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Who We Are
HTMS Consultants: Have a deep healthcare industry knowledge,
with an average of over 15 years in the industry, and have
a passion for delivering reality based change and innovation.
Our consultants have worked in a variety of organizations
as executives, leaders, and consultants, and are senior level
experts in payer and provider information technology and business
operations with deep industry domain knowledge and specialized
expertise in payer application software products. We apply
proven methodologies and best practices to help you realize
measurable performance improvements and the greatest return
on your investments.
Our Executive Management Team
Michael Weiher, Principal
and President
Michael Comick, Principal
and Chief Marketing Officer
Mercedes McKenzie, Partner and Chief
Operations Officer
Benjamin Heck, Partner
David Gallegos, Partner
James Gamble, Partner
Additional Resources
HTMS has more than 30 employees with a range of expertise
including strategy, business, technology, operations, care
management, Medicare, and other relevant fields. In addition,
we are strategically networked with additional experts throughout
the industry to add targeted expertise for particular client
needs. This model allows us to optimize highly skilled resources
for our clients while maintaining a lean organizational structure.
A few of our key Consultants include:
JoAnn Balara, Senior Manager Care Management
Shelley Mueller, Senior Manager Government
Programs
Jim Schrimmel, Senior Manager Implementation
Nancy Wise, Senior Manager Strategy and
Industry Intelligence & Analytics
Executive Management Team Bios
Michael Weiher, Principal
and President
As Principal and co-founder of HTMS, Mike Weiher has over
twenty five years of Information Technology experience, with
over 20 years spent providing consulting services in both
the private and public sectors. Leading the HTMS Strategy
Practice, his specialties include strategic IT and business
planning, information system reviews, system life cycle planning
and management, and system assessments and procurements. As
a market researcher, Mr. Weiher evaluates vendor solutions
for the health care marketplace and publishes those vendor
profiles for use by both the supply and demand side of the
procurement process. Previously, he was Vice-President of
Consulting Services for Technology Management, Inc. (TMI).
Mr. Weiher has a degree in Business Administration.
Michael Comick, Principal
and Chief Marketing Officer
As Principal and co-founder of HTMS, Mike Comick leads HTMS'
business development initiatives, and Industry Intelligence
and Analytics Practice while directing the automated member
acquisition and care management service offerings. He focuses
on strategic consulting services including IT and Business
planning, system assessments and procurements, and implementation
services. Previously, Mr. Comick was a Vice-President with
First Consulting Group's Los Angeles office, specializing
in core claims and administration software applications. He
joined FCG after working with Charles J. Singer and Co./Gartner
Group as the practice leader for core system market research.
In that capacity, he published the Managed Care System Vendor
Guides, The Managed Care System Win/Loss Analysis and the
HMO MIS Budget Report, a comparative analysis of the leading
managed care systems in the industry today. Using this analysis,
Mr. Comick facilitated numerous workshops and education sessions
with both the payer and at-risk provider markets. He has a
degree in Economics.
Mercedes McKenzie,
Partner and Chief Operations Officer
As a Partner of HTMS, Mercedes McKenzie has over 20 years
of experience in Information Technology and Business consulting,
with over 15 in the health care industry. She leads HTMS Operations
including Business Relationships and Quality Assurance. Ms.
McKenzie , was formerly V.P. of Consulting Services for TMI,
Daou Systems, and Proxicom, where she was responsible for
the development and delivery of consulting services and solutions.
Previously, she focused on strategic planning, system assessments
and procurements, and system implementations. Ms. McKenzie
has participated in numerous health industry organizations
and is a Board Member of the Managed Care Executive Group
(MCEG). She has a BS in Business Administration and a MS in
Computer Science.
Benjamin Heck, Partner
As a Partner of HTMS, Ben Heck has over thirteen years experience
in the healthcare industry. He leads the HTMS System Assessment
and Procurement Practice, and ICD-10 and Medicare Advantage
service offerings. Mr. Heck has led and been involved with
many successful core system implementations for a variety
of healthcare payer organizations and has experience in information
systems, project management, consumer driven health plans,
business process outsourcing, Medicare Advantage, ICD-10 and
health payer operations. Prior to joining HTMS, he worked
as a Director of Operations for several Mid-West health plans.
Mr. Heck has a BS and a MS in Health Care Administration.
David Gallegos,
Partner
As a Partner of HTMS, David Gallegos has over 18 years
experience in the field of information technology and business
operations, 14 of which have been in the healthcare industry
at the VP and Chief Information Officer level. He leads the
HTMS System Implementation Practice and has extensive experience
implementing a wide variety of technologies in different settings,
using innovative solutions to solve complex business problems.
Examples of these implementations include document management
systems, integrated voice response systems; hospital information
systems; electronic medical records; managed care information
systems; e-business applications; customer relationship management;
business intelligence; and enterprise telecommunications solutions.
