2015 CIO 100: The Vision , The People, and The Leadership

“Joining the elite CIO100 with this year’s theme of ‘Innovating in the Digital Economy’ is an amazing organizational accomplishment and is a testament of the amazing digital achievements Access Health CT has championed.  We are at the forefront digitizing health insurance exchanges and transforming the healthcare industry. Through digital we are changing lives” said Peter Nichol, former Head of Information Technology at Access Health CT

 

Every year, the CIO 100 Awards honor 100 companies that demonstrate excellence and achievement in IT for innovation. The process for choosing the CIO 100 honorees is systematic and very competitive. Companies are selected that are using IT in innovative ways to deliver competitive advantage to the enterprise and enable growth.  Access Health CT has been selected as a 2015 CIO100 company, for their industry leading digital initiatives for the 2015 theme of ‘Innovating in the Digital Economy!’

 

Peter is responsible for AHCT’s industry leading digital platform transforming consumerism and retail oriented services for the health insurance industry. As former Head of IT, Peter championed AHCT’s digital implementation with a transformational cloud based SaaS platform and mobile application recognized as a 2014 PMI Project of the Year Award finalist and awards for best digital services, API and platform.

 

Below highlights our amazing innovation story, transforming business through digitization.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

Building on the already successful Connecticut online health insurance exchange, Access Health CT (ahCT) took the next step to build the only mobile platform available nationally that consumers can use for enrolling in health coverage, obtaining government benefits, accessing their account information and submitting their verification documents. It uses a scalable, software-as-a-service platform to keep costs and risks low. The ahCT Mobile apps are fully integrated with the ahCT Web portal for real-time synchronization and an improved consumer experience. The Android and iOS mobile apps are built for speed, reducing the average health insurance and benefits application time from traditional Web channels by more than half to 10 to 15 minutes. Once enrolled, consumers can use the mobile app to check their messages, receive notices and submit verification documents using the camera on their mobile devices. Other states are inquiring about using the mobile platform for their health insurance exchanges.

PROJECT TYPE: Cloud Computing Services or Software as a Service (SaaS), Mobile or Wireless, Security Technologies

BUSINESS GOAL: Customer Impact

CIO: Peter Nichol, Head of IT

 

Read the full story of the digitization and launch of the Connecticut Mobile application: Part 1 and Part 2.

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Peter is a technology executive with over 20 years of experience, dedicated to driving innovation, digital transformation, leadership, and data in business. He helps organizations connect strategy to execution to maximize company performance. He has been recognized for Digital Innovation by CIO 100, MIT Sloan, Computerworld, and the Project Management Institute. As Managing Director at OROCA Innovations, Peter leads the CXO advisory services practice, driving digital strategies. Peter was honored as an MIT Sloan CIO Leadership Award Finalist in 2015 and is a regular contributor to CIO.com on innovation. Peter has led businesses through complex changes, including the adoption of data-first approaches for portfolio management, lean six sigma for operational excellence, departmental transformations, process improvements, maximizing team performance, designing new IT operating models, digitizing platforms, leading large-scale mission-critical technology deployments, product management, agile methodologies, and building high-performance teams. As Chief Information Officer, Peter was responsible for Connecticut’s Health Insurance Exchange’s (HIX) industry-leading digital platform transforming consumerism and retail-oriented services for the health insurance industry. Peter championed the Connecticut marketplace digital implementation with a transformational cloud-based SaaS platform and mobile application recognized as a 2014 PMI Project of the Year Award finalist, CIO 100, and awards for best digital services, API, and platform. He also received a lifetime achievement award for leadership and digital transformation, honored as a 2016 Computerworld Premier 100 IT Leader. Peter is the author of Learning Intelligence: Expand Thinking. Absorb Alternative. Unlock Possibilities (2017), which Marshall Goldsmith, author of the New York Times No. 1 bestseller Triggers, calls "a must-read for any leader wanting to compete in the innovation-powered landscape of today." Peter also authored The Power of Blockchain for Healthcare: How Blockchain Will Ignite The Future of Healthcare (2017), the first book to explore the vast opportunities for blockchain to transform the patient experience. Peter has a B.S. in C.I.S from Bentley University and an MBA from Quinnipiac University, where he graduated Summa Cum Laude. He earned his PMP® in 2001 and is a certified Six Sigma Master Black Belt, Masters in Business Relationship Management (MBRM) and Certified Scrum Master. As a Commercial Rated Aviation Pilot and Master Scuba Diver, Peter understands first hand, how to anticipate change and lead boldly.