Welcome to PicnicHealth’s Team Spotlight series, where we introduce you to the talented people that are working behind the scenes at PicnicHealth. Today you’ll get to know Justin Maslin, the Engineering Manager for the Care Experience team at PicnicHealth.
Justin is an east coaster through and through, having been born and raised in New Jersey. He attended Drexel University where he earned a degree in Management Information Systems and Marketing. Throughout his time at Drexel, Justin also spent time educating himself in the field of software engineering and grew those skills by working on side projects, including co-ops with Cigna and SIG, where he worked as a front end developer and full stack engineer. After graduating from Drexel, Justin joined the PicnicHealth team as a software engineer. Justin has been a valuable team member PicnicHealth for five years and moved into the role of Engineering Manager in 2021.
As the Engineering Manager for the Care Experience team, Justin is one of the key Picnistas that develop solutions that make it easier for patients to access their own medical records. He also works on PicnicHealth’s patient-reported outcome product, which is a crucial tool to collect real-world data and advance medical research.
Justin recently gave some behind-the-scenes insights into his work at PicnicHealth:
Can you describe your role at PicnicHealth in three words?
I'm part of an incredible team that strives to make it easier for our patients to have control over their own medical records. It’s hard to narrow down everything that I do to just three words, but I would say: engineering, people, and innovation. My role is at an intersection of engineering and strategizing methods that help the Care Experience team to collaborate in a way that produces innovative solutions for accessing medical record data and facilitating research participation.
Can you share an example of how a tool you’ve worked on contributes to the value PicnicHealth brings to patients?
Patients normally have to go through a long, confusing process of filling out request forms and waiting in lines just to gain access to their medical records. That’s why I’m really excited about PicnicHealth’s patient web app. The team designed the app to cut out those unnecessarily complex processes and to help fix the gaps in the current medical record system so that patients can take their power back and be more informed about their own health journey.
What’s something about your job that might surprise someone?
The first thing that comes to my mind is the challenging task of determining which project or feature to prioritize next. We constantly evaluate our roadmap to ensure it aligns with our team’s mandate and objectives. We also consider the individuals who will benefit from our solutions, envisioning them as our own parents, grandparents, partners, and friends. Our ultimate goal is to empower everyone with the ability to access their medical records. Therefore, we develop solutions that are designed with real people in mind, taking into account their needs and preferences.
I also think that people would be surprised by how much non-technical work goes into my job – a lot of my time is spent in Zoom meetings instead of our code. There is a lot of work that goes into unblocking the team, triaging requests from other teams, and planning what’s next.
What’s something about working in healthcare that surprises you?
I’m really surprised by how unnecessarily complex medical records are! Health data is surprisingly messy for everyone involved, especially patients. Our team works really hard to develop solutions so that health information can be understood by everyone.
What are you most excited for when thinking about the future at PicnicHealth?
It’s really exciting to be able to solve a long standing problem with the healthcare industry. Patients should feel like PicnicHealth is a partner in making their medical journey more manageable. What makes this even more rewarding for me is knowing that the data we are collecting from consenting patients can help researchers learn more about what it’s like to be a patient in the real world, which can impact clinical studies that lead to better care. It is exciting to think that my work is positively impacting patients today and in the future! I love that my job lets me play a part with advancing medicine through innovation and collaboration.
What are your top 2 reasons for working at PicnicHealth?
There are so many reasons why I love working at PicnicHealth, but if I have to narrow it down, I would say that the best things about working here are the mission and the people.
What is the mission? The team’s goal is to empower patients to claim ownership of their health and also to advance medical research. It’s so easy to align with something like that because it feels great to be able to contribute to medical research and make a meaningful contribution to the world.
I think having a mission like this is part of the reason the people here at PicnicHealth are so incredible. Everyone is here to learn and make a difference and that just creates this very inspiring and motivating environment that makes going to work one of the best parts of my day. I get to learn from the team and I think they learn a bit from me too.
To learn more about what it's like working at PicnicHealth, check out our Careers Page!
patients onboarded to platform
medical visits processed
facilities provided medical records
healthcare providers
research programs
published posters and manuscripts
partnerships with top 30 pharma
Discover how PicnicHealth data powered medical research in 2021
New methods to improve the identification of lupus nephritis patients in RWD using narrative text extraction were presented at the American College of Rheumatology Convergence virtual conference.
Ultragenyx and PicnicHealth presented preliminary data at the International Network for Fatty Acid Oxidation Research and Management (INFORM) LC-FAOD conference, showcasing the power of linking medical records to patient reported outcomes to better understand the complexities in LC-FAOD care.
We joined Roche-Genentech and other key researchers to introduce a longitudinal, patient-centric Hemophilia A real-world dataset that features abstraction of data points from medical records at scale and supplementation with patient-reported outcomes at the American Society of Hematology annual meeting.
Also at ASH 2021, Roche-Genentech and our research partners presented new findings looking specifically at mild and moderate hemophilia A patients found in PicnicHealth’s RWD cohort to better understand disease burden and healthcare resource utilization in this historically underrepresented patient group.
This year, experts from PicnicHealth joined podcasts, webisodes, virtual summits and much more to speak to the importance of patient-centric approaches when building complete, deep real-world datasets.
