1. Your success as an entrepreneur is well documented as both a pioneer in the advancement of unique technologies in the healthcare field and as a resolute businessman, crafting clever strategies in marketing high growth ventures. How did your parents, Cuban exiles who entered the country in the 1960’s, foster your ambition to achieve the American dream?
Like most early Cuban refugees, my parents were incredibly resilient people who placed great emphasis on the value of hard work and education. They always pushed me to be more independent, which I believe has made me into a very dedicated, well-rounded person. Based on their experience as exiles, I was determined from an early age to make something of myself, to take control of my direction in life and contribute as well as I could to the society that made it all possible. The example they set for me demonstrated the importance of standing up for your beliefs, taking risk and living life to its fullest. I felt that destiny placed me in the greatest country on earth. A place where dreams could be achieved under an equitable system of government. And, that no challenge the business world could throw at me would compare to the pain, suffering and sacrifice that my parents had endured leaving their homeland in pursuit of freedom.
2. The foundation of your newest venture, CareCloud, is the unique software ‘architecture’ you invented to help revolutionize how medical practices operate. In layman’s terms, can you describe how this software helps medical practices spend less in collecting more through advanced technology?
We built our platform from the ground up with the latest tools and technology available specifically to meet the needs of medical practitioners in the 21st century. Our workflow engine helps physicians eliminate inefficiencies in their practice, such as wasteful processes and redundant tests, which have historically pushed healthcare costs through the roof. By making the user experience a key part of our development strategy, we have created a system that is as easy to use as any website, and with support for multitasking and other modern design elements, we boost the practice’s overall productivity. Lastly, our platform has some of the most robust financial functionality out there. The system keeps track of every claim submitted to the payers, and the practice is alerted via push notification of claims that have spent too long in A/R or have been denied. These are just a few of the features that help our clients improve their collections while reducing costs, so that they can focus on providing care to their patients.
3. You launched CareCloud in Miami in September 2009, when few were willing to assume the risk in light of an unpredictable economy. Is this part of your entrepreneurial spirit and personal ethos to “leverage technology and innovation to jumpstart the economy?”
Absolutely. I believe that technology is the solution to many of the problems we face today, and effective technology solutions will be a key factor in eliminating wasteful spending not only in healthcare, but also in all industries and the economy as a whole. I’ve always been incredibly passionate about developing software technology to help physicians, but when I decided to start CareCloud, my timing could not have been better. Though I had been in the industry for over a decade, Healthcare IT finally had its moment in the sun thanks to the ARRA stimulus package and the HITECH act. Despite a weak global economy, the time was ripe to modernize the industry, and thanks to the support of many who believed in our cause, we were able to raise the necessary investment capital. Armed with tons of experience and the incredibly powerful technological toolset available today, my team and I set forth to build our dream. Interestingly enough, this was the second investor-backed company I founded in an economic downturn so this time there was little fear of failure.
4. Can you describe the concept behind a webased healthcare IT ecosystem and how this digital map will help reduce wasteful spending in the industry?
The concept of the digital healthcare ecosystem is a crucial part of our vision for the future of the industry. Medical practices, which until now have been isolated entities drowning in paper records, need viable channels through which to send and receive critical information. We are giving physicians, practices, patients, payers, pharmacies and other healthcare constituents the means to communicate electronically over secure channels. This includes everything from a doctor communicating with a patient about test results, a practice filing claims and receiving payments electronically, and even something as simple as automatic patient appointment reminders via SMS text messaging. Because we were able to start from scratch, we got the chance to work with state-of-the-art technologies that are thriving on the web today and we built these capabilities right into our system. That’s why the CareCloud system is quickly becoming the most powerful healthcare management platform on the planet.
5. You have an established record of success in identifying opportunities, pioneering solutions and taking products and services to market. Can you provide some basic tenants for launching a start up in the growing field of technology?
My best advice to those prospective entrepreneurial technologists is to get ready to work harder than you’ve ever worked in your life. Buckle down for a rollercoaster of highs and lows, because there will be more losses than wins. The trick is to persevere, to hold true to your core values and never take no for an answer, but always be open to new ideas and more effective solutions. To not be discouraged by failure, but to learn from it. To be stubborn, but be smart about it. To be a student of the game and learn from the pros. To stay on top of every new development in your field, and use this knowledge in a timely way to your advantage. Also, to identify and seek out mentors who can assist you with their vast experience and knowledge.
6. A Florida International University graduate, you are a former recipient of the 2004 Charles Perry Visionary award and 2006. In 2006, you were also inducted into the FIU Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame. Can you explain how your impressive success as an entrepreneur influences your leadership style and company culture?
My leadership style can be described as hands-on, and I have tried to cultivate a culture of openness and cooperation. Some have called me tough, but that’s because I expect absolute excellence from each of our team members. Most of my team love this. We work hard to ensure that life in the cloud, as we call it, is an enriching experience. We ask that all of the staff be students of the game. This is because technology and business strategy is moving so fast that we all need to relearn what we know every three years or so. Put another way, a third of our knowledge becomes stale or obsolete each year. What we did to be successful in 1995 will likely not translate to success in 2010. There is no room for resting on laurels or water cooler talk about previous success. It’s all about the now and what we do to best position for the future. It’s about making mistakes but always winning by out-training and out-working the competition. It’s about being the best we can be and in turn crushing the competition.
About CareCloud
CareCloud is a web-based physician practice management software and services company that creates amazing apps to manage the clinical, financial and administrative aspects of the medical practice. CareCloud’s proprietary software is based on a systems architecture that modernizes the workflow in a medical practice, helping to reduce the waste and inefficiency that artificially drive up costs in the healthcare industry.
Visit CareCloud online at http://www.carecloud.com, blog.carecloud.com, or www.twitter.com/carecloud.
