Happenings
Division 34 Celebrates Q1 Award Winners
Associate of the Month — January
Venu Boppa
Venu Boppa, a senior developer in the eCommerce Department has been named Associate of the Month for January. He was selected for his initiative in researching and implementing the Power Business Intelligence (BI) tool for data analysis and reporting to help the Engineering Process Group (EPG) achieve its goals. Venu identified a way to help them automate a time-consuming data-extraction process using Power BI. Through automation, Venu reduced the time the EPG spent on that process from 27 hours per month to just one minute. This improved efficiency will be very important for the EPG’s upcoming Capability Maturity Model Integration recertification.
Associate of the Month — February
Sravanthi Lingareddy
The February Associate of the Month is Sravanthi Lingareddy because of her exceptional commitment to customer service. On a recent project that involved several vendors, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) requested a three-day pause in sending some important files. Sravanthi, a developer IV in Medicare Organization Systems, made sure everything went smoothly by carefully checking the files and ensuring they were sent at the right time. CMS later asked for a report that usually takes 2-3 months to generate. Sravanthi and her team completed it in just one month! Her efforts ensured 100% of the data was transmitted within two business days, exceeding CMS's requirement.
Associate of the Month — March
Warren Sheppard
Warren Sheppard, a developer IV in Medicare Systems, is the March Associate of the Month for his outstanding support of the Customer Support Front End System (CSFES) Department on several special projects. One significant project, Report 25, required completing three months of work in less than a month. Through an innovative approach, Warren developed more efficient processes that made information easier to access, enabling the CSFES team to meet the deadline successfully. Warren also played an essential role in a complex project requiring the expansion of a critical data file. Despite the technical challenges, he collaborated closely with the CSFES team, asked thoughtful questions, clearly explained his solutions and thoroughly tested his work. As a result, the project was implemented smoothly with no disruptions or system issues.
Each time Warren has supported CSFES, his high-quality work has helped the team meet critical deadlines and improve system performance. His dedication, technical expertise and collaborative spirit have made a lasting impact on the team's success.
Team of the Quarter
Front End Systems Team
Team members: Chris Adams, Lavanya Chiriki, Eric Crownhart, Linda Harp, Santosh Kadukuntla, Charles Kelley, Sravanthi Lingareddy, Abdullah Mamun, Patrick Nee, Miriam Oravec, Todd Polly, Ernest Roberts, Gokul Sethuram, Warren Sheppard, David Tilley, Christopher Travers, Chitra Walimbe, Douglas Wells
The Front End Systems (FES) team successfully completed six major projects aimed at improving how healthcare data is processed and shared. Each project involved careful planning, testing and collaboration with other teams to ensure everything worked correctly and was delivered on time. These efforts required building new systems, validating large volumes of data and ensuring accurate and timely transmission to the CMS system. Their strong quality control, use of centralized tracking tools and proactive communication with stakeholders helped ensure smooth project execution.
Beyond technical achievements, the FES team stood out for their exceptional teamwork, mentoring and customer service. They trained new employees, supported other teams and fostered a collaborative environment through regular learning sessions. Their flexibility, resilience under pressure and commitment to documentation ensured that their work was not only effective but also sustainable and repeatable. The team’s dedication and attention to detail helped the entire organization run more smoothly.
Process Improvement of the Quarter
Enhancement on Place of Service Mismatch
Team members: Siyang Ding and Xiaoxiang Zhou
The Fraud Prevention System (FPS) is a tool the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) uses to check if medical payment claims follow the rules. The Q1 Process Improvement of the Quarter changed a computer code in the FPS that reduced processing time. This rule that ensures surgeries are done in the correct type of facility (in this case, an ambulatory surgery center) was recently improved by changing the computer code to a faster method, which cut processing time by 86 percent, saving 27 work hours and related labor costs per year. The enhanced rule also helped CMS reduce fraud, waste and abuse and increased monthly savings.
