Government Bits

Tracking how technology is transforming interaction between governments and citizens.

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A funny thing is happening on the way to health reform; the business of healthcare in the US is gradually coming of age. Although not without its share of trials and challenges, a developing trend of comprehensive outcomes-based models are now shedding light on age-old issues like care delivery and payment structures.
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These new “shared savings” models, which in the most basic explanations are simplified as “pay for treatment quality vs. quantity,” aim to motivate providers who voluntarily differentiate themselves by shifting focus to improving patient care while reducing avoidable costs over time, and away from being solely incentivized on a fee-for-service basis. The models, including Accountable Care Organizations (ACO), Patient Centered Medical Homes (PCMH), and Programs of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE), offer the potential for transformational change through connected health. They each subscribe to the concept that coordination of all available resources will keep the patient as healthy as possible while significantly bolstering efficiency and strengthening the physician-patient relationship

At Adobe, we are inspired by purpose-driven creativity. Through our technologies, software, and business practices, every day we enable millions of people across the globe to change the world around them for the better, regardless of the industry in which they work.

The above video is an excerpt from a larger “Behind the Splash Screen” video series on Adobe TV that focuses on one member of the core Photoshop engineering team, John Penn II, and his shifting of career focus from core product development to one of cooperation, dialogue and assistance to the US Law Enforcement community. John specifically represents Adobe with agencies like NCMEC and ICAC that work tirelessly to safeguard children from predation and exploitation in the real and digital domains, working closely with imaging, intelligence, investigative and forensics experts across State, Federal and International boundaries to understand and bolster their unique workflows, challenges and needs.

As a father of three small children who are utterly immersed in mobile, networked, “always-on” digital technologies, I certainly perceive the demand for Law Enforcement agencies to stay “up to date” on the latest technological threats to families and communities, especially when it comes to child exploitation, and to continue a high level of dialogue with industry leaders, like Adobe, whose tools and technologies form a critical part of the arsenal. I am extremely proud to count John Penn as an Adobe colleague, a friend, and someone who is helping secure and safeguard the next generation of digital citizens.

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Whether it’s for telework, town hall meetings, e-learning, telemedicine, continuity of operations, or mission critical collaboration, many civilian and military agencies rely on Adobe Connect.  To learn what’s to come in 2012 for this best-in-class solution, we had the opportunity to talk with Guillaume Privat, Director of our Adobe Connect business.

Q: 2011 saw several large government agencies adopt Adobe Connect or expand their deployment. What can you tell us about the plans for the solution in 2012?

A: In 2011, we rolled out Adobe Connect 8, which focused on ease of use and the ability for users to access their meetings, webinars or virtual classrooms on any smartphone or tablet.  2012 will the year of Adobe Connect 9.  We recently announced we were opening up the beta for Adobe Connect 9. We looked at how our customers are using the product and it’s clear that ‘screen sharing’ is not enough.  They are looking for solutions to their business problems.  How can they train faster and measure the effectiveness of that training?  How effective are their town hall meetings or citizen outreach campaigns?  Should they spend more or less money on these activities?  The focus for the future release is to create these end-to-end solutions that will help government organizations measure and report on productivity gains or cost savings.

Q: Are you going to continue your focus on mobile?

Please join Adobe for its annual Adobe Government Assembly, February 8th, at the National Press Club.

The AGA is a forum for federal, state and local IT, acquisition and security professionals to discuss strategies and actionable tactics for meeting today’s challenges and revolutionizing tomorrow’s government operations. You’ll hear from public sector leaders and industry experts on the key issues of advancing citizen engagement, implementing innovative technologies and protecting critical information.

Keynote speakers include GSA’s David McClure, Associate Administrator of the Office of Citizen Services and Innovative Technologies, and best-selling author Peter Sims.

Click here to register.

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Health Reform, Medicare funding, economic matters, illegal immigration, national defense, foreign policy, and the list goes on…

There is no shortage of issues for American voters to consider when casting their ballots in this year’s presidential election. In fact, all the candidates (including the president himself) have been working hard to ensure their positions are clear and their messages resonate as they plead their cases to be commander-in-chief for the next four years.

However, campaign speeches and heated debate performances sometimes contain rhetoric that is sprinkled with embellishments and vague inaccuracies. Regardless of political affiliation, most people agree that it’s impossible to make educated decisions without fact-based research.

To help weed through the maze of politicians’ attention grabbing sound bites and unsubstantiated claims, countless voters have turned to PolitiFact, a non-partisan journalistic organization whose mission is to use the Web to help citizens “find the truth in politics.”

Since winning the Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting in 2009, PolitiFact has surged in popularity. In turn, they looked to Adobe technologies to extend their online reach and enlighten the masses through data visualization and an engaging mobile experience for iOS, Android, and the Blackberry Tablet OS.

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“The new PolitiFact Mobile app repackages our extremely rich data to present it in creative and helpful ways,” says Bill Adair Editor, PolitiFact, and Washington bureau chief, St. Petersburg Times.

And in June 2011, PolitiFact was named the #1 news app in the iTunes store; proof that more than ever, in the hands of the people (across multiple digital channels), knowledge is power.

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With each New Year, there is a propensity to want to leave the past behind us. Resolutions to start anew are often key drivers behind seasonal surges in new gym memberships and other short lived self-improvement initiatives.

