Webinar Recording

Agenda

• Government/Legislative Update, National Perspective  – Jeff Coughlin, HIMSS
  • Making telehealth legislation permanent
  • Other key legislative areas of focus
• Advocacy 101 – Alana Lerer, National HIMSS
  • Why it’s important to advocate
• Making Telehealth Legislation Permanent in California – Ian Slade
• Breakout Sessions
  • Virtual campaign platform demonstration – Nancy Hall, Alana Lerer
  • Telehealth discussion – Mei Kwong, Larry Ozeran
  • Legislative landscape discussion – Jeff Coughlin
• Closing Remarks and Virtual Campaign CALL TO ACTION  - Nancy Hall

Speaker Bios

Jeff Coughlin is the Senior Director of Government Relations at HIMSS. In this position, he leads HIMSS’s efforts to build stronger relationships with federal agencies and facilitates the building of a nationwide network of advocates for state-based initiatives that impact all aspects of health IT.  Before joining HIMSS, Jeff was the team leader for corporate accounts at the Marwood Group, where he worked with non-profit health systems, health IT vendors, professional societies, and trade associations, analyzing where they could most effectively influence legislative and regulatory processes and focus their advocacy efforts. His career also included several years in the health care non-profit advocacy world, where he led efforts in policy development, directed outreach to Congress and Executive Branch agencies, built advocacy coalitions with like-minded organizations, and created robust grassroots networks. He also worked for the Department of Health and Human Services, where he was part of the team responsible for the development, implementation, and management of the Government Performance and Results Act within the Department.  His educational background includes a Master’s Degree in Public Policy from the College of William & Mary and a BA in Political Science from Providence College.

Nancy Hall has over 20 years of Healthcare Information Technology experience, and has worked in the government, not-for-profit, and private Health sectors implementing information technology and developing strategies and plans that align technology with the goals of the business. Nancy has worked extensively with physicians, having lead information technology for several Medical Groups in her career. Currently she is the Chief Information Officer at MedAmerica/CEP America, the third largest Emergency Physician Medical Group in the country. Ms. Hall is an experienced public speaker and facilitator and participates in speaking forums on Information Systems and Strategic Planning, facilitates and leads strategic planning sessions, and is active in advocacy and healthcare policy at the state and national level. Ms. Hall is a member of the College of HealthCare Information Executives and is a Certified Healthcare CIO.

Mei Wa Kwong, JD has over two decades of experience in state and federal policy work.  She is the Executive Director for the Center for Connected Health Policy (CCHP), the federally designated National Telehealth Policy Resource Center.  She has written numerous policy briefs, crafted state legislation and led several coalition efforts on a variety of issues. Ms. Kwong has published articles on telehealth policy, is recognized as an expert in her field and has been consulted by state and federal lawmakers on telehealth legislation and policy.  Ms. Kwong is a graduate of the George Washington University Law School. 

Alana Lerer is the Manager of Government Relations for HIMSS, where she focuses on education and outreach to state, local and provincial governments, provides policy analysis, and trains HIMSS Chapter Advocates on policy advocacy tactics. Alana has ten years of experience supporting public health and healthcare-focused non-profit organizations and state/local government agencies in public policy and program management. Most recently, she supported the Minnesota Department of Health in the operations of Minnesota statewide immunization information system (IIS). In this role, she worked directly with patients and clinicians to enable timely and appropriate access to health records. In 2017, Alana received her Master of Public Health degree in Health Policy and Management from the University of Minnesota.

Dr. Larry Ozeran has more than 20 years of experience with information technology and software development, clinical medicine, healthcare leadership, and health policy. Dr. Ozeran was officially recognized by the State of California for his assistance in the State's response to ARRA. He has written HIMSS blogs and published book chapters for HIMSS on privacy and for AMIA on HIT process failures. Dr. Ozeran has responded to federal NPRMs (with AMIA and HIMSS, and independently), written to many elected officials, and testified before committees of the State Senate and Assembly. He was an invited speaker before the Congressional Budget Office as Vice Chair of the HIMSS Public Policy Committee and served twice on the AMIA Public Policy Committee. As a strategic consultant, he advises clients on strategy, policy and innovation.

Ian Slade is co-founder and managing partner of I&T Consulting Group, a healthcare innovations and technology company. He has served as a registered nurse in many capacities since 1999 and most of his experience has been in the Emergencey Department, Critical Care and the Peri-Operative Area. Ian has many years experience in Healthcare Informatics beginning with his first EMR implementation in 2002 and has been actively working in this arena ever since. He has worked as a consultant in multiple hospitals throughout the United States, with clients in Canada and the United Kingdom as well. He is currently consulting on ICD-10 implementation, Revenue Cycle Optimization, and CDI improvement initiatives. Ian is passionate about his role as VP of HIMSS SoCal Advocacy and through his team's effort, has earned twice the HIMSS Presidential Award for his work in Advocacy. Much of his time is spent meeting with legislators and representatives and advocating for healthcare IT for the benefit of the industry.