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Discern, LLC 1501 Sulgrave Avenue, Suite 302 Baltimore, Maryland 21209 (410) 542-4470 phone (410) 542-9990 fax
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DISCERN STAFF Guy D’Andrea, President and Founder gdandrea@discernconsulting.com 410-542-4470, ext. 1
Guy D’Andrea founded Discern, LLC in 2004. Since that time, Mr. D’Andrea has worked with leading health care organizations nationwide – including The Leapfrog Group, Bridges to Excellence and the National Business Coalition on Health – to design, implement and evaluate pay-for-performance and value-based purchasing strategies. Mr. D’Andrea specializes in assessing the return on investment from these programs and has built ROI models for several clients. Projects undertaken by Discern include the design and development of hospital and physician pay-for-performance programs, value analysis for HIT adoption, an interactive P4P decision tool for health care purchasers, and quality standards for wellness programs.
Before starting Discern, Mr. D’Andrea spent seven years as Vice President at URAC, where he was responsible for the development of URAC’s accreditation programs, including quality standards for PPOs, utilization management organizations, case management organizations and consumer-directed health care. Prior to URAC, he spent five years working on managed care regulatory and policy issues with the American Association of Health Plans (now AHIP) and the Maryland Association of HMOs.
Mr. D’Andrea has co-authored several papers on health care reform, including: “Should Health Care Come with a Warranty?” featured in Health Affairs, “Physicians Respond to Pay-for-Performance Incentives: Larger Incentives Yield Greater Participation” in The American Journal of Managed Care, and “Sustaining The Medical Home: How Prometheus Payment Can Revitalize Primary Care” for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
Mr. D’Andrea received an undergraduate degree in philosophy from Cornell University. He earned dual Master of Business Administration degrees from Columbia University and the London Business School, where he graduated as the valedictorian of his program. He is a member of the American Association of Health Care Consultants, the American College of Healthcare Executives and the Mid-Atlantic Business Group on Health. Click here to view Mr. D’Andrea’s CV.
Allison Doyle, Project Director adoyle@discernconsulting.com 410-542-4470, ext. 2
Allison Doyle serves as project director at Discern Consulting, working with local and national non-profit organizations to implement value-based benefit design and health care purchasing strategies. Since joining the Discern team in early 2006, Ms. Doyle has acted as the project management lead on a variety of client initiatives, including the Leapfrog Group’s Hospital Recognition Program, the Bridges to Excellence physician pay-for-performance program, American Health Care’s purchaser toolkit, the National Business Coalition on Health’s diabetes seed grant program, and the HealthMapRxTM community pharmacy-based program. She has experience coordinating pay-for-performance program activities from concept origination to marketplace implementation, including program exploration and design, project plan and toolkit development, stakeholder education and outreach, special event coordination, marketing and public relations strategy, and implementation support.
In addition to her program management and support expertise, Ms. Doyle co-authored the white paper “Adding Value to PPO Services – A White Paper on Value-Based Benefit Design,” an educational resource that highlights strategies and best practices Preferred Provider Organizations and others in the health care industry can use to improve the delivery of health care services.
Ms. Doyle received a Bachelor of Arts in communication, with a concentration in advertising and public relations and a minor in Spanish from Loyola College in Maryland. She also studied international communications and reporting in Italy and is currently pursuing a Master of Business Administration degree at Loyola College in Maryland. Ms. Doyle is a member of the Mid-Atlantic Business Group on Health and the Worldwide Employee Benefits (WEB) organization. Click here to view Ms. Doyle’s CV.
David Wollner, Project Director dwollner@discernconsulting.com 410-542-4470, ext. 7
David Wollner has more than ten years professional experience in leading health care manufacturer and payer organizations focused on contracts and pricing, managed markets, network relationships and medical claims. Mr. Wollner joined the Discern team in early 2010 as project director and provides a range of consulting services to clients, including financial and decision model development, data analysis and research, and project management.
