Electronic Health Reporter

Guest post by Sanjay Govil, founder and chairman of Infinite Computer Solutions

When Infinite Computer Solutions was founded in 1999, it was started with little more than $1,000 and ambition. We launched with a telecom tech focus, as I worked for Verizon and IBM before, and this was the industry I was connected to.

What was clear even early on was the explosive possibility in the healthcare domain. The move from a fee-for-service payment model to outcome-based managed care is driving huge opportunities for companies in this space. We looked to establish ourselves in the industry quickly, made possible by our early telecom successes. We saw that we could leverage the commonalities between the two verticals, including evolving standards, convergence of numerous systems, high transaction volumes, data security concerns, and a larger user base.

When we first started in healthcare, we helped companies by improving existing processes using Infinite’s IP: our first healthcare customer was a Fortune 500 business that administered Medicaid programs in a couple of states. We helped them transition from a legacy Medicaid Management Information System to a more modernized and automated one.

We expanded quickly to take advantage of the other exciting developments in the Healthcare space that was driving patient-focused care. For example, soon after that first customer, we also helped another develop an electronic medical record/electronic health records product, implemented across various providers in the U.S.

We’re especially excited and focused on the patient-centered medical home (PCMH) trend for patients that need chronic and acute care. We’ve had our proudest successes providing technology that helps continue the link between doctors and their patients outside a hospital environment, leveraging electronic health records to make it easier for patience to receive care from home and allowing doctors easy access to complete patient history.

There have been challenges for our industry as we navigate this largely uncharted territory. We are dedicating a good part of our resources, for example, to find bridges between disparate operating and communication systems for PCMH solutions, since the regulation of these are only in nascent stages and the market still remains fractured. As this part of the industry develops, we’re investing in specialized teams focusing on device interoperability.

Another challenge is security, as illustrated by the recent Anthem hack. We are especially sensitive to building resilient security requirements for Personal Health Information (PHI) and ensuring that our solutions meet the most stringent security requirements. Our response is similar to the response to PCMH challenges: we put together a specialized security practice that constantly evolves guidelines and policies that are thoroughly tested within our solutions.

We’re still looking ahead. There is plenty more opportunity in PCMH. We’re looking to create an entire eco-system around the patient, from treatment to prevention, providing the technology that helps patients live healthier, manage any chronic conditions, and have access to early warning systems. We want to leverage the same tech in Fitbits to help diabetic patients monitor their glucose levels and transfer that information to their healthcare providers. We want to be part of the transformation of the healthcare market.

We’ve been fortunate enough to be recognized for our work early on – our CTIA Emerging Technology Award was recognition of our mobile messaging platforms and our Personal Messaging Cloud, allowing seamless data synchronization across multiple devices.  Our repeated recognition as a “Hot Companies and Technologies” award winner – a peer and customer driven award that recognized our enterprise messaging system – is an indication that we’re on the right track.