Inside Interwell: Meet the Technology Team Working "One Step Away from Patients"

As Interwell Health continues to grow, our technology team works diligently behind the scenes to build, test, audit, and troubleshoot every technology solution used to support the organization’s ongoing growth and everyday operations so we can provide increased support for more people with chronic kidney disease (CKD). While the team may not be directly patient-facing, they are no less driven by the company’s mission than Interwell’s clinical colleagues. As technology manager Dan Rumeau puts it: “I’m always very aware that I’m only one step away from patients.”

During a team offsite in Charlotte, North Carolina, the technology team had the opportunity to see how individuals with CKD experience care in an Interwell value-based kidney care program with a tour of Metrolina Nephrology Associates, a large regional nephrology practice and Interwell partner. Interwell Chief Medical Officer Dr. George Hart, who previously served as president at Metrolina, personally led the tour of Metrolina’s clinic, where he practiced as a physician for more than 30 years.

“It was an amazing experience to see how Interwell works with nephrology practices and supports patient care,” says Rumeau. “It was cool to see how many patients remembered Dr. Hart and came up to talk to him like he was still their doctor.”

As part of company-wide All Hands meetings, which always start with a patient story, the technology team has the opportunity to hear how their work is contributing to Interwell’s mission of reimagining kidney care. For example, one of Interwell’s RN care managers recently shared how she engaged a patient through virtual visits to help him manage his CKD, join the transplant waiting list, and eventually receive a successful transplant. Rumeau says it inspires him to hear how Interwell makes a meaningful difference in people’s lives, especially coming from a background as a child welfare case worker before starting a career in information technology.

In addition to joining company meetings, the team frequently works cross-functionally with colleagues across the organization. “My favorite part of working at Interwell is the people,” says Javier Gonzalez, a senior information security risk and compliance analyst who worked in political campaigns before earning his master’s degree in cybersecurity and joining Interwell. “All of my interactions are positive, and I’m always met with understanding and willingness to collaborate.”

Interwell’s commitment to serving and protecting patients

The technology team plays a critical role ensuring patients, providers, and payers can trust Interwell with secure patient data. The team runs risk assessments on all technology vendors and solutions, works closely with legal and compliance to ensure full compliance with HIPAA (Health Insurance and Portability and Accountability Act) regulations, and leads audits to maintain Interwell’s HITRUST certification, which demonstrates the company’s adherence to industry standards for protecting patient information.

Gonzalez, who helped drive the HITRUST audit process, says Interwell adheres to foundational cybersecurity principles such as security awareness training, multi-factor authentication, and role-based access controls. “Those tried-and-true principles serve as the foundation for building solutions tailored to securing our unique environment and resources,” says Gonzalez.

Working closely with Gonzalez as an information security and compliance analyst at Interwell, John Howell sees his role as securing the company’s data to protect both colleagues and patients. “We accomplish this by monitoring traffic, data, and emails to create and refine alerts and rules to stop potential threats,” says Howell.

Interwell also relies on the technology team to help identify and plan for potential issues before they become problems. Recently, the team collaborated with colleagues in Puerto Rico to prepare for hurricane season. “Recovery and disaster preparedness is a place where our team can shine,” says Phil Guldberg, Interwell director of information security. “We help the leadership team consider potential threats and how to mitigate them. You can never be too comfortable when it comes to technology and information security.”

Building a cybersecurity aware company culture

The technology team’s job is not only to ensure the company’s devices, systems, and software are optimized and secure, but also to build a technology-first, security-aware culture across the entire company. “We try to empower individuals throughout the organization with IT and security skills,” says Guldberg, whose experience includes leading product security for a global Fortune 500 company and in cybersecurity for the highly regulated banking industry.

As part of the team’s efforts to build a cyber-aware, technology-savvy company culture, the team hosts an internal communications channel where employees can crowdsource IT questions. “No question is too small,” says Guldberg.

In addition, the security team monitors another internal channel dedicated to flagging potential security issues. “We actively manage the channel and respond to all direct requests, and we are proud to have created an active community of individuals who are empowered to jump in,” says Guldberg. “For example, people from across the company take pride in warning the rest of the organization about the latest phishing attempt from ‘fake Bobby,’ the name we have given to any spammers attempting to impersonate the ‘real’ Bobby Sepucha, our CEO.”

Looking forward to continued growth and innovation

Most of Interwell’s employees are fully remote, which means the technology team is adept in working across networks, internet providers, settings, and time zones. Howell says the team is able to function effectively in a virtual environment thanks to strong communication and collaboration. Personally, he enjoys the benefit of working remotely; he moved from Austin to Las Vegas last year so he could more easily rock climb outside. “When it’s not deathly hot out, Red Rock is typically where you will find me,” says Howell.

For the technology team, supporting Interwell’s continued growth means constantly onboarding new remote employees across the country. It also means continually assessing and building on existing technology systems and workstreams. “As our company grows, so do our security needs,” says Guldberg. “We stay ahead of those needs and are always looking down the road for what’s coming next, such as the development of proprietary AI-based tools. Our data science team is focused on building AI solutions that will further enable our mission, and our job is working with legal and compliance to ensure those tools will integrate safely and compliantly with our existing IT and processes.”

“Working at Interwell, I get the opportunity to develop a team and influence the company’s strategy while still getting to be hands on with technology and security systems,” says Guldberg. “It’s the most satisfaction I’ve had in my career.”