Q: How long have you been involved with The Open Group?

About one month. TriZetto just joined The Open Group beginning in the beginning of 2015.

Q. What do you do, and how long have you been doing it? 

As of January my role switched slightly. I’ve been in software development management for over 25 years. Over the past four years, I’ve also managed our architecture practice. Recently, I was moved into the role of chief architect for the provider side of our business. I manage the architects and the architectural development team, set architectural strategy, and work with product to integrate new products and larger clients into our architecture.

Q: Why did your organization become a member and what does your involvement look like?  What forum did your organization join? 

TriZetto joined The Open Group Healthcare Forum on January 12. We joined because we have a vested interest in all the interoperability conversations going on within healthcare. We noticed that The Open Group had started working with the federal government around an architecture aimed at facilitating better interoperability. We hope to both learn about this and to influence the direction and approach to healthcare information flow.

Q: How has membership in The Open Group benefited you, your organization and the industry at large?

Way too early to tell, as TriZetto has is a new member of The Open Group Healthcare Forum.

Q: What contributions do you hope to bring to The Open Group?

An in-depth knowledge of how healthcare works in the real world. Also, an in-depth knowledge around what it takes to move large amounts of healthcare data from one point to another.

Q: Why is it important for other organizations to join The Open Group?

To collaborate and work toward a common goal to make healthcare more efficient and cost effective, while continuing to improve quality.

Q: What are your hobbies?

Personally, I’m a fiction writer and English teacher on the side. I also play golf and tennis and enjoy watching sports.

Q: What book are you currently reading?

A couple: “How Google Works” and “Sign of Chaos” – Book 8 in the Chronicle of Amber series (re-reading this).


Q.  What social networks do you belong to?

LinkedIn and Facebook.

Biography

Brian Lawrence is a seasoned IT veteran with a multi-faceted healthcare background. He has worked for two hospitals, one major medical payer, a life sciences chemical manufacturer, a pharmacy benefit management company, and most recently with a claims clearinghouse as part of TriZetto. He has over 30 years of IT experience focused on software development and architecture. He was the co-author of a white paper at TriZetto describing the “smart middle”, which is an infrastructure to move health information from any entity to any entity. He has managed product development teams that have worked on pieces of the healthcare data exchange infrastructure and has a strong interest in connecting together everything healthcare. In his spare time, he teaches English at a local community college, writes, and plays golf. Brian has been married for 30 years and has one son who lives in Vancouver, British Columbia and works in the film industry and Christian ministry. Brian and his wife are both natives of Iowa, but have lived in St. Louis, MO since 1990. He received his Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry and Psychology from the University of Miami and has a Master’s of Science in Computer Science from the University of Minnesota as well as a Master’s of Arts in English from the University of Missouri, St. Louis.