athenista spotlight: Meet Jasmine Gee
By day she helps clients make the most of athenaNet, including helping practices realize their operational and financial dreams. By night she dives into some "light" reading, with a little TiVo on the side. Meet Jasmine Gee, athenahealth's Process Innovation Manager in Client Operations, this month's featured athenista.
athenaPulse: What do you do in a typical day at work?
Jasmine Gee: My job is to improve how clients and client-facing athenistas use athenaNet. What I do on a daily basis can differ radically -- especially when I'm staring at a fast-approaching deadline. In general, my Process Innovation cohorts and I are looking at how to improve internal processes within Client Operations, allowing our teams to deliver to clients as efficiently as possible. Most mornings, I'm responding to email, updating project stakeholders, and facilitating project meetings. After about 3-4 cups of coffee, I devote my afternoons to work on application designs, functionality/training documentation, and old-fashioned brainstorming.
aP: Is this your first job at athenahealth?
JG: In my five years at athenahealth, I've had four different jobs: Implementation Analyst/Associate/Project Associate, Training Associate, Project Manager, and Process Innovation Manager. Way back in 2001, with close to zero healthcare experience, I was hired as an Implementation Analyst with our Implementation (now Professional Services) team. For about three years, I configured athenaNet tables, trained clients, supported go-lives, scoped rules, triaged post-live issues, and managed implementations. When I joined the Implementation Wizard project team in 2005, I had to apply my years of implementation and client knowledge to create a completely new process - to go from "doing" to "creating." I've seen a lot of co-workers make that transition, and it's one of the best things about working at athenahealth -- you're expected to learn just enough to start doing something else.
aP: What was the most challenging project you worked on at athenahealth?
JG: Last year, I was fortunate to work on the Implementation Wizard project. The project team, headed by Laurie Mullin, was tasked with providing a cheaper and faster implementation solution to 1-2 physician practices without affecting client performance or satisfaction. Oh, and all implementation work had to be done remotely -- everything from table configuration to training to go-live support.
aP: What have you read lately, and what are you reading now?
JG: My last book was "American Theocracy" by Kevin Phillips; the author was interviewed on the Colbert Report, and I was so intrigued by the author's hypothesis that I bought the book. Right now, I'm reading "Financial Management for Medical Groups: A Resource for New and Experience Managers", published by the MGMA. This book has everything -- intrigue, suspense, mind-numbing accounting principles. I'm actually reading it in preparation for my next project around athenaNet financial reconciliation.
aP: Your favorite "athenahealth moment?"
JG: The day the first Implementation Wizard client went live without one athenahealth employee in the practice -- or within 100 miles of the practice. I was convinced -- CONVINCED -- the day would be an absolute disaster and that I would have to drive to Rhode Island to talk a frantic client off the ledge. Save from a few questions at the end of the day, the go-live was remarkably uneventful. The next day it was business as usual -- another client going live using a completely remote implementation and go-live support process. Solve one problem, move on to the next!
aP: Favorite way to unwind after work?
JG: I like to go home and snuggle up to my TiVo, which is, quite possibly the best invention ever -- after television. Right now, the Colbert Report, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Nip/Tuck dominate my evenings.