Mr. Gallegos has experience in integrating merged companies,
start-up and turnaround operations, and participated in the
implementation of three large Medicaid carve-outs. Previously,
he has served as a member of many industries related professional
associations such as HIMSS, the Worldwide Executive Council,
and as a Board Member of the Managed Care Executive Group.
Mr. Gallegos has a BA in History and a MS in Information Management.
James
Gamble, Partner
As a Partner of HTMS, Mr. Gamble has over 30 years of
business management and consulting experience, with 15 years
experience in the health industry. He leads the HTMS Operational
Excellence Practice and serves as the HTMS Compliance Officer.
He is a highly skilled, growth-driven management executive
with broad based experience in operations management, business
consulting, business turnarounds, strategic business planning,
process re-engineering, marketing, business development, IT
systems integration, staff development, and customer satisfaction
programs. Mr. Gamble possesses a proven ability to devise
and implement solutions that reduce costs, improve asset utilization,
create new streams of revenue, and expand markets to position
the company as a leader in the industry. He is a former Vice-President
of Operations for a regional health plan and Executive Vice-President/Chief
Operations Officer for a physical product software company.
He has a degree in Business Marketing.
Representative Consultant Team
Bios
JoAnn
Balara
As the Director of the Care Management Practice with HTMS,
Jo Ann Balara, RN, BSN, CPEHR, brings over 25 years of experience
in the healthcare industry focused in the development of market
driven care management strategies and the creation of care
management software products. Ms. Balara assists health plans
to meet the challenges of the new consumer centric environment,
control healthcare costs, and to improve the quality of care.
Our care management team offers a full range of services in
all of HTMS' practice areas and assists health plans to transform
their business. Prior to joining HTMS, she held senior leadership
roles at health plans across the country to create Care Management
roadmaps and led the development of care management products.
This experience, combined with Ms. Balara's previous consulting
work at First Consulting Group and Milliman and Robertson,
USA, provide the foundation to assist health plan and health
care delivery customers to achieve both their clinical and
financial outcomes through innovative program design combined
with leading edge technology. JoAnn is a Licensed Registered
Nurse (RN) and she has served as a Board Member for the Case
Management Society of America (CMSA). She holds certification
in Pragmatic Marketing and Professional Electronic Health
Records (CPEHR).
Shelley
Mueller
As the Director of the Government Programs Practice with
HTMS, Shelley Mueller has over 24 years of experience in the
healthcare industry, focused on operational management, quality
improvement, system and process reengineering, Medicare operations
and compliance assessments. Ms. Mueller assists clients to
meet the challenges addressing on-going regulatory changes
by providing CMS mock site visits or mock audits, Medicare
training workshops, Medicare Advantage implementation and
Medicare compliance strategy, execution, and support. Prior
to joining HTMS, Shelley was responsible for operations in
Medicare, Medicaid and SCHIP health care plans and the related
compliance assessments, training and remediation required
by regulators, and has been recognized by NCQA for operational
efficiencies resulting in high member retention and satisfaction
scores and reduced staff turnover. She has worked with health
plans, their delegates and BPOs to support cost-effective
and compliant operations resulting in regulatory audits with
no deficiencies and successful applications for new Medicare
health plans. Ms. Mueller holds a Bachelor of Arts degree
in Psychology from the University of California at Berkeley.
She has served as adjunct faculty at Northeastern University
of Boston and the University of Wisconsin at Madison. Ms.
Mueller is a member of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement.
Jim
Schrimmel
As a Senior Manager with HTMS, James (Jim) Schrimmel has
20 plus years experience in the healthcare information technology
industry. Jim is a key contributor in the System Implementation
Practice where he has successfully worked with multiple clients
on numerous system implementations and business initiatives,
bringing leadership and project management skills to bridge
the gaps between technical and business teams. Mr. Schrimmel
assists clients with Implementation Planning, Project Management,
and Implementation Support. His work with large health plans
has provided him with extensive knowledge and experience implementing
and integrating large systems. He has recently completed a
successful Facets 4.5.1 implementation initiative on-time
and under budget. Prior to working with HTMS, he worked in
healthcare consulting and with several health plans. Mr. Schrimmel
has a BS degree in Industrial Engineering, and is a PMP certified
Project Manager.
Nancy
Wise
As a Senior Manager with HTMS, Nancy Wise has over nine
years experience in the healthcare industry. She is a key
contributor in the Strategy and Industry Intelligence and
Analytics Practice Areas. Ms. Wise has spearheaded the organization's
efforts to monitor external trends and strategic market shifts,
with a recent focus on healthcare reform and the economy.
Ms. Wise has led and been involved with a variety of engagements
related to Product Development, Health Information Exchange,
and Market Analysis. She approaches her strategy and analytics
work with a bent toward implementation and execution. Prior
to joining HTMS, she worked as a Director of Strategic and
Product Development for a large Blues plan. Ms. Wise has an
MBA and MPH.
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