INNOVATION
AT HHS
A CONVERSATION WITH U.S. DEPARTMENT OF
HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES CIO, JOSE ARRIETA
CONSIDER THIS: $800 billion in grants, $1 trillion in
payments, $26 billion in contracts, 83,000 employees and
nearly as many contractors—all working in 11 operating
divisions and eight agencies. All supported by a massive IT
support infrastructure that houses health data on one-third of
the U.S. population and is funded with a $1.4 trillion budget.
Welcome to the Department of Health & Human Services
(HHS). Just over six months since his appointment as HHS Chief
Information Officer, Jose Arrieta is the principal IT management
executive for the U.S. government’s largest civilian agency.
CHIEF ACQUISITION OFFICER TO
CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER OF THE
LARGEST CIVILIAN AGENCY. HOW DO
YOU GET YOUR ARMS AROUND IT?
HHS is a large bureaucracy, no doubt—$11 billion in annual
IT spend to support it. Our IT infrastructure runs the gamut
from low to the highest levels of innovation. On the one
hand, mainframe applications running on COBOL are still
operating. On the other, our application of the most advanced
technologies identified a solution—a cure for the deadly
Ebola virus. Our situation is not unique in this regard, but I
have learned—especially given the size of HHS—that we
need to be very strategic in picking areas where we choose
to innovate. I believe it is important to identify high-value
priorities that solve problems and positively affect and change
culture. We can’t do everything; we can’t boil the ocean.
As CIO of HHS, I have broad policy responsibility for the
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totality of the agency and its use and management of technology
resources that are essential to almost every function and mission
of the Department. And I carry operational responsibility for
delivering services to about 14,000 customers. So, I effectively
wear two hats, one is operational delivery and one is policy.
WITH 11 DIVISIONS AND EIGHT AGENCIES,
HOW DO YOU PICK PRIORITIES? I AM SURE
THERE ARE CULTURE CHALLENGES.
I have 14,000 internal customers and provide full cybersecurity
for the entirety of HHS. So, again, we strategically pick
and choose high-impact and high-value initiatives that
have an impact and address fundamental functions.
CAN YOU SPEAK ABOUT YOUR
14,000 CUSTOMERS AND WHAT
YOU PROVIDE THEM AS CIO?
Sure. I am talking about our customers here at HHS
headquarters. We obviously provide laptop, desktop support
phone systems. We maintain the security for the network from
a cybersecurity perspective for the entirety of the network.
And just to give you an example, the amount of data that hits
our network every day is 2,000 times the total number of
pages in the Library of Congress—I underscore: every day.
GIVEN YOUR BACKGROUND, WHEN
YOU PRIORITIZE AGAINST HIGH-VALUE
AND HIGH-IMPACT FUNCTIONS, CAN