Inside Angle
From 3M Health Information Systems
Richard Averill, MS
Principal, The Hesperium Group
Richard Averill, MS, is an international authority on the development of classification, case mix, quality, utilization review and reimbursement methodologies. He is a principal at The Hesperium Group and serves as senior healthcare policy advisor to 3M Health Information Systems. Previously, he led the 3M Clinical and Economic Research group as senior vice president, where he was principal investigator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on 3M research contracts relating to the Medicare prospective payment system for hospital outpatient services, the ICD-10 Procedure Coding System and the maintenance of Diagnosis Related Groups (DRGs). Richard was director of health-related research at Yale University’s School of Management in the 1970s and early 1980s. In this role, he directed many large research projects including the design and development of DRGs, which became the basis for Medicare payment in 1983. In 1981, he and several colleagues established Health Systems International, which was acquired by 3M in 1990. He has also worked with the World Health Organization, the State of New Jersey, the New York State Department of Health, the National Association of Children’s Hospitals and Related Institutions and many other organizations in the development of classification, case mix, quality, utilization review and reimbursement methodologies.
