With Telehealth, Paul Ramos Helps Veterans Find Care

It was the combination of opportunities in telehealth and an appealing work-life balance that led Paul Ramos to Booz Allen. “I was looking for a company with a reputation for advancing telehealth adoption and the flexibility to allow me to spend more time with family and loved ones,” he says. “I knew I’d made the right decision with Booz Allen when I was assigned to navigate telehealth projects and resources throughout the nation's largest healthcare system.”

That system is the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), where, in the midst of a global pandemic, telehealth is more critical to advancing core mission than it’s ever been before. “In a time of stay-at-home orders and quarantine, our team takes an all-hands-on-deck approach to not only serving the government, but also helping bring a form of normalcy to veterans through telehealth,” says Paul. 

We recently spoke with Paul to learn more about his background and better understand his passion for expanding access to telehealth. 

What’s your proudest achievement from your time at Booz Allen?

My VHA project has our team connecting with more than 140 client site contacts. One year in, I’m proud to say we’re on a first name basis with every one of them. It’s a great feeling knowing they can count on us to find the right answer for a health system this large.

What's the most interesting thing about you that we wouldn't learn from your resume?

I grew up watching the Chicago Bulls during their glory years, and I raise a lot of eyebrows when I say that Michael Jordan is not my favorite basketball player. For me, it’s Scottie Pippen due to his willingness to step up to be the ultimate “glue guy,” doing everything else the Bulls needed. My professional career has been modeled after Scottie’s supporting role to MJ, striving to learn and complement the leaders at the top of clinical, technical, and business domains.

How did you get started working in telehealth and why’d you stick with it?

At my previous job working for a major health provider in Boston, I led the implementation of a wireless video monitoring system that was intended to help decrease patient falls and increase patient safety. I loved the technical and clinical collaboration and sharing our success with other hospitals interested in telehealth. 

Why are you proud of the work you do in telehealth?

During my time in graduate school in Boston, the city had lost cell phone connectivity for a few hours, and I happened to injure my hand. I went on Facebook to ask my friends in the medical community for advice and ended up with more than 100 responses in 30 minutes. I’m proud that my telehealth work for VHA is providing something similar—quick and easy follow-up care for those who need it the most, especially in this time of COVID-19.