Innovation-as-a-Problem-Solving-Tool-in-Government_final

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INNOVATION AS A
PROBLEM SOLVING
TOOL IN GOVERNMENT
2016
OFFICE OF THE CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER,
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (HHS)

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Produced by: Malini Sekhar & Kate Appel
A NOTE FROM THE HHS
CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER..................................... 4
OVERVIEW.............................................................................. 5
A VISUAL HISTORY OF THE IDEA LAB.......................... 8
TOOLS FOR INNOVATION AT HHS
EMPOWERING INTERNAL INNOVATORS
Ignite Accelerator ...................................................... 11
Ventures Fund............................................................. 15
Innovates Awards ...................................................... 19
LEVERAGING EXTERNAL TALENT
Entrepreneurs-in-Residence.................................. 23
Competes...................................................................... 27
STRATEGY & COLLABORATION
Health Data................................................................... 32
Invent Health................................................................ 36
Buyers Club.................................................................. 39
THANK YOU............................................................................ 42

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A NOTE FROM THE
HHS CHIEF TECHNOLOGY
OFFICER
4
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) faces an increasingly
complex mission that involves efficiently delivering services to the public amidst
rapid technological change. Developing the best solutions calls for better engaging
our workforce in thinking of new ways to tackle problems.
The Office of the Chief Technology Officer (OCTO) is a ready-made solution-
finding team for this task. We have worked with and supported leaders across
all Operating and Staff Divisions as well as frontline staff to improve operations.
As a result, we have established ourselves as a trusted, well-connected,
problem-solving resource.
The CTO is charged with promoting innovation and open data across the
Department. Our approach to the challenge of creating a culture of innovation is to
help HHS employees and leaders shine a spotlight on a problem, and then invite
people from the private sector to contribute their expertise. HHS employees also
use our programs to test and develop their ideas in an entrepreneurial environment.
In this document, you will find examples of how HHS has pursued improvement
and internal innovation within the Office of the CTO. We have made significant
progress in helping teams and individuals address important challenges. But there’s
much more that can be done. As you read about each program, I invite you to
consider how innovation and entrepreneurship might continue to help improve our
performance and better deliver on our mission.
SUSANNAH FOX

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OVERVIEW
How might the Department
use technology, data, and
innovation to work smarter
and more effectively?
The pace of technological change is having an impact on almost every
sector of our society. As the principal agency charged with providing
essential human services and protecting the health of all Americans,
the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) touches
the lives of the public - from birth to death - in a way that distinguishes
itself from other federal organizations. The Department is comprised
of 90,000 or so federal employees across 11 distinct operating
divisions, 16 staff divisions, and 10 regional offices who are tasked
with delivering on this ambitious mission. So the question becomes -
how can we as an organization better respond in real-time to solve
problems? How can we harness the power of technology and
innovation to deliver on our mission?
THE HHS IDEA (INNOVATION,
DESIGN, ENTREPRENEURSHIP,
ACTION) LAB WAS ESTABLISHED
IN 2013 TO PROMOTE INNOVATION
AS A TOOL FOR MAKING THE
DEPARTMENT WORK BETTER.

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WHAT WE DO
We help explore, incubate, and test solutions that will generate change.
The IDEA Lab offers space (a physical location, opportunities, and
leadership support) that allow individuals within and outside our walls
the freedom to play, ideate, and experiment in pursuit of advancing the
Department’s mission. With a small but mighty team under the leadership
of the Chief Technology Officer, the IDEA Lab has become a Department-
wide go-to resource to solve problems in a way that reduces risk and
is both time- and cost-efficient. We have also been helping to lead the
charge in federal government as a key internal champion of innovation.
HOW WE DO IT
We stimulate new problem-solving approaches by running experiments
and initiatives that are constantly evolving and iterating. Our approach is
rooted in three key areas:
Empowering
Internal
Innovation
Leveraging
External Talent
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Strategy &
Collaboration

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OUR EFFORTS HAVE
Trained 100+ on lean &
design-centered thinking
methodologies
Liberated nearly 3,000
health data resources
Tested & applied new
ways to recruit top talent
Supported projects ranging
from: improving ER services
to redesigning the organ
tracking system
EXAMPLE:
HHS INNOVATION DAY
DEMONSTRATES THE
APPETITE FOR NEW
TRAINING & TOOLS
On July 14, 2016, the IDEA Lab hosted HHS
Innovation Day, a first-hand look at how new
approaches and creative thinking can improve
the Department. The day consisted of a
training session, discussions, and lightning
talks around the practice of innovation. The
morning event was standing-room only. More
than 1,300 individuals watched the livestream
and #HHSInnovationDay trended regionally
on Twitter.

