Advancing Quickly at a Glacial Pace … and More Musings as Stewards’ 11th Annual Symposium Begins

The world in which Stewards of Change Institute operates – populated by concepts like information-sharing, interoperability, social determinants of health and, most recently, cognitive computing – is changing fast. I know that because I’ve watched the change happen, ever so slowly, for over a decade. Fast and slow simultaneously? Absolutely. The technology and much of […]

The Quest for the HHS “Golden Record”

The Affordable Care Act has added some 20 million to the list of the now insured and spurred a drive for innovation to finally crack the code on bureaucratic delivery inefficiencies, quality and cost. Annual healthcare spending was $3.8 trillion and human services spending was $1.02 trillion in 2014, yet the U.S. healthcare system is […]

Yes, We Can Share Information, Improve Outcomes AND Protect Privacy!

I’m going to start today with a confession: I am a true believer. Preaching and teaching the value of information-sharing and interoperability to improve health and human services (and thereby people’s lives) is not only my job; it is my passion. So I was honored when the National League of Cities recently asked me to […]

An Opportunity to Promote Progress in HHS – by Listening

It’s always a pleasure for me to spread the word about important initiatives in our world – and even more so when I have the privilege to be involved in one. That’s the case with an ambitious new effort announced yesterday by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, titled “Data for Health.” Its goal is to […]

New York State Confidentiality Toolkit Developed to Assist with Cross System Information Sharing

New York State continues in its efforts toward interoperability and toward using technology to improve services to its citizens, especially those most vulnerable and in need of public intervention to reach independence.  The New York State Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) – under the leadership of former Commissioner Gladys Carrion, former OCFS CIO Bill […]

Toward Seamless Information & Referral: A Polycentric Experiment

By Derek Coursen, Adjunct Faculty, NYU Wagner School of Public Service                            Multiple levels of government and a myriad of nonprofit organizations offer an ever-changing array of specialized services to people who need them. But who directs traffic through all that complexity?The work of connecting people to services is known as information and referral. It’s a […]

Our 9th Annual Symposium: Reflections on the Possible

At the end of our three-day symposium at Johns Hopkins University earlier this month, I asked the attendees to describe their experience in just one word. Here’s a representative sampling of what we heard: “Exciting.” “Energizing.” “Thought-provoking” (is that one word?). “Insightful.” And my personal favorite: “Inspiring.” All of us at the Stewards of Change […]