Guidehouse Statement to the Senate Finance Committee on the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network

"A System in Need of Repair: Addressing Organizational Failures of the U.S.’s Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network."

Guidehouse appreciates the opportunity to submit a statement for the record to the Senate Finance Committee (the “Committee”) on this critical public health issue. Guidehouse is a leading global provider of healthcare consulting services to the public sector, including the U.S. federal government, 40 U.S. state governments, and commercial markets providing broad capabilities in management, technology, and risk consulting. As a result of the services we provide across the entire health ecosystem, we are in a unique position to provide perspective across the various policies, governance, stakeholders, and technology influencing the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN).

Guidehouse’s statement for the record includes two sections.

1. Our view on challenges and recommendations facing the OPTN, with a focus on “Rebuilding Trust Through Policy & Governance Reform, Stakeholder Engagement, and Communications to Improve Quality” and “IT Modernization: Digital Twin Study & Impact with Performance Metrics.”
2. Our background, experience, and previous related engagements to establish our qualifications in the tasks necessary to modernize the OPTN.

We applaud the bipartisan support and ongoing examination by this Committee in its efforts to reform the OPTN to provide equity, transparency, and quality of care to save lives in an efficient and timely manner.

We believe the Health Resources and Services Administration can reform and modernize the OPTN through a combined clinical and operational program transformation. This effort should focus on two major areas. First, rebuilding trust in the OPTN system by implementing a human centered approach to modernizing policy, governance, stakeholder engagement, and communications; and, second, accelerating technology implementations by using digital twins and performance metrics. Modernizing the OPTN is essential for enhancing quality, optimizing distribution channels, and ensuring access for all patients involved with the OPTN.

Guidehouse is comprised of public and commercial health executives, strategists, actuaries, PhDs, regulators, physicians, nurses, technologists, programmers, and consultants with direct experience modernizing IT systems and managing business operations for large scale health systems, including several of the U.S.’s largest transplant centers and the largest health system, Veteran’s Affairs. We also provide expertise with finance and payer/insurance models, business process improvement, clinical transformation, and strategy for health equity and governance infrastructure that integrates transparency and performance metrics reporting.

Download Guidehouse’s full statement for the record to the Committee on this critical public health issue.