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VISUAL HISTORY OF THE HHS IDEA LAB
2009
·
· HHS participates in White
House Innovation and
Information Policy Working
Group·
· Todd Park starts as the
first HHS Chief Technology
Officer (CTO)
2010
·
· HHS Innovation Council
forms, develops Charter,
and identifies barriers to
innovation·
· First Health Datapalooza
convenes at the Institute of
Medicine in Washington, D.C.·
· HHS releases Open
Government Plan 2010 in
response to White House’s
Open Government Directive·
· HHS Innovates Awards
program celebrates its first
round of innovative solutions
2011
·
· Healthdata.gov launches
with 30 datasets·
· America COMPETES
Reauthorization Act of 2010
is signed into law·
· First challenge is implemented
under HHS Competes to
source solutions from the
public·
· Health Data Leads are
established across all HHS
Operating Divisions·
· Big Cat, our fearless
mascot, arrives
2012
·
· Bryan Sivak starts as HHS
CTO·
· Office of Business
Management and
Transformation is designated
as IDEA Lab partner·
· First Entrepreneur-in-
Residence is recruited
through the HHS
Entrepreneur-in-Residence
program

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2013
· The HHS IDEA Lab is born
– the team gets office
space and launches a
new website
· The Ignite Accelerator
solicits employees’ ideas
to improve their work and
supports its first round of
teams
· HealthCare.gov goes
live. Technical problems
plagued the site, spurring
exploration of federal IT
acquisition processes
2014
· The HHS Ventures Fund
selects first round of
investment
· The HHS Buyers Club forms
to modernize acquisition
methods and completes
first solicitation and award
2015
· Susannah Fox starts as
HHS CTO
· The Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention and
the Health Resources and
Services Administration
launch internal accelerator
programs
2016
· Invent Health Initiative kicks
off with a town hall meeting to
explore innovation in medical
and assistive technology
· HHS IDEA Lab included in
White House Impact Report
of top 100 examples of
President Obama’s Leadership
in Science, Technology, and
Innovation
· HealthData.gov reaches 2,500
datasets openly available to the
public

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Empowering
Internal
Innovators
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IGNITE ACCELERATOR.......................................11
VENTURES FUND .................................................15
INNOVATES AWARDS........................................ 19

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IGNITE
ACCELERATOR
Empowering front line HHS
staff to test new ideas
CHALLENGE
HHS needs to harness the
creativity of front line staff,
but staff are discouraged
from testing new approaches
in hierarchical and risk-
averse environments.

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IGNITE ACCELERATOR: Empowering front line HHS staff to test new ideas
APPROACH
In 2013, with the intention of spurring innovation at HHS, the HHS Ignite Accelerator
(Ignite) was launched. It has evolved into a program that provides a safe space
and structured mentoring for HHS employees to test and validate their ideas
in a supportive, start-up environment, thereby mitigating the risk of investing
significantly in unvalidated problems or untested solutions.
In partnership with the University of Maryland Academy for Innovation and
Entrepreneurship, Ignite provides selected teams with training in entrepreneurial
methods (i.e. lean startup and design thinking); mentorship as they test ideas; and
the opportunity to present their findings to HHS leadership and the public.
BY THE NUMBERS
338 Boot Camp
Trainings
4
HHS Teams
Selected and
Supported
71
Innovation Programs
Launched across HHS
Operating Divisions
(CDC, HRSA)
2
Ignite innovation
Coaches from across
HHS and the federal
government
15
Applicants

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EXAMPLE:
IMPROVING EMERGENCY CARE
SERVICE FOR NATIVE AMERICANS
40,000. That’s how many emergency room visits the Whiteriver
Indian Hospital experiences in a year— four times more than
expected for a hospital of its size. As a part of the Indian Health
Service (IHS), the Whiteriver Indian Hospital provides health care for
Native Americans in the White Mountains of Arizona. In 2014, patients
at Whiteriver experienced wait times so long that 25% of patients left
without being seen.
A team from IHS applied to the Ignite program to find ways to reduce
wait times. After being selected, they learned rigorous entrepreneurial
methods and were coached as they tested and iterated their solutions.
The team’s first idea, an electronic kiosk, was found to be inappropriate
for their elderly population. They learned that their second idea, a
paper-based form, would violate the Emergency Medical Treatment and
Active Labor Act. Their third idea was a winner: situating a physician
to triage patients at intake. In their test of that new model only 1.25%
of patients left without being seen, a near 100% reduction from
their original system. At the end of Ignite, the team proved to their
Leadership the need for this system and the renovations to support
it, creating $6 million in annual revenue for the hospital and a more
efficient care experience for the population they serve.

