What We Do

"A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, design a building, conn a ship, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve an equation, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects." ~Robert A. Heinlein

We use the term Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) a lot on this site. Probably we are overusing it - but it is the most common word for what the industry calls our members. However, a lot of people think that is synonymous with "specialist" - and we think that word might not represent us well. If anything, our members have very diverse backgrounds and a wide toolbox of skills. Sure, we all have areas that we are focused in right now, but the common skill that all of us have: the ability to become an expert in a new area (or keep up with a rapidly moving field)... and to do it FAST.

We offer:

SME support in any area of HealthIT, but with particular emphasis on standards/specifications and interoperability issues
Research and deep analysis services
IV&V (independent verification and validation) Testing
Project audit and recovery
Enterprise architecture
Program management oversight/office services
SOW/RFP creation/support and selection committee facilitation

A lot of our work is being a cog (albeit a critical one) in other people's projects - often pretty large ones. We most often provide someone with experience in a particular standards/spec area, but we have gurus in many areas of HealthIT - and these experts also have a wide toolbox to go with their sector experience (coders, architects, designers, infrastructure, etc). Every guru also works from within an openHITgroup team, so they are never fully alone - which helps us round out the soft spots of any one person (no one knows everything) and provides a place for expert peer review (you don't want your SME to have no one challenging their work).