Enterprises typically seize the beginning of a new cycle to re-invent themselves as well. However, regardless of the reason for the fresh start, forward-thinking leaders find ways to harvest lessons learned and relationships established in the past, and leverage them as they plan for the future.

With the emergence of a robust digital ecosystem, including social networking, mobile devices, and cloud computing, that’s now easier than ever to achieve. But sustainable results still require an innovative enterprise platform and an adaptive strategy.

Before the holidays, I was invited to participate as a panelist at the 2011 Government Mobility Forum in Washington DC. The theme was “Revolutionizing Agency Communications and Citizen Service” and the keynote was delivered by Phil Simon, best-selling author of “The Age of the Platform.” Afterward, we explored ways that technology may be deployed to extend the reach of personalized interactions, thereby providing incremental value with every touch point for the customer, citizen, or patient.

See full encore video here.

Digital communications strategy is at the heart of efforts to modernize user experiences throughout the public sector in North America and worldwide.

Relationships between health payers and their provider networks have traditionally been complex on multiple levels. Until recently, such complexity was often apparent from the very start of each relationship, as tenuous onboarding processes forced new network providers to wait weeks before treating their first patients. Meanwhile, contractual agreements and related documents bounced back and forth for updates, approvals, and signatures.

However, this costly bottleneck has now been completely removed for many leading health payers as they launch solutions powered by Adobe EchoSign, a disruptive cloud-based technology for electronic signatures and contract management.

Since acquiring EchoSign, we have seamlessly integrated this pioneering solution into the Adobe document exchange services platform, including the ubiquitous Adobe Reader and newly launched iPad app, for securely providing universal service access while satisfying rigorous compliance requirements.

Impressive results throughout the global health payer community have been garnering attention in the public sector too, as Medicaid agencies and others face workflow challenges similar to their commercial counterparts.

At Aetna, where the average contract processing time was decreased from three weeks to one day, three-quarters of all contractual transactions with providers are now electronic. Additionally, Aetna has significantly reduced its carbon footprint, as well as costs associated with postage and paper. These changes helped Aetna earn the 2011 InfoWorld Green 15 Award, presented by International Data Group (IDG).

“As a health care benefits company, we also are focused on creating a healthy environment. Our paperless contracting is one way we are advancing this mission,” said Carl King, head of National Networks and Contracting Services for Aetna.

At Cigna, average onboarding times for new physicians and small practices have been cut in half. As their expansive provider network continues to grow at a rate of over 20,000 new providers per year, over a million pages of contracts are efficiently managed digitally with the auditable Adobe EchoSign solution.

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I was recently invited to participate on a roundtable panel of thought leaders from government, business, and academia at the 2011 Annual Conference in Annapolis, hosted by the Maryland Legislative Black Caucus. Collectively, we explored a broad range of topics related to industries that are driving the state’s economy, namely biotech, cyber security, information technology, and healthcare. We agreed that these industries all intersect, in one way or another, as Maryland implements components of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), also known as Health Reform.

A primary goal of health reform is to improve overall status and quality of care by achieving health equity and eliminating disparities, particularly in the African American community.

Designed to reduce the estimated $60 billion spent annually on direct health care expenditures, in part due to existing disparities, PPACA aims to make health services more affordable and accessible for millions of Americans. However, successful implementation will require important tactical considerations, including educational outreach and local economic infrastructure, which are often muted by theoretical partisan debate.

In order for any government program to deliver valuable services, citizens must first know that they exist and understand the relative value. For example, as a result of PPACA, commercial health plans now cover many immunization and preventive services without charging a deductible, co-pay, or co-insurance. Included are wellness services like screenings for cardiovascular disease, cervical cancer, colorectal cancer, diabetes, and more.

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As the fifth annual Health 2.0 conference recently kicked off in San Francisco, the vibe was electric and incestuously contagious; I felt it more with every interaction there.  The event, which focuses exclusively on celebrating innovations in health IT, continued its tradition of generating more buzz and excitement than the year before.  Just as impressive, though, was the humbling sense of community and shared purpose as evidenced by the launch of Health 2.0 MatchPoint, a program dedicated to matching young innovators with established organizations. Mark Smith, President and CEO of the California Health Care Foundation, expounded on the significance of the matching concept in his spirited keynote remarks.

Form new start-ups to household names like Adobe;  from public sector agencies to publically traded corporations, the diverse “Health 2.0” entities that were represented each embodied three common elements, according to conference co-founders Matthew Holt and Indu Subaiya.

Customer Communications has always been at the core of enterprise information strategies.  For organizations striving to capitalize on strengthened relationships with consumers, it would seem an added bonus that they may also streamline operational costs at the same time… if they do it right.

The proliferation of tablets and other mobile devices presents unique opportunities, and has caused many organizations to take a second look at how to satisfy their customers’ heightened expectations for immersive 24×7 interactions.

Besides, how much does it cost your agency to route traditional outbound correspondence and handle inbound inquiries received by postal mail or telephone?

The figures vary within each organization since factors like call volume and levels of service complexity need to be considered. But a conservative estimate of $5 -$10 per inquiry is generally applied across most industries. (hint: For complicated segments, like health benefits administration, that figure quickly escalates!)