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EXAMPLE:
FRONT LINE INNOVATION SPARKS
LOCALLY AT HRSA
It started with a team in a leadership development program posed
with a challenge— create a way to reward employee engagement,
creativity, and innovation at the Health Resources and Services
Administration (HRSA). Curious to explore existing opportunities and
resources, the team decided to develop their own version of the Ignite
program for HRSA employees.
With steadfast support from senior leadership at HRSA and Ignite staff,
the HRSA IdeaSpring was launched in October 2015 as a 2½ month
program to facilitate problem definition and prototype development.
After putting a call out for project ideas, 23 applications were received
and seven teams selected. IDEA Lab staff enthusiastically served as
advisors to the teams selected into the program by: having regular
check-ins; sharing lessons learned; providing on-site training to selected
teams; and serving as judges during their final demonstration day. After
a successful pilot, HRSA Learning Institute has adopted the IdeaSpring
as one of its innovation programs and has launched a second round.

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VENTURES
FUND
Investing in and scaling
internal innovations that
dramatically improve HHS’s
capabilities
CHALLENGE
Limited opportunities exist to take
proven, early-stage solutions to
the next level of implementation.

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VENTURES FUND: Investing in and scaling internal innovations that dramatically improve HHS’s capabilities
APPROACH
The Ventures Fund was created in 2013 to fill a critical void in the
Department’s innovation pipeline. By providing money, cross-agency
political support, training in thinking like a start-up, and exposure, the
Ventures Fund supports solutions with near-term potential to deploy.
Teams can apply for up to $100,000 and 15 months of support for
their project. Investing partners include: the Immediate Office of
the Secretary; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; National
Institutes of Health; National Cancer Institute; the Food and Drug
Administration; and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
BY THE NUMBERS
3Rounds
11Projects
Supported
GROWTH
9 Applications from
6 Operating Divisions
27 Applications from
8 Operating Divisions
$150K from 2 Funders
$408K + from
6 Funders

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EXAMPLE:
DATA-DRIVEN APPROACH TO PUBLIC
HEALTH EMERGENCY INVESTMENTS
The country faces a multitude of threats to national health security
ranging from terrorism to natural disasters and invests in national
health security to mitigate consequences from these incidents. A team
supported by Ventures developed a systematic, risk-based economic
framework for assessing the relative probability of these incidents, the
magnitude of the consequences, and the effect of mitigation strategies.
The project brought economic evidence to decision making, thereby
enabling policy makers to invest in projects with higher return on
investment, providing more effective stewardship of resources, and
creating a more sustainable and effective public health emergency
response enterprise. The team is now collaborating with the HHS
Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) to
develop economic models for all products in the BARDA burn portfolio.

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Photo Credit: KT Crabb Photography & Limbitless Solutions
EXAMPLE:
USING 3D PRINTING TO
SHAPE MEDICAL RESEARCH
& SAVE MONEY
High-quality, informative 3D-printable biomedical models
can inspire new discoveries that transform science and
healthcare. Supported during the first round of Ventures,
the NIH 3D Print Exchange is an online portal to open-
source data and tools for discovering, creating, and sharing
3D-printable models related to biomedical science.
Since the public launch in 2014, the Exchange has grown
to 40,000 3D-printable files, 2,500 pages of published
models, over 4,600 registered users, and 7,500 unique
users per month visiting the site. Features like the Heart
library - a curated digital collection of human anatomic
hearts - is helping doctors and patients better understand
congenital heart disease. The platform also houses a
central repository for 3D printed prosthetic devices. The
models help physicians, 3D print enthusiasts, families,
and amputees to create, innovate, re-design and share
3D-printable prosthetics.
“3D printing is a potential
game changer for medical
research. At NIH, we
have seen an incredible
return on investment;
pennies’ worth of plastic
have helped investigators
address important scientific
questions while saving
time and money. We hope
that the 3D Print Exchange
will expand interest and
participation in this new
and exciting field among
scientists, educators and
students.
FRANCIS S. COLLINS, M.D., PH.D
DIRECTOR, NIH

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INNOVATES
AWARDS
Celebrating trailblazers from
across the Department
CHALLENGE
The HHS workforce delivers
on our mission in creative
ways, but there isn’t sufficient
exposure or recognition of
their innovative solutions.

