Session Description
The Evolution and Promise of Digital Health
Learn about the history of health IT policy in the US, and how the national infrastructure being
built today via the 21st Century Cures Act, is paving the way for a digitally native healthcare ecosystem in the years ahead.
Speaker Biography
Stephen Konya joined the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as the Senior Innovation Strategist for the Office of the
National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC). In addition to developing the Agency’s external and internal innovation strategy, he also serves as a key liaison for innovation related projects and challenges, specifically targeting engagement opportunities with the healthcare startup and investor communities. In this role, Mr. Konya has led several key ONC projects, including the national Health IT Playbook, the ONC Patient Engagement Playbook for Providers, the SMART App Gallery, the FHIR at Scale
Taskforce (FAST) Initiative, and is a founding Co-Chair of the Together.Health Collaborative.
Prior to his position with the Federal Government, he served concurrently as Chief of Staff, Chief Operating Officer, and Chief Results Officer for the Illinois Department of Public Health. Where, in addition to many other responsibilities, he was tasked with leading the agency's Innovation and Open Data strategy, and was
appointed Chair of the Open Data sub-committee under the IL Alliance for Health, a CMMI State Innovation Model (SIM) planning grant. Other assignments included being appointed to the IL Commission on the Elimination of Poverty, and Co-Chair of the Illinois Workforce Investment Board’s (IWIB) Healthcare Taskforce.
Previously, Mr. Konya served as the Chief of Staff for the IL Department of Commerce and Economic
Opportunity, and CFO of the IL Human Rights Commission. He holds a BBA in Finance and International Business from Loyola University of Chicago, and was both a Fellow and Mentor of the Mid-America Regional Public Health Leadership Institute (MARPHLI) program, at the University of Illinois-Chicago (UIC), School of Public Health.