Barbara is the founder and Principal of CareSync Consulting.
She is an expert in clinical performance and operational process improvement. She uses a systematic approach, employing Lean principles and rapid cycle improvement testing in workflow redesign. Her ongoing work includes training primary care practices to design and implement effective team-based care through the Washington State Patient-Centered Medical Home Collaborative.
In another long-term engagement, she consults with physicians and hospitals, teaching clinical best practices and effective use of care coordination software. She coaches providers in efficient use of Health Information Exchanges, Electronic Health Records, and use of data to improve outcomes and costs. This work is integrated with the CMS ACO pilot in Eastern Washington.
barbara.wall@caresyncconsulting.com
Michelle is a Principal and serves CareSync as its healthcare program strategist, preparing business plans, market plans, and needs assessment in support of clinical integration initiatives (such as ACO and care coordination across the continuum of care), IT initiatives, facility development, and performance improvement.
She also offers extensive experience in healthcare trend analysis, service line and business planning, health reform initiatives, and clinical and business process improvement. Since 2003 she has consulted with an 80-member Independent Physician Association, assisting with growing its annual revenue base from $5 million to $100 million and expanding into three adjacent counties. Prior to forming West Coast Consulting Group, she was principal in charge of Arthur Andersen’s healthcare strategy practice (succeeding Doug Watson), Senior Research Analyst with the Washington State Health Services Commission during the first health reform effort, and she co-owned a healthcare consulting and architecture firm for ten years prior to that.
michelle.vest@caresyncconsulting.com
Doug is a Principal and serves CareSync as its strategy and finance specialist.
Doug brings over 25 years of extensive experience in healthcare IT, health system integration, mergers and acquisitions, organizational structuring, and development of integrated delivery systems. Doug started his career with Arthur Andersen as a CPA over 25 years ago, ultimately leading Andersen's healthcare strategy practice in the Western United States. He has also was a founding senior executive at MedUnite, the second largest healthcare claims and online transaction clearinghouse in the US, at the time, and has served as a healthcare partner at Cap Gemini Ernst & Young, Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC), and ECG Management Consultants (ECG). Among many other roles, Doug has served as the interim Executive Director for the Palo Alto Medical Foundation (an 800 physician medical group) where he led the merger of the 3 large legacy medical groups into a single operating structure with an optimized compensation, operational and clinical structure. He served as the financial advisor to the Friendly Hills Healthcare Network ( a large multi-specialty medical group) during the time that they acquired their hospital and grew to covering over 100,000 fully capitated lives and led the development and creation of a pediatric subspecialty California Foundation Model medical group for Oakland Children’s Hospital and Research Center. He has also developed numerous strategic plans and strategic financial plans for organizations such as OHSU, Skagit Valley Medical Center, Methodist Hospital, Providence Health and Services as well working with physicians and hospitals to develop joint ventures and improve their operational performance.
doug.watson@caresyncconsulting.com
Steve is the President of Durbin Consulting and is CareSync’s expert in quality and performance measurement.
He has over 20 years of experience with improvement of clinical care and safety as the former System Director of Quality for Providence Health & Services. He has worked on the creation and execution of strategic quality plans and the performance measures used to assess its achievement. He has broad experience with performance improvement and in analysis, planning and execution of initiatives to achieve clinical excellence.
He is working with Qualis Health on the development of quality and outcome measures for CMS and the Care Transitions program. He has served over 10 years on the Board of the Washington State Quality Award, an organization that supports the pursuit of performance excellence based on the Baldrige Criteria.
steve.durbin@caresyncconsulting.com
Mark is the President of Change Management Consulting and CareSync’s expert on information systems.
He works with healthcare organizations on process improvement, organization change management and training. Since 2002, he has worked extensively with the Veterans Health Administration on projects to improve clinical performance and solve organizational problems, including projects on clinical process redesign and EMR customization to support these new processes.
Before changing careers to work in Healthcare, Mark worked in the computer technology field. Between 1992 and 2002, he founded three small technology companies in Seattle. Prior to moving to Seattle in 1992, he lived in Europe for several years and was a partner with Deloitte & Touche based in London, UK where he was responsible for automating their audit process.
mark.stephens@caresyncconsulting.com
Randall is the President of Randall Benson Consulting and CareSync’s expert in Lean process improvement.
He is a Lean Master and a pioneer the application of Lean Principles in healthcare and service industries. He is a former manufacturing executive and member of Coopers & Lybrand’s Lean practice with over 25 years of Lean experience. His work is cited in Synchro Service, the Innovative Way to Build a Dynasty of Customers, by Richard J. Schonberger and Edward M. Knod.
Randall is the author of The Quest Effect, Mastering Breakthrough in Your Organization. He conducts national seminars on Lean Principles and Quality, and has worked on extensively on Emergency Room process improvement. Long term clients include Kaiser Permanente. He also coaches healthcare executives on change leadership and culture change.
randall.benson@caresyncconsulting.com