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INNOVATES AWARDS: Celebrating trailblazers from across the Department
APPROACH
In 2010, the HHS Innovates Awards were established in an effort to build a culture
of innovation at the Department. The HHS Innovates Awards (Innovates) provide
recognition from peers, leadership, and the public to celebrate solutions at HHS that
are impactful, novel, and scalable, as well as the teams that create them. By calling
attention to promising solutions, and sharing them widely across HHS and the
public, Innovates has helped to spread and scale solutions that are helping HHS to
better deliver on its mission of providing health and human services to the American
people. Having served its purpose of highlighting and encouraging a culture of
innovation, the last round of Innovates took place in 2015.
BY THE NUMBERS
8Rounds of
Rewards
~50%of recognized teams
partnered with
organizations outside
of government
500+HHS-developed
innovations
nominated
60,000+votes cast by HHS
employees during the
voting phases
48teams and
466HHS employees
recognized

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INNOVATES AWARDS: Celebrating trailblazers from across the Department
EXAMPLE:
CELEBRATING GROUNDBREAKING
SCIENTIFIC COLLABORATION &
RESEARCH
The 100K Genome Project - One in six Americans is sickened by
foodborne illness each year, yet many outbreak events are never
linked definitively to a food source or agent. The Food and Drug
Administration and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) leveraged
a public-private partnership to empower the public to help. In 2013,
the partnership sequenced the genetic codes (genomes) of 100,000
strains of important food pathogens, such as Salmonella, and made
them available in a free and public database at NIH’s National Center
for Biotechnology Information. This project was awarded an Innovates
Award in March 2013 for its strategic partnership and commitment
to open data and innovation. The sequencing and publication of the
genomes has empowered the development of tests that identify a
bacterium at a much faster rate than current methods permitted.

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Leveraging
External Talent
ENTREPRENEURS-IN-RESIDENCE ........23
COMPETES ......................................................27
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ENTREPRENEURS-
IN-RESIDENCE
Recruiting outside talent to
solve complex challenges
CHALLENGE
In an era of rapid technological
growth and constrained
budgets, HHS needs expertise
in entrepreneurship, modern
information technology, and data
science skills. The Department
currently lacks tailored recruiting
tactics to attract these individuals.

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ENTREPRENEURS-IN-RESIDENCE: Recruiting outside talent to solve complex challenges
APPROACH
Established in 2012, the HHS Entrepreneurs-in-Residence
(EIR) Program offers HHS employees the opportunity
to recruit entrepreneurs with unique skill sets to work
on mission-critical projects for 13 months. With support
from the highest levels of HHS leadership and freedom to
incorporate new approaches, Entrepreneurs-in-Residence
partner with HHS employees to deliver solutions that
reduce time, lower cost, and improve customer satisfaction
for HHS programs.
Photo Credit: Chris Smith HHS
BY THE NUMBERS
Entrepreneurs
Recruited
21
53Staff Supported
Across HHS
~450Applications from
Entrepreneurs
~50%are asked and choose
to stay longer than
13 months

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EXAMPLE:
CREATING THE ELECTRONIC
TRACKING SYSTEM FOR THE ORGAN
TRANSPLANTATION SYSTEM
As of 2012, the organ procurement and transplantation process in the
U.S. was entirely paper-based — one organ procurement required 30-
70 hand-written labels and visual checks. As the agency responsible
for increasing transplants and associated patient safety, the Health
Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) knew the system
needed to be modernized, but they needed additional expertise and a
change agent to set them on the right path.
HRSA teamed up with the EIR Program to recruit an entrepreneur and
logistics expert from the United Parcel Service. After only 4 months at
HRSA, the Entrepreneur-in-Residence (EIR) and the team developed
and deployed a prototype of a tablet, scanner, and hand-held printer
in five states at 194 organ recoveries. After using the prototype, staff
reported increased safety and efficiency and were thrilled to continue
using and improving on the original prototype.
The EIR was asked to stay an additional two years. After thoughtful,
iterative testing and scaling, his solution - called TransNet - was
implemented nationwide as the electronic system for tracking the
nation’s organ transplantation system.

