When he moved to Chicago, Illinois in 1998, EZ Bala had already spent eight years as a mechanical engineer with India Railways before deciding his niche was going to be software. He recalls an early project in 2003 as a consultant with a healthcare company that was struggling to implement its existing software. “Within weeks of joining the team, I offered to write them a customized replacement for their failing product,” he said.
The biggest challenge was convincing them to trust in his abilities. “They couldn’t really get their head around the idea that with just a few people we could build a solution within their timeframe and budget,” he said. But the process went so well that Bala went on to co-found a healthcare software solutions company called AlphaCM.
His current venture, Alphind Software, is a global technology provider in integrated healthcare, focused on developing innovative, cost-effective software solutions. Alphind’s Comprehensive Whole Person Care Platform serves as a unified space to bring together providers and payers in a holistic approach to healthcare delivery.
Alphind’s solutions address the issue of data fragmentation in the healthcare industry. Our increasing collective ability to process massive amounts of data at an ever-more affordable cost has paved the way for innovative predictive and preventive care strategies. Yet health data is often spread between millions of data silos, and integrating this while maintaining strict privacy protections can be a challenge.
What is needed, Bala said, is a holistic view of health, based on carefully aggregated data. “Many people don’t even have access to their full PHI, protected health information,” he said. “This can be useful for any physician who wants to look at your complete history.” Alphind’s approach also recognizes a significant convergence between behavioral and physical health. The result: a shift in focus from treating isolated episodes to embracing a holistic approach known as whole-person care.
Alphind’s services include payer management for managed care organizations (MCOs). Products such as Revolei, a cloud-based electronic health record solution, help small to mid-sized healthcare providers manage patient records and revenue cycle through a customizable user-centered design. Xealai, its 24/7 contactless technology used in monitored living facilities, detects incidents such as falls and seizures and sends real-time alerts to care teams.
In his journey through the landscape of healthcare technology, Bala said one of the biggest challenges has been ensuring that customers are prepared for change, such as government regulations or technological advances. While some pushback is inevitable, it’s important to tell customers why it’s important to stay ahead of the curve. “It’s not simply putting in some time together and walking out, but also educating them about what you are doing,” he said.
Entrepreneurs should never sacrifice long-term goals for quick profits. “You have to have a solid understanding of what is the outcome you want to achieve, for the audience you are focusing on,” he said. “If you have a larger vision, you need to give it time for everything to come together. In the meantime, take care of your employees and take care of your end customers.”
Looking ahead, Bala envisions a future where the traditional boundary between healthcare providers and payers continues to blur. On the patient side, Alphind will continue its efforts to help people exercise their right to own their own PHI and improve patient education about their data. At the same time, any solution has to help physicians be able to make the most of their limited time with patients. “Systems need to be intelligent enough to provide the right information at the right time to avoid doctor cognitive overload,” he said.