MTJ: What is the current focus of your company’s business?
Steinle: PracticeIT is focused on earning the right to serve our primary care physician clients with the best experience in the industry. We’re doing this by delivering technology solutions faster, with less interruption to practice operations, and in phases which afford both immediate and growing value. Our products and services include document scanning and chart conversion, e-prescribing, e-charting, patient education, secure networks, and full service support, as well as portable diagnostic devices including ECGs and spirometers.
MTJ: How has the focus changed over the last 2 years?
Steinle: In the last two years, the focus has tightened on delivering a solution that mirrors how physicians practice today. It has to be simple, flexible and preserve the physician-patient interaction without loss of productivity. We have learned that the reasons physicians are adverse to technology purchases –what we call the “Killer C’s” of Cost, Complexity, and Change –must be effectively addressed. We do that by providing exceptional service and simple products that bring value to physicians and their staff.
MTJ: What are your current initiatives?
Steinle: Three driving principles that overarch all current company initiatives are: (1) respect for the primacy of the doctor-patient interaction (2) physicians have the right to earn revenue for the services they provide and (3) the final, delivered product will enhance, not disrupt practice productivity.
PracticeIT is doing extensive research around how customers will interact with our application and how we can make it completely intuitive and familiar. We are of the belief that this, combined with a level of customer service currently unavailable in the market, will ensure success of the product within the physician office.
PracticeIT is doing extensive research around how our customers will interact with our application and how we can make it completely intuitive and familiar. We are of the belief that this, combined with supreme customer service, will ensure success of the product within the physician office.
MTJ: How has your market segment changed over the last year?
Steinle: Physicians are developing an increased awareness of both the carrot and the stick of EMR’s. PracticeIT provides technology products and services that bring value in the way of patient care and improved business practices, thus easing the pain associated with the regulatory mandate to adopt technology regardless of its value. This is occurring in an environment of reduced physician revenue and increased cost of production. These customer challenges must be effectively addressed by technology services in order for physician practices to survive.
MTJ: What are the greatest challenges for your customers in adopting and implementing technology?
Steinle: Cost, Complexity and Change—The Killer C’s. The entry level costs of most technology remains a significant barrier to adoption. This is especially true when the benefits of the investment are not clear and adoption requires a significant change in the way physicians’ practice. The resultant loss of productivity contributes to the reported 73% failure rate of EMR implementation.
It is our job, and our passion to change this experience for the physician and their staff. At PracticeIT, we believe that innovative tools and exceptional personal service can smooth the adoption of practice technology and provide new value to the physician and staff; allowing them to maintain or enhance office productivity while holding the physician-patient encounter consistent.
MTJ: How are you helping your customers address these challenges?
Steinle: PracticeIT is addressing an understandable resistance to technology adoption through exceptional service and the elimination of the “Killer C’s”:
Cost—our software services may be purchased in phases of progressive value to the practice or in a turn-key solution. Up front costs and total cost of ownership are minimized by working together to find the most cost effective network, hardware, software, service and payment solution for a given practice. And, our service guarantees an easy out for those who want it.
Complexity—our software services are developed for simplicity and flexibility with clinical and business process automation occurring outside of the exam room. Our goal is zero productivity loss. This requires innovation in both software and services.
Change—our software services preserve the physician-patient interaction. The physician should not have to conform to the box; the box should conform to the physician. We allow personal flexibility in our applications, preserving the most basic physician function, quality and efficiency.
MTJ: Describe your company’s position in the industry with regard to the solution you deliver.
Steinle: PracticeIT’s mission is simply to improve physician practice revenue, profitability, and satisfaction through affordable, innovative technology. We truly value each physician’s individual style and respect their right to generate revenue for the services they provide. Our ability to overcome the “Killer C’s” (cost, complexity and change) through an unmatched Physcian’s Services Department is an industry position that differentiates us from incumbents in the market – we work directly with practices to ensure everything runs smooth.
MTJ: What do you believe to be the state of the industry in terms of growth, maturity, and availability of viable products to address the technology needs of the medical community?
Steinle: We believe our market is not under-defined or under-populated by formidable competitors; but that reticent adoption and alarming implementation failure rates, suggest that the market is vastly underserved. We are passionate about changing this negative trend through exceptional service and innovative technology.
MTJ: What advice would you offer to organizations attempting to implement any technology projects.
Steinle: At the end of the day, it’s the people behind the technology that matters. So my advice would be to give us a call or better yet, give our customers a call and ask them about their experience with the people and the products of PracticeIT.