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EXAMPLE:
ACCELERATING CLINICAL
QUALITY MEASURES
In 2010, there was a growing desire to leverage data in electronic health
records (EHRs) to use a tool called electronic clinical quality measures
(eCQM) to track health care quality. The creation of a single electronic
clinical quality measure, however, was a 3 to 5-year process involving
measure developers, contractors, specialty societies, the National Quality
Forum, several federal agencies, providers, and patients. The Centers for
Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) needed an entrepreneur to make
the complicated yet important process more effective and efficient.
Teaming up with the EIR program, CMS recruited an entrepreneur
classically trained in Chemical Engineering and who is an expert in
Lean Thinking, a way of analyzing, organizing, and streamlining complex
processes. After training over 150 CMS staff and other stakeholders
in Lean Thinking, the Entrepreneur-in-Residence (EIR), Office of the
National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC), and
CMS reduced the eCQM development time from 3-5 years to 1 year.
The EIR’s work inspired interest in applying Lean to different areas
of work, and an additional project that she spearheaded saved an
estimated $650,000 per year by eliminating 8,700 hours in staff and
contractor time with increased customer satisfaction.
But the work didn’t end there. The EIR was asked to extend her
appointment at CMS to continue spurring agency-wide culture change
using Lean Thinking. With the support of the CMS Leadership, she
teamed up with an employee from ONC who she trained - to start an
office dedicated to Lean Culture Transformation at CMS.

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COMPETES
Tapping into the ingenuity of
the American people to solve
problems
CHALLENGE
Talent is everywhere and doesn’t
always work with government.
Traditional ways of sourcing tend
to reward those who understand
how to craft a government
proposal, not the most talented
or qualified.

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COMPETES: Tapping into the ingenuity of the American people to solve problems
APPROACH
HHS Competes is an open innovation program to implement the
COMPETES Act and other legal authorities. The program enables
HHS and its Divisions to source solutions to tough problems beyond
the typical contractor or grantee, to talented individuals and small
companies all across the country. HHS Competes works with agencies
directly, providing guidance to develop strategies and execute prizes,
crowdsourcing, citizen science, and innovative partnerships.
BY THE NUMBERS
Challenges
140+ In Prizes
$34M
9,000+
Participants Across the U.S. HHS employees in the
community of practice
around open innovation
450+
OpDivs (NIH, CDC) have
open innovation leads
2
OpDivs have sponsored
a challenge
9

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EXAMPLE:
ACTIVATING A GENERATION
OF BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING
STUDENTS SOLVING FOR REAL
HEALTH PROBLEMS
The availability of advanced tools and technology alone doesn’t
guarantee the development of new solutions to the challenges we
face to improve health. To spur a new generation of biomedical design
and innovation, the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and
Bioengineering at the National Institutes of Health runs the Design by
Biomedical Undergraduate Teams (DEBUT) Challenge geared toward
biomedical engineering students. In its fifth year, with $65,000 in
prizes, it has become a prestigious competition, with at least 10
university departments designing courses around the challenge. It has
also led to the formation of several startups, and a new partnership
that will now provide mentorship to start businesses. In 2016, there
were 72 entries from 32 universities in 17 states. Projects ranged from
better diagnosing tuberculosis in children to designing a safer
alternative to catheter replacements.

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EXAMPLE:
SOURCING CREATIVE USES OF
TECHNOLOGY TO DISRUPT EARLY
CHILDHOOD LEARNING
By age three, children from low-income families are hearing 30
million fewer words than those from higher-income families. That is a
staggering data point, and an issue known as the “word gap.” The word
gap has serious implications leading to differences in: vocabulary size,
school readiness, long-term educational and health outcomes, earnings,
and family stability even decades later. The Maternal and Child Health
Bureau at the Health Resources and Services Administration decided
to launch a $300,000 three-phased prize competition to see how
technology could be utilized to address this challenge. The challenge
was unique in that it sought bold and innovative ideas and accelerated
them through a process to prototype and pilot them in real settings.
Though the challenge is not yet complete, it has already yielded
powerful results. Phase 1 solutions have ranged from wearable
devices that count words, to apps that grow with the child and their
development stage, to location-based apps that prompt parents with
clues and tips adjusted to where they are physically standing and
walking. Those teams that have not advanced to the next phase plan
to continue working on their solutions thanks to the feedback and
support they have received through the challenge. One team hopes to
use part of their prize money to establish a scholarship fund that builds
awareness for the importance of early language development.

