Present: President, Healthcare Sector, Agilex

Career highlights: Upon graduation from the US Naval Academy, Albert spent five years as a naval officer on nuclear submarines. “I got out of the Navy on a Friday and went to work with Bob LaRose [tech entrepreneur] on a Monday,” says Albert. That collaboration continued for the next 33 years, through three companies: Advanced Technology, Integic, and, now, Agilex.

Personal: Every morning, Albert puts in an hour at the gym before work. “There are two objectives: one, to release stress and two, I am a hopeless restaurant-aholic,” he says.

TIPS

• This is more than an IT opportunity. “You don’t build a clinical information system from a keyboard, you build it from a clinic floor,” says Albert. “Firms need the input of physicians, informaticists, and nurses who understand the business processes and workflow, so that exiting new tools and technologies can then be implemented that help accelerate those processes,” he says.

• Maintain singular focus on each customer. “You’re not going to get a one-size-fits-all solution. Even if you go to 10 primary care clinics, for example, there will be some similarities but a lot of differences. In each case you really have to embrace those differences and mold the solution to work with that particular customer’s business processes,” says Albert.

FULL INTERVIEW

ExecutiveBiz: Agilex is currently leading the deployment of the Nationwide Health Information Network (NHIN) CONNECT Gateway. What distinguishes this project from others?

Larry Albert: We’re building the CONNECT Gateway using an Agile software development methodology. That was directed by the government in the original competitive solicitation and something we’ve practiced since day one. Agile development is iterative and encompasses test-driven development. That means you have phenomenal flexibility in the face of changing requirements and you can also deliver very high quality. When you’re dealing with two dozen stakeholders you’re going to get some change in requirements. Not only do we have a software development methodology that embraces that, we’ve been able to develop a high quality product. Typically, a best of breed software product has around 35 or 40 defects per 1,000 lines of code. The CONNECT Gateway is averaging less than 10 defects per 1,000 lines of code.

ExecutiveBiz: What other technologies do you see changing the face of US healthcare?

Larry Albert: Eighty percent of physicians nationwide are in small to mid-sized organizations; they’ll be looking for economical, easy-to-adapt solutions. I think initiatives built upon open source software will play a much larger role in that need going forward. Which is why we’re building a CONNECT Lite. We recognize that smaller provider organizations won’t typically need all the feature functionality of CONNECT. If I’m a small provider practice, all I may really want is to interact with my local community hospital, local lab, and one specialty group. CONNECT Lite is being built as a lightweight, simple gateway that will enable these providers to push and pull information between those specific organizations. It will debut later this year.

ExecutiveBiz: How are you addressing meaningful use with CONNECT?

Larry Albert: We’re looking to build the meaningful use services into the platform so that it has the ability to capture the data and help organizations demonstrate that they’re achieving meaningful use.  It’s an open source product, so we’re taking a look at configuring it so that a vendor who had a product that was missing some of the meaningful use services could take CONNECT, lay it on top of their product to help them meet all of the criteria. I think it will take a lot of working together between the government and the vendor community to accomplish but I feel very strongly it is the right way to go.

ExecutiveBiz: Another platform you’re supporting is VLER (Virtual Lifetime Electronic Record), which will link databases with benefits, training, and financial information between the Department of Defense and the Veterans Administration. What’s the status?

Larry Albert: We already have demonstration projects going on. The VA recently completed an ongoing demonstration in the San Diego area using the platform to share data with Kaiser Permanente. DoD, the VA, and a couple of local community facilities are getting ready to start another demonstration in the Tidewater area. So, this program is moving strongly forward. Also we’ll be starting some work with the State Department. They’ll be selecting and rolling out a worldwide EHR (electronic health record) so they can connect their consulates and embassies around the world to better manage the health of their personnel.

ExecutiveBiz: On a personal level: Recently, industry was saddened to learn of the passing of Agilex CEO, Bob LaRose. What did you learn from him in your 33 years of working together?

Larry Albert: Bob would set these goals that would literally make your eyes water but then he’d work with you; you may not always have achieved a goal but you’d come a lot closer than you ever thought you would. I think probably more foundational to the experience of working with him was really some of the real basic business tenets and precepts, a tremendous focus on the customer.  Every engagement was not just about delivering what was our contractual requirement but about understanding the customer, their mission, their priorities, their visions … quite literally, your goal was to work to the point where you became part of the fabric of that customers’ infrastructure and support.

ExecutiveBiz: Where is Agilex headed next in healthcare IT?

Larry Albert: Given the success we’re having in large application development support for folks like HHS and the VA, we’ll continue to focus heavily in that area.  In particular, I’m driving our team to focus on how providers can use the additional medical data that we’re capturing through more intelligent EHRs and clinical information systems.  For example, how can they leverage advanced analytics to improve care and avoid errors?  Or monitor public health more effectively and eliminate financial fraud?  The ongoing adoption of ICD-10 underscores the need for semantic interoperability within our healthcare value chain, which is an area that we’re looking at closely.  If we can enjoy some successes in these areas, we’ll continue to grow very aggressively.

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