The Standard

The HL7 Da Vinci Project recently named eight healthcare technology experts as its 2021 Da Vinci Community Champions. The individuals recognized for this prestigious honor represent the diverse membership of the HL7^® Da Vinci Project, a collaborative multi-stakeholder effort including health plans, hospital systems, accountable care organizations (ACOs) and technology vendors. The awards were announced on July 20, 2022, at the monthly HL7 Da Vinci Project member meeting. This is the second year in which the HL7^® Da Vinci Project has recognized innovative leaders in health IT who are helping to guide the evolution of the HL7 Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR^®) standard.

As a designated HL7 FHIR accelerator program, the Da Vinci Project is a private sector consortium dedicated to improving the healthcare delivery system by accelerating interoperability standards to support value-based care, reduce administrative burden, automate workflow and improve provider teams’ ability to impact health outcomes.

Last year, the Da Vinci Project leadership created the Community Champions Program to recognize and celebrate the talented problem solvers advancing interoperability within the industry. The Community Champion Program puts a spotlight on individuals who display the unique traits of “industry above self, a passion for making the healthcare system work better, supporting others, and promoting change.”

The HL7 Da Vinci Project’s 2021 Community Champions are:

• Dave DeGandi, Senior Interoperability Strategist, Cambia Health Solutions
• Rajesh “Raj” Godavarthi, Associate Vice President of Technology and Interoperability, MCG Health
• Heather Kennedy, Principal Interoperability Architect, Humana
• Heidi Kriz, Assistant Director Medical Policy, Regence
• Alice O'Carroll, Interoperability Product Manager, Florida Blue/GuideWell
• Semira Singh, Director, Population Health Informatics, Providence
• Jason Teeple, Enterprise Architect, Evernorth
• Brent Zenobia, Chief Strategist, Novillus

The awards were presented to the recipients by Anna Taylor, an HL7 Da Vinci Project Steering Committee Member and the Director of Operations for Population Health at MultiCare Connected Care. Ms. Taylor was recognized last year as a 2020 Community Champion in the inaugural class of health IT professionals who were given this award.

“On behalf of the HL7® Da Vinci Project, our Steering Committee and members, we are delighted to recognize our 2021 Da Vinci Community Champions. The important work of our FHIR accelerator is powered by people dedicated to solving today's interoperability challenges. Each individual was nominated by their peers based upon their daily applied effort, exemplary achievements and unique contributions to the Da Vinci Project in 2021,” said Kirk Anderson, HL7 Da Vinci Project Steering Committee Member and Vice President and Chief Technology Officer at Cambia Health Solutions. He added, “The growth and advancement of the industry standards, the expansion of FHIR community between payers and providers, and individuals like these champions are fueling the industry towards true interoperability. We will continue to identify and lift up community members who exemplify our goals, and to encourage and inspire others to join us on this incredible journey of building the future standards that are already improving the delivery of care.”

The complete list of Da Vinci Community Champions can be found on the HL7 website at: http://www.hl7.org/about/da-vinci-champion.cfm.