3131
Strategy &
Collaboration
HEALTH DATA.................................................32
INVENT HEALTH.............................................36
BUYERS CLUB.................................................39

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CHALLENGE
Historically, the high volume of
data that the Department collects
has been inaccessible, preventing
the creation of new solutions and
innovations in health and human
services as well as deterring better
open government practices.
Unleashing the power of open
data to improve health and
human services
HEALTH DATA

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HEALTH DATA: Unleashing the power of open data to improve health and human services
APPROACH
The Health Data Initiative, established in 2010, makes huge troves of
government data, that was previously inaccessible, openly available
for use by the public - tech innovators, policymakers, researchers,
and more. Every Operating Division at HHS has data represented on
HealthData.gov in a network of interconnected data catalogs from
each division. Healthdata.gov also federates health data from 11 states
and 3 cities, highlighting localized resources for health innovation, and
underscoring that all levels of government now recognize the power of
open data. Open health data is now serving to develop new solutions,
spur business development, and catalyze innovation. In addition, the
Health Datapalooza, a national conference around open health data that
now attracts thousands, began as part of the Health Data Initiative.
BY THE NUMBERS
From 30 to
nearly 3,000
data resources
From 50 to
3,000+ Health
Datapalooza
attendees and
speakers, including
the Vice President
in 2016
100%
of Operating
Divisions have a
designated Health
Data Lead and
a community of
colleagues making
data available

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EXAMPLE:
BETTER UNDERSTANDING THE
HEALTH CARE SYSTEM WITH OPEN
DATA
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) collects large
amount of data that are critical to decision making within the nation’s
health care system. In 2014, the agency announced the creation of the
Office of Enterprise Data & Analytics (OEDA) to oversee improvements
in data collection and dissemination led by their first-ever Chief Data
Officer, Niall Brennan. Since then, OEDA has overseen the release
of large volumes of secure Medicare data, including information on
hospital changes, physician utilization, and prescription drug utilization.
They also launched the Virtual Research Data Center to facilitate lower
cost access to CMS data for researchers and federal grantees.
EXAMPLE:
DATA DRIVES NATIONAL HEALTH
CARE FRAUD TAKEDOWN FOR
APPROXIMATELY $900 MILLION IN
FALSE BILLING
In June 2016, HHS and the Department of Justice announced an
unprecedented nationwide sweep led by the Medicare Fraud Strike
Force in 36 federal districts, resulting in criminal and civil charges
against 301 individuals, including 61 doctors, nurses and other licensed
medical professionals, for their alleged participation in health care fraud
schemes involving approximately $900 million in false billings. This
coordinated takedown is the largest in history, both in terms of the
number of defendants charged and loss amount. The HHS Office of
the Inspector General (OIG), using authority provided in the Affordable
Care Act, was able to identify the individuals using data released by the
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, resulting in the suspension
of payment to a number of providers.

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EXAMPLE:
DATA FOR JOURNALISM AND
DECISION-MAKING
ProPublica, a non-profit journalism site, uses HHS data for better
reporting as well as for developing data-driven decision making tools for
consumers. They have created and updated tools that let people examine
and compare their doctors’ prescribing patterns within Medicare’s drug
program to others in the same specialty and state; review the services
their doctors perform in Medicare; and find the payments the doctors
have received from drug and medical device companies.
One example of a tool created by ProPublica in 2013 is Prescriber
Checkup. Recently, they added content from Iodine, a start-up company
focused on drug information, as part of a unique collaboration to enrich
the existing resources available to consumers. As a result, consumers
can get both information about their doctor and information about the
drug itself.

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INVENT HEALTH
Identifying emerging
opportunities and challenges
in health and technology
CHALLENGE
Leaders focused on the day-
to-day work of running the
Department need support to stay
informed of what may be on the
horizons of health and technology.
The Chief Technology Officer
plays a strategic role in identifying
potential technological surprise.

37
INVENT HEALTH: Identifying emerging opportunities and challenges in health and technology
APPROACH
Invent Health is one example of a discovery initiative focused on medical
and assistive technology, low-cost manufacturing tools, and a return to
craft symbolized by the Maker movement. Through strategic outreach
and engagement activities both inside and outside HHS, the Invent Health
initiative began identifying opportunities and barriers relevant to the
Department’s roles in hardware innovation, ranging from discovery and
regulation, through to delivery of care and services.
BY THE NUMBERS
5Strategic
convenings that
included internal
and external
stakeholders
400+Registrants
(in-person and virtual)
for Town Hall Kick Off
event at HHS
#InventHealth
on Twitter has
stimulated national
conversation on
hardware innovation
in health
The HHS CTO
is co-chair of the
Maker Interagency
Working Group of the
National Science and
Technology Council.

