According to a recent report related to Healthcare IT Consulting Market by Type, the global healthcare IT consulting market is estimated to generate revenue around $67.7 billion by the end of 2024, which was valued at approximately $18.6 billion in 2017 and is growing at a CAGR of around 19.6% between 2018 and 2024. The trends of electronic record maintenance and digital platforms in healthcare industry which allows easy accessibility of data from different platforms in real-time is estimated to accelerate the growth of the healthcare IT consulting market over the estimated time. The increasing utilization of electronic healthcare information exchange in the global market is becoming the prominent driver of the market.
The large patient pool across the world is growing at a constant pace and it will be impossible to maintain the handwritten records. On the other hand, lack of trained professionals and quality services is acting as a drawback for the market and affecting the advancement in the long term. However, the exceptional organization, The HCI Group is developing a smarter approach to the healthcare IT industry. Founded by the highly experienced entrepreneur, and CEO Ricky Caplin, The HCI Group is recognized as a world leader in healthcare IT consulting.
After completing the Masters in Accounting from the University of Florida, Ricky started his career working for a Big 4 accounting firm before making his way into the healthcare IT market. In 2009, Ricky co-founded The HCI Group in Jacksonville, Florida.
As CEO of The HCI Group, Ricky shares his views in exclusive communication with Mirror Review. Ricky explains the global healthcare scenario and its impact on the nation’s progress and economy. Along with his views, he also shares the company’s unique range of services which are contributing to the growth of healthcare IT consulting industry. Following are the excerpts by Ricky.
What is the present day scenario of the healthcare industry? To what extent, does the healthcare sector define a nation’s progress and economy?
This question has two drastically different answers when considered on a global and domestic scale. Domestically, the healthcare industry, generally speaking, has reached a point of functionality under meaningful use. In its current state, the United States is well beyond many nation-states around the world, but from an IT implementation/maturity perspective, this industry overall is behind others like banking and telecommunication industry that stand as part of our critical infrastructure as a nation. Globally, the healthcare industry has made leaps and bounds with improvements in clinical practices, technology and pharmaceuticals in the last decade. In the present-day scenario, the healthcare industry continues to grow, sharing best practices beyond borders. The maturity of a nation’s healthcare sector is most definitely a key development indicator. “Progress” and the health of the economy of a nation are implicitly related to the state of the healthcare sector, making it a foundational piece of critical infrastructure for any nation.
Tell us about your company and its unique range of services. In the modern era of technology, how The HCI Group has adapted to those changes in its working ecosystem?
The HCI Group is a global leader in healthcare technology solutions and consulting. At its inception, HCI found its footing in EHR services and staff augmentation. The HCI Group’s services expanded to include enterprise-wide advisory services, infrastructure management, application development, IT system implementation and training, as well as specialty service lines in integration, testing, go-live, clinical adoption, optimization, clinical transformation, HIMSS EMRAM consulting and cybersecurity. In today’s ever-changing technological landscape, we are always looking for opportunities to stay ahead of the curve. The HCI Group joined forces with a global technology firm, Tech Mahindra in 2017. This has expanded the functional capabilities and bandwidth of our organization to attack the modern era of technology in healthcare and beyond.
What attracted you to start a venture in the healthcare sector?
I was particularly drawn to the technology sector of healthcare because it has the ability to impact such a large number of lives, especially since technology is easily translated on a global scale to patient care and patient safety. Applying technology in the healthcare sector has the potential to impact people’s lives in a big way, which is something I am very passionate about.
As a Leader of a prominent healthcare company, what role do you play in its operations and growth? How do you tackle the professional crisis?
As CEO of the HCI Group, my goal is to provide the most opportunities for our team to improve healthcare through technology. HCI is very entrepreneurial because we hire people who think outside the box. I firmly believe in the idea of surrounding yourself with people who are the best at what they do. This is what we’ve done at HCI and it’s definitely been a huge factor in our growth.
Our organization as a whole does our best to adjust to the emergence of crises in the professional world by forecasting these challenges. I press my organization at all levels to think 5-10 years down the road in terms of where we are going, what the advances are, and most importantly, what the challenges or complexities are that those advances or regulatory effects will bring to life. This strategy of looking ahead gives us time to be proactive versus reactive. We continually have a dialogue with our client leaders across the world to understand their views and pain points.
How does your company stand apart from its competitors? What are your future milestones for The HCI Group?
We are always looking 3, 5, and even 10 years down the road for opportunities to leverage technology to improve care and patient experience. This proactive vision mentality affords us the ability to get ahead while other firms are reacting to change. We’ve also been able to deliver solutions that have the same level of competency as our competitors, but at a lower cost. This allows our clients to shift their focus from simply maintaining their technology, to being truly innovative in their approach. With our continually evolving technologies, we aim to dominate the global healthcare technology solutions and consulting industry.
