Every day in the United States, thousands of legitimate prescriptions for the opioid class of pharmaceuticals are written to mitigate acute pain during post-operation recovery, chronic back and neck pain, and a host of other cases where patients experience moderate-to-severe discomfort. While many of these drugs provide pain relief, the potential for misuse and outright abuse due to their addictive nature is extremely high.

Since the 1990s, opioid abuse in the U.S. skyrocketed to the point that in 2017 the Department of Health and Human Services declared the opioid crisis a public health emergency. This epidemic affects more than just individuals – families and communities, as well as the U.S. healthcare system at the federal, state, and local level, carry this burden emotionally and financially.

Solving this crisis can and should be supported by insights gained from the vast amounts of data available to healthcare providers and government agencies. The healthcare industry, in partnership with government agencies, must engage with a robust modern data management solution that can extract electronic health data in the form of controlled substance data, prescriber data, and patient data and transform it into meaningful, measurable, and actionable information. Today we talk with Rob Carey, the President of Cloudera Government Solutions on this topic.

Rob Carey, President of Cloudera Government Solutions

As a highly recognized executive, Rob Carey leads the public sector team at Cloudera Government Solutions during a time in government when data-centric projects and digital transformation is of the utmost importance. As former U.S. Navy CIO and Deputy DOD CIO, Carey uses his 30+ years of federal experience to apply what’s needed to meet the standards for the future of IT modernization in government. He supports customers across the federal civilian and defense sector as they continue to navigate data-driven challenges and work to meet key White House directives.

Cloudera Government Solutions

Government agencies are faced with a multitude of challenges, including aging legacy systems, fraud and abuse, and sophisticated cyberattacks. More than ever, they need a proven platform that can securely manage their data. Cloudera Government Solutions addresses these challenges by simplifying data acquisition and delivery – providing public sector leaders with the insights they need to make better and more timely decisions.
Cloudera Government Solutions partners with federal, state and local, and higher education institutions to support data security and governance mandates, modernize data architectures across any platform, and meet the zero-trust mandate related to data flow. With customers across 40 global governments, Cloudera can accelerate data movement and digital transformation to accomplish your mission.

Dr. Richard Stone, Retired Army Major General who served as the Deputy Surgeon General of the US Army discusses how we as a nation can provide better medical care to our veterans during the next medical crisis, he looks into this and more in his memoir, "Save Every Life You Can".

Dr. Richard Stone, Retired Army Major General who served as the Deputy Surgeon General of the US Army, currently a Specialist Executive at Deloitte

Dr. Richard Stone has served in a myriad of leadership positions over his more than 40 years as a medical doctor. He is a combat experienced veteran, having served in Afghanistan during an Army career that culminated in his service as the US Army Deputy Surgeon General. Dr Stone was called back to Federal service as the Executive in Charge and Acting Under Secretary of the Veterans Health Administration, serving for more than three years as the leader of America’s largest health care system through the most challenging health crisis in more than one hundred years.

Dr. Stone’s book "Save Every Life You Can: A Reflection on Leadership and Saving Lives during the COVID-19 Pandemic" is a reflection on leadership and saving lives during the COVID-19 pandemic. This memoir describes the extraordinary challenges the Department of Veterans Affairs faced and the personal stories of his team as they worked against the clock in a pandemic unique in more than 100 years. It also describes the principles of leadership that informed and guided Dr. Stone, and his thoughts on what we learned as a nation about health care delivery as we prepare for the next once-in-a-hundred-year crisis.

As of January 1, 2024, CMS implemented new policies for addressing health-related social needs (HRSN) to proactively treat and better understand the needs of our country's most underserved and chronically ill populations. These policies will support physicians that help patients identify and connect with the appropriate clinical and community resources to address unmet HRSN that may influence a patient's treatment.

Today we speak with Kamala Green, social drivers of health program manager at National Government Services, and we discuss as social, economic, and physical factors affecting patient health evolve and diversify, it's important that federal health agencies continue to prioritize health equity practices and initiatives to provide the highest quality of care possible for every citizen.

Kamala Green, social drivers of health program manager at National Government Services, an Elevance Health Company
In her current position as the Social Drivers of Health Program Manager at National Government Services, Kamala assists with strategic design, implementation and evaluation of social drivers of health initiatives, where she partners to recommend initiatives related to unmet social needs, such as food, housing, legal support and income. Since joining NGS in November 2021, Kamala is instrumental in level setting and shaping the agenda for health equity and the social drivers of health (SDOH), specifically for Medicare.

National Government Services
For more than 50 years, National Government Services has been empowering federal healthcare agencies to improve lives and communities and deliver care to millions of Americans through outcome-driven innovation. The company helps bridge the technology gap to make IT an enabler of healthcare, not an obstacle to operations. Its core business areas include digital health, providing federal IT solutions and services for healthcare, and business process solutions. This includes its role as a Medicare contractor for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.