s team. I am a triathlete training for another Ironman this fall. I am a husband celebrating and tackling these midlife challenges, together with my wife.

And I am a part-time doctor who still loves the challenge and privilege of taking care of patients when they are at their sickest and most vulnerable.

I am not broken. I am just getting started.”

Kudos to Slate for uncovering the origin story of the US Digital Service’s new Twitter avatar, introduced on my favorite sci fi holiday, May the 4th. Perhaps even more interesting to me is that USDS designer Mollie Ruskin, whom the crab is named after, came to the agency after a digital design stint at Marvel. As Mr. H noted when the group was created in 2016 under President Obama, its ties to healthcare were already evident: “It … developed a new VA benefits appeals system, created a consolidated website at Vets.gov, and figured out a way for the VA and DoD to exchange scanned documents. Everybody loves the groups except fat cat IT contractors and the internal federal government bureaucracies that created the messes the kids are sent to clean up.”

Contacts

Jenn, Mr. H, Lorre

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