Enabling thriving Healthcare Providers and Patients in a Post-COVID-19 U.S. Healthcare System

My tenure leading the VA Innovation Center (VIC) ended last week. I depart the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) after completing 3 years of the most challenging, mission-focused and rewarding work I have ever led. I remain humbled and honored to have been given the responsibility of establishing the Center for Innovation for Care and Payment at the VA (aka VA’s CMMI) and I am proud of the infrastructure we built and the waiver request authorities we permanently retained for the Department. VA's waiver request authority will enable the acceleration of regulation inspired innovation at the VA, now and in the future. I am also excited about the transformative potential of the pipeline of care and payment innovation initiatives and pilot programs that are designed to transform VA while improving the lives of Veterans and conserving taxpayer resources.

My departure is bittersweet because of the many colleagues and collaborators I will no longer be working with on a daily basis to execute the mission of the VIC, as well as the unfinished work of establishing the value-based care and payment innovation agenda at the VA.

I acknowledge the fact that no one can "finish the work of innovation" at any organization but rather, we accomplish what we can, for as long as we can, then pass the baton. I remain confident that the thousands of change agents and innovators that continue to work at the VA will keep the fire burning for decades to come. Despite my departure from the VA I remain committed to pursuing opportunities to serve our nation's heroes while continuing to support the VA Innovation mission wherever and whenever I can.

As a self-motivated problem solver and healthcare futurist, the last couple of months have been very challenging for me to endure. Like many, I have lost both people I care about and acquaintances to the coronavirus pandemic. Earlier this year, as the pandemic continued to spread across the U.S. while also laying bare the disparities in the U.S healthcare system, I often felt frustrated in my role leading the VIC since the established funding, governance process, and mission focus didn’t allow for our work to be as responsive or impactful during the ongoing crisis. Further, as we head into the fall flu season with the coronavirus pandemic still raging, I feel compelled to explore additional opportunities and approaches to achieving an outsized impact on the greatest number of lives.

What’s next?

I’m delighted to announce that in addition to spending more quality time with my wife and 3 daughters #girldad, I will be spending some of my time advising visionary founders, investors and companies pursuing compelling solutions at the speed of innovation. I will focus on opportunities that will empower and better prepare healthcare providers and patients in the U.S to thrive as we head into the flu season and continue to prepare for a post-COVID-19 U.S. healthcare system.

1.     Any initiative I can add value to that is focused on helping the U.S. win the fight against the spread and adverse impacts of COVID-19 on the U.S. population and economy.

2.     Payment Innovation: I am collaborating with @Fisayo and @Manny, the visionary Co-Founders of @Gentem; a bay area startup executing the most compelling payment innovation vision and technology stack I’ve seen to date. They are building and deploying solutions that are capable of revolutionizing healthcare transaction execution and stakeholder interaction across the U.S. healthcare system. The software they’ve built and deployed enables the desirable features of value-based arrangements (e.g. prospective payments) while automating the existing Fee-For-Service transaction workflows that most providers are accustomed to. The Gentem technology and services stack offers tremendous value to all provider sub-specialties, Remote Patient Monitoring solution providers, and self-insured employers. With this collaboration I feel empowered to explore opportunities to strengthen community-based providers and healthcare delivery organizations that are struggling with cash flow issues and are at risk of going out of business as the COVID-19 pandemic wears on. I believe that a more consolidated and severely less competitive U.S. healthcare market will cause irreparable harm to value oriented efforts to create a better, cheaper, and more accessible U.S. healthcare system.

3.     Care Delivery Innovation: I am advising @Jeff, the extremely accomplished and visionary founder of @Raziel; A global company that is building one of the most comprehensive technology driven multi-modal care management programs designed to care for seniors and chronically ill persons in the comfort of their homes. The @Raziel care management program is designed with vulnerable populations in mind and is especially adept at enabling the avoidance of inappropriate patient admissions to Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNFs) while delivering improved outcomes. With this collaboration I feel empowered to explore opportunities to address some of the heartbreaking outcomes I witnessed earlier this year. It has been gut wrenching to learn of situations where residents of certain underserved communities in the U.S. were deteriorating or dying while isolated at home - “playing it safe” by avoiding in-person care due to the fear of being infected with the coronavirus.

4.     Preparing for a post-COVID-19 U.S. Healthcare System: I’m grateful to the dozens of healthcare industry executives, investors and thought leaders I had the pleasure of speaking with over the last couple of months while pondering the future of value-based care and payment innovation at the VA and across the U.S. healthcare system. Given my overall alignment with insights and perspectives shared, I feel inspired to finally write and publish the healthcare reform book I outlined a couple of years ago (hint: it’s probably not going to have a positive outlook).

For those who have continued reading up to this point :) , I appreciate and applaud your interest and would be happy to connect to discuss any of the initiatives I’m currently working on. Please reach out on LinkedIn or via email at [email protected].

Finally, I remain honored, humbled and grateful to @Melissa, @Dat, @Shana (OEI leadership) who appointed me to the Senior Executive Service (SES) and entrusted me with leading the effort of turning a section of new law (VA MISSION ACT: Section 152) into a functioning VA program office with a legislated mandate and related authorities.

To my former team (@Brian, @Meredith, @Corey, @Brittney, @Vanessa, @Steve, @Jennifer, @Roshni, @Michael, @Josh, @Lindsey, @Jorge, @Erick, @Matthew, @Aija, @Kristin, @Brad, @Jenneil, @Michaele, @Maddy and other active collaborators), thanks again for supporting the mission of the VIC as long as you have/did and I look forward to cheering on the great things you will achieve with your respective careers.

To my former VA (@ISC, @OEI, @OGC, @OI&T, @OM, @00Reg, @OCLA) collaborators (@Mike, @Darin, @Laura, @Valerie, @Charles, @David, @Susan, @Maura, @Chris, @Maryam, @Jonathan, etc.), supporters (@Sharon, @Barbara, @Cam, @Joe, etc.) and VHA champions (@Kameron, @Carolyn, @Jennifer, @Steve, @Rich, @Ryan, @Kit, @Rachel, @Tracey, @Mark, @Amy, @Dave etc.) I will be eternally grateful for your guidance, support and perspective as we established the funding streams and governance process that enabled us to successfully develop, transmit to Congress, and ultimately get passed into law, the initial waiver request to carry out a pilot program using #VAMISSION152 authorities. 

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Mr. Michael Akinyele, MBA, SES, is the former founding VA Chief Innovation Officer and former Principal Lead of the VA Innovation Center (VIC).

He is the Founder and Managing Principal of The Maximizer Group (TMGLLC), an independent advisory firm he operationalized in 2016. He is a health care futurist, collaborative leader and turnaround expert primarily advising executive officers of global corporations and leading enterprise-wide transformation initiatives for dynamic and complex organizations. 

He is a member of the board of the Lymphoma Research Foundation (LRF), the largest foundation focused on funding research aimed at finding a cure and serving those touched by the disease. Mr. Akinyele started his career managing physician practices in the Washington, D.C. metro area. He earned his Master’s in Business Administration from Stanford Graduate School of Business and graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in Economics from Howard University. 

Contact: [email protected]