Goal-setting Methodology Objectives And Key Results (aka OKRs) | Tyler Barnett and Matthew Nichols, PhD

Tyler Barnett, MHSA, currently serves as the Manager of the University Hospitals Population Health Data Science and Analytics team, which operationalizes applied data science, analysis, and data engineering to improve health outcomes and lower the total cost of care of nearly 600,000 members of the Accountable Care Organization. In addition to this role, Tyler serves as an OKR ambassador for the Office of Clinical Transformation, where he consults with clinical and operational leaders for the application of agile methodologies, including setting objectives and key results, for measurable continuous process improvement across the enterprise.

As an IHI-certified Change Agent and Training in Healthcare Improvement Alumni, Tyler continuously challenges the status quo and applies change management techniques specifically within the context of engineering datasets to measurably improve health outcomes at scale.

With a particular interest in human factor engineering and applied systems thinking, Tyler designs reporting tools and analytic workflows to intentionally spur interdisciplinary creativity across non-traditional collaborators centered on a commonly understood dataset.

Previously, Tyler consulted healthcare executives preparing rural hospitals, independent providers, and clinically integrated networks for Fee-For-Value healthcare payment transformation and the business of population health. Tyler also served as an analytics leader re-engineering quality improvement analytics for a health system serving the most diverse region in the country.

Connecting cross-functional operational, clinical, and financial leaders on novel population data sets, Tyler is passionate in the pursuit of leveraging data to improve the health and well-being of the UH patient population.

Matthew Nichols, PhD, MPH, is an Accountable Care Organization Data and Reporting Analyst with the University Hospitals Population Health Data Science and Analytics team.  Matthew retains diverse academic and professional experiences in health services and market research, policy analysis, community health needs assessment and community health improvement, performance improvement, strategic planning, and organizational design, with technical skills in geographical information systems, data analysis and management, technical report construction, and community presentation.

He has published in the areas of healthcare marketing, community health needs assessment methodologies, and clinical practice guidelines.  In 2019, and while serving as the Director of the Office of Health Policy and Performance Improvement at Lake County General Health District, Matthew initiated an unprecedented two-year pilot project with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on the establishment of a locally-embedded federal/local public health network.

From 2020 to 2022, he shared the role of Chief Planning Officer of Lake County General Health District’s COVID-19 response.  Matthew joined the University Hospitals family in January of 2022, and is slated to graduate with a MBA in Healthcare from Baldwin Wallace University in April of 2023.