Before joining Discern, Mr. Wollner worked as a senior analyst at CVS Caremark in Chicago, where he administered a portfolio of commercial and Medicare Part D pharmaceutical accounts. He has also served as a consultant for Aetna in its Medical Economics Unit, analyzing industry performance metrics and reviewing medical claims, and has held roles in managed care contract administration and negotiation at Takeda Pharmaceuticals in Chicago and Quest Diagnostics in New Jersey. In addition, after graduating from college, Mr. Wollner was selected to attend Johnson & Johnson’s Financial Leadership Development Program, where he gained exposure to various business models and financial disciplines.
Mr. Wollner received a Bachelor of Science in finance from Miami University and a Master of Business Administration degree with a concentration in health care management from Loyola University Chicago Graduate School of Business. He is a member of the Beta Gamma Sigma business honorary society and the American College of Healthcare Executives. Most recently, he earned designation as Certified Professional Contracts Manager (CPCM) from the National Contract Management Association. Click here to visit Mr. Wollner’s CV.
Blaine Hastings, Project Manager bhastings@discernconsulting.com 410-542-4470, ext. 6
Blaine Hastings became a member of the Discern Consulting team in early 2008. As a project manager, he supports client projects and Discern’s internal operations. Mr. Hastings assists with communications, marketing, financial and data analysis, project planning and timeline management for national health care programs.
Most recently, Mr. Hastings worked as a senior sales recruiter at Maxim Healthcare, where he managed a flu immunization program and assisted with company recruitment and training.
Mr. Hastings graduated from James Madison University in May 2007 with a Bachelor of Business Administration in management and a minor in communication. He is a member of the Beta Gamma Sigma business honorary society. Click here to view Mr. Hasting’s CV.
Maria Nikol, Project Manager mnikol@discernconsulting.com 410-542-4470, ext. 8
Maria Nikol joined Discern as a project manager in early 2010. Ms. Nikol provides project management services, including project design and coordination, research and analysis, and communications outreach, to various health care client initiatives. She also develops client communication materials, including educational toolkits, print brochures and Web-based materials.
Before joining Discern, Ms. Nikol was the implementation manager and coordinator at Harmony Medical, where she created training materials and educated staff and physicians about practice management and electronic medical records. She also founded and served as the president of A+ Promotions, an independent marketing agency, for more than three years. In this role, Ms. Nikol managed and trained staff for point-of-sale promotions and tradeshows, mainly within the food services industry.
Ms. Nikol received a bachelor of science in pharmaceutical marketing and management from the University of Sciences in Philadelphia. She speaks fluent Russian and is an avid ice skater, teaching lessons to both children and adults.
Katherine Files, Marketing Manager kfiles@discernconsulting.com 410-542-4470, ext. 5
In 2007, Katherine Files joined the Discern Consulting team as marketing manager. She is responsible for managing Discern’s marketing and public relations activities, including marketing materials development, media relations and business development.
Before joining Discern Consulting, Ms. Files worked as a senior account executive at McNeely Pigott & Fox, a leading public relations agency in Nashville, Tenn. She created communications strategies, coordinated events, developed grass-roots campaigns and executed public relations activities for health care, government and business clients.
Ms. Files received an undergraduate degree in English from the University of the South at Sewanee and a Master of Business Administration degree from the Else School of Management at Millsaps College in Jackson, Miss., where she graduated with honors. Click here to view Ms. Files’ CV.
Hilary Snow, Operations Manager hsnow@discernconsulting.com 410-542-4470, ext. 3
Hilary Snow joined Discern as a part-time operations manager in mid-2009. She is responsible for all infrastructure and processes necessary for Discern to function on a daily basis, including the management of accounting, human resources and external vendors.
Ms. Snow is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Japanese art history at Stanford University. She received a Master of Arts in East Asian studies from Stanford University and an undergraduate degree in social anthropology and art history from Harvard University.
In addition to varied experiences in the field of the arts, Ms. Snow has performed administrative and office management functions for several businesses. She is proficient in Japanese and involved in several professional art organizations. Click here to view Ms. Snow’s CV. |
