How do you adjust when a new challenge emerges?
Caplin: We do our best to forecast the challenges. I press my organization at all levels to think 5-10 years down the road. Where are we going? What are the advances? Most importantly, what are the challenges/complexities of those advances? Looking ahead gives us time to be proactive versus reactive. We continually have dialogue with our client leaders across the world to understand their views and pain points. We test our ideas in our R&D labs; input from policy, patients, clients and our own internal team is our recipe.
Are there advantages to serving customers from many countries and cultures?
Caplin: 100%. One of the best decisions our organization made was to go global very early on. We see innovation that has come from the diversity of our organization being global in nature because we get to experience healthcare delivery all over the world. This provides a holistic view for us to offer solutions and best practices from the biggest and best hospitals and health systems in the world. I constantly urge our organization to use our global footprint as an asset in providing solutions to our clients.
What lessons have you learned from one institution that helped you better serve another?
Caplin: The most important lesson that we’ve learned is that none of our clients are exactly alike. We place a big emphasis on learning about each client’s unique strengths and areas of improvement. Even our most thought-through solutions will need to be customized; we always make sure our solutions truly fit each client’s needs.
If you could offer one piece of advice to healthcare organizations, what would it be?
Caplin: I’d focus on a few of the key elements I’ve already mentioned: patients, talent and innovation. Be a disruptor; look for ways to leverage technology for improving care and patient experience. Establishments like CHIME & HIMSS provide the opportunity to collaborate and bring joint solutions. Our personal, family, friends’, colleagues’ and neighbors’ health that is at stake; we should be working together. Lastly, I recommend hospital IT organizations to reduce costs across managed services and supply chain, explore interoperability across technologies, diversify their talent and focus on consumerism. I think if healthcare organizations concentrate on these areas, we will continue to evolve.
Many know you to be a great entrepreneur, why did you choose to focus on healthcare IT?
Caplin: Being an entrepreneur in healthcare IT allows for a big social impact. Technology touches so many patients’ lives every day. Building a successful business in healthcare IT requires emphasis on building deep relationships with potential clients, clients, experts, consultants and your community. Yet, a large part of relationships is trust, established through quality. Lastly, entrepreneurship has led me to opportunities to serve others in need. The HCI Group is owned by Tech Mahindra, a large Indian technology company. As a result, I’ve been blessed with the opportunity to serve the people of India. I’ve grown a tremendous passion for giving back to the children in India as a result.
You can read the first part of Caplin's interview here.