CMO Dan Drozd joined The Evidence Base to discuss how to build and measure data completeness
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BBC Storyworks and Roche featured Noga Leviner and her medical journey in “The power of partnerships”
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CEO and Co-founder Noga Leviner joined our partners Komodo Health to discuss patient-centric RWD in “For the Health of It”
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PicnicHealth experts joined Arsenal Advisors in 3 summits to highlight our research partnerships
(from 13 patients with LC-FAOD)
38% Female
15 providers / patient
7.5 years of data / patient
(from 13 patients with LC-FAOD)
patients onboarded across 19 conditions
medical visits processed
healthcare providers
Facilities provided medical records
Change Champions onboarded
Research programs
published posters and manuscripts
partnerships with top 30 pharma
At ASH 2022, Genentech, a member of the Roche group, and our research partners presented their study examining the epidemiology and bleeding phenotype in females with mild Hemophilia A (HA), a minority group that is poorly characterized, compared with a cohort of males with mild HA.
At EHA 2022, Novartis used PicnicHealth’s real-world data to characterize sickle cell disease and burden of illness in the United States.
Genentech leveraged the FlywheelMS cohort to describe COVID-19 vaccination patterns and COVID-19 outcomes among people with multiple sclerosis (pwMS) and in subgroups of pwMS, including by disease-modifying therapy (DMT) status.
We partnered with Alexion, AstraZeneca Rare Disease to help identify flares in Lupus Nephritis patients by combining structured and unstructured medical records with lab data.
Cohort Overview. Understand patient healthcare utilization throughout disease history with ability to probe for meaningful mentions and events.
Sickle cell (SC) is the most common inherited blood disorder in the United States. Red blood cells become rigid and shaped like crescent moons, preventing oxygen from getting to parts of the body. This can cause fatigue, severe pain, organ damage or stroke.
Addition of Narrative Text Abstraction to ICD-Based Abstraction Significantly ImprovesIdentification of Lupus Nephritis in Real-World Data
Join our early breast cancer registry to be counted and share your story with research.
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List the names of all the doctors, hospitals, and other facilities your loved one visits regularly, along with those they have visited in the past. Try to go back as far as you can, striving for at least the last 5-10 years, but do your best. Even if you can’t remember them all, having a strong baseline can help you quickly identify gaps in records.
It is important to make sure that you are fully empowered to make decisions on behalf of your loved one with Alzheimer’s. Your relationship status with the patient may not be enough to legally give you access to your loved one's medical information. It is a good idea to talk to an expert about securing special legal status, such as Power of Attorney (POA), a legal document that allows an individual to name someone as their decision maker should they no longer be able to make decisions on their own.
It’s important to have all of your loved one’s medical records together in one spot. This makes it much easier for you and your loved one’s physicians to accurately map the patient’s medical journey and more easily share information between doctors. Fortunately, tools exist to make record management and access simple. A free resource like PicnicHealth helps you collect and organize all of this information. PicnicHealth’s intuitive timeline allows you to pinpoint data across the medical history, eliminating your need for keeping heavy binders filled with paper records or keeping track of multiple software portal logins.
The better you understand your loved one's medical history, the better you can advocate on their behalf. Access and understanding of this information will help you to ask informed questions with physicians. Through regular communication backed by the data in the medical records, you can help your loved one’s care team develop a more successful care plan.
Learn more about PicnicHealth’s commitment to the Alzheimer’s community and the Alzheimer’s Association
Learn MoreWhen you’re juggling appointment times and insurance claims, putting a robust support system together might not strike you as the most urgent task. Investing the time to cultivate relationships with people can turn to in times of need will pay dividends. The next time you need a last-minute ride or just someone to listen, you won’t be on your own.
There are many condition-specific support groups and support groups for caregivers generally in person or online. In addition to the encouragement and empathy they provide, support groups can be a helpful source of tips, resources, and recommendations for navigating caregiving.
The backbone of effective caregiving is organization. Keep medical information, appointment schedules, and medication lists in order. Use a planner or a digital service like PicnicHealth to stay on top of your responsibilities. This attention to detail can prevent future complications and reduce day-to-day stress.
We’ve seen incredible breakthroughs in treatment over the past couple of years, powered by patients and their caregivers participating in research. Stay in the loop about the latest in medical advancements and available resources that could benefit your loved one. Whether it’s a new therapy option or a community service that aids independence, being informed can make a world of difference in the quality of care you provide.
It may seem self-centered to focus on self-care—but when you feel good, you can be a better caregiver. Whether it’s exercise, a mindfulness practice, a soak in the bath, or just time to rest when you need it, carve out those moments in the day when you can unwind, reset, and stay healthy mentally and physically. Think of it as building up your reserves of kindness, patience, and understanding—which can only benefit your loved one. No one can pour from an empty cup.
Easily manage all of your loved one's medical records and contribute to ongoing Alzheimer's research with PicnicHealth.
Learn More(from 13 patients with LC-FAOD)
38% Female
15 providers / patient
7.5 years of data / patient
(from 13 patients with LC-FAOD)
We hope you found this session informative! Sign up for PicnicHealth’s Alzheimer’s research program below.
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