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INVENT HEALTH: Identifying emerging opportunities and challenges in health and technology
EXAMPLE:
UNLIKELY INTERSECTIONS SPUR
COLLABORATION TO BETTER
ADDRESS RESOURCE CONSTRAINED
ENVIRONMENTS
On April 12, 2016, the HHS IDEA Lab, the National Aeronautics and
Space Administration (NASA), and the University of Texas Medical
Branch (UTMB) jointly hosted a roundtable discussion at the John
Sealy Hospital in Galveston, TX, to explore common principles and
problems of innovating with resource constraints in space and in
health care settings. Physicians, nurses, administrators, NASA
medical officers and engineers, designers, and colleagues from
the CDC and NIH shared insights, common barriers to innovation,
opportunities for low-cost hardware innovation in constrained
environments, and ways to collaborate in the future. The event also
included a visit to the nation’s first “maker space” in an acute care
hospital that was created for hospital staff to develop and prototype
solutions to clinical care challenges.

39
BUYERS CLUB
Modernizing IT acquisition
by testing new methods
CHALLENGE
Information technology (IT)
services are increasingly key to
delivering on the mission of HHS,
and yet the majority of large IT
service procurements by HHS and
across the government fail due
to antiquated methods used to
acquire those services.

40
BUYERS CLUB: Modernizing IT acquisition by testing new methods
APPROACH
In the aftermath of the troubled Healthcare.gov launch and its later successful
implementation, many federal employees began actively identifying problems
associated with federal information technology (IT). The most glaring problem
is the high failure rate of IT service acquisitions in terms of cost, compatibility,
performance, and utility. In response, the HHS Buyers Club was launched
in 2014 to educate, test, and operationalize acquisition methods that are
approved under federal regulations to mitigate risk and increase success.
The HHS Buyers Club worked directly with HHS employees to guide them
through the process of applying innovative acquisition methods. The initiative
also educated and built a network of innovators across HHS and the federal
government interested in applying these methods to achieve successful
IT acquisitions. After a successful pilot to educate and implement these
methods, the Buyers Club has taken a strategic pause.
BY THE NUMBERS
acquisition
projects
supported
36+
individuals and
teams supported
300+ innovative
acquisition training
seminars with
more than 100 HHS
attendees
10 of directly-
supported projects
for IT services
awarded to small
businesses
100%

41
BUYERS CLUB: Modernizing IT acquisition by testing new methods
EXAMPLE:
RAPID & RESULTS-ORIENTED
WEBSITE ACQUISITION
Here is a typical story of government acquisition: An office at HHS,
the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE), needed to
redesign their website with the help of a contractor.
The original plan was for ASPE to submit a request for proposals
(RFP), asking for 28-page written proposals and 16 weeks later, after
extensive review, a contractor would be selected.
ASPE chose a different path for quicker, better results. With guidance
from HHS Buyers Club staff, they decided to use a Two-Stage Down
Select Process. This means they shortened the initial narrative
response to 10 pages, lowering the burden for small businesses
to participate. After receiving 24 submissions, they down-selected
5 contractors and paid them to provide actual design and coding
prototypes with a short turn-around.
After reviewing the prototypes, a record eight weeks after the RFP
was publicly released, ASPE selected Akira Technologies to win the
award, confident of Akira’s performance capability as demonstrated
through the prototype.

42
Photo Credit: Chris Smith HHS

43
THANK YOU
We exist because there are individuals who believe that together
we can creatively solve problems to better deliver on our mission
to the public. We are powered and inspired by individuals at
HHS, colleagues from across the federal government, and
external partners and collaborators who challenge the status quo,
focus on what’s possible, and regularly ask, “why not?” To this
tirelessly dedicated community of innovators who courageously
hack red tape – thank you.

“The enterprise that does not
innovate ages and declines.
And in a period of rapid
change such as the present,
the decline will be fast.
PETER DRUCKER
THE FOUNDER OF
MODERN MANAGEMENT

Innovation-as-a-Problem-Solving-Tool-in-Government_final

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