{"id":3977,"date":"2024-10-15T18:16:56","date_gmt":"2024-10-15T18:16:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.modiohealth.com\/life\/?p=3977"},"modified":"2024-10-15T18:18:29","modified_gmt":"2024-10-15T18:18:29","slug":"modio-health-founders-kirk-heath-and-john-bou-reflect-on-a-decade-of-innovation-as-the-company-celebrates-its-10th-anniversary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.modiohealth.com\/life\/modio-press\/modio-health-founders-kirk-heath-and-john-bou-reflect-on-a-decade-of-innovation-as-the-company-celebrates-its-10th-anniversary","title":{"rendered":"Modio Health founders Kirk Heath and John Bou reflect on a decade of innovation as the company celebrates its 10th anniversary"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

For the past 10 years, Modio Health has been at the forefront of provider credentialing, transforming an outdated and cumbersome process into one that is streamlined and efficient. Recently, we had the pleasure of speaking with co-founders Kirk Heath<\/a> and John Bou<\/a> to explore the inspiration behind the company\u2019s founding and to discuss what\u2019s next as Modio celebrates its 10-year milestone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Modio Health: October marks 10 years since Modio was founded. This is a big anniversary. What inspired you to found the company? What was your vision?<\/strong>
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Kirk:<\/em><\/strong> We started Modio to tackle the inefficiencies we were seeing in healthcare, specifically within credentialing \u2014 an important area that has largely been overlooked in terms of innovation. Despite the emergence of new software solutions, credentialing has remained stuck in the past for the most part. Back in the \u201990s and early 2000s, you had a credentialing office somewhere in the back of the hospital, and the medical staff didn\u2019t think much about it. Yet medical credentialers are the gatekeepers to medicine, playing a crucial role in keeping patients safe.
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As much as we complain about having to fill out the forms and manage paperwork, it\u2019s imperative that credentialing exists so providers can work and get paid and so patients can be seen by qualified clinicians. We just saw a better way to do that through technology, hence the start of Modio.

John<\/em>:<\/strong> We started as a staffing company but quickly realized that the credentialing process was the major bottleneck \u2014 sometimes taking up to six months to get a provider ready to work. We saw an opportunity to get the data for our clients faster and saw that by streamlining the credentialing process, it significantly reduced the time to get a provider credentialed, enabling them to see patients much sooner.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As more clients began requesting the credentialing component, we pivoted pretty quickly to develop a dedicated credentialing software tool. The traditional methods \u2014 relying on fax machines, Excel spreadsheets, and paper documents \u2014 were outdated and cumbersome. Our solution transformed this difficult process, addressing a major pain point that had long been neglected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Modio Health:<\/strong> You are also approaching the five-year anniversary of being brought under the <\/strong>CHG Healthcare<\/strong><\/a> umbrella. Can you talk more about this partnership and how things have evolved? <\/strong>
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Kirk<\/em>:<\/strong> We joined CHG in 2019, an organization widely recognized for its outstanding culture, benefits, and compensation \u2014 they genuinely care about their people. Of course, partnering with a company whose main focus is healthcare staffing, which significantly outweighs software in revenue, came with its own set of challenges. But it quickly became clear that our platform plays a crucial role in managing provider data across the company. Plus, we\u2019ve continued to grow our external client base. With CHG\u2019s backing, we\u2019re investing more into our software each year and expanding our vision.
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John<\/em>:<\/strong> As Kirk mentioned, culture was a major factor in our decision to join CHG \u2014 our values aligned really well. If you look across the industry, it\u2019s common for founders and leadership teams to leave within a year or two, but five years in, virtually all of Modio\u2019s leadership and more than 90% of the team are still here. That says a lot about CHG\u2019s culture and the mutual value of our partnership. Joining another company isn\u2019t always easy, but for Modio, it\u2019s been the best of both worlds. CHG has given us the freedom to operate independently while providing the support of a larger company. We can move quickly when needed and have access to resources that have strengthened our credentialing efforts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Modio Health:<\/strong> What are some key challenges Modio addresses within the healthcare sector?<\/strong>
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Kirk<\/em>:<\/strong> One of the key challenges Modio addresses is the overwhelming redundancy in provider data management. As a practicing physician, I can have more than 30 data relationships across hospitals, surgery centers, and insurance payers, each requiring the same credentialing process with hundreds of data points and documents. About 25% of this information, like licenses, board certifications, and medical education, must be verified repeatedly. While there are reasons for these verifications, the process doesn\u2019t have to be so inefficient.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We envision a system similar to patient medical records, where information is easily accessible across locations \u2014 like being able to pull up scans from a hospital or health system, even if it\u2019s four hours away. Modio\u2019s OneView aims to do the same for provider records by centralizing data so everyone can access and act on it quickly. Credentialing used to be an overlooked area, but technology is changing that. Instead of getting frustrated with repeated checks, Modio set out to make the process seamless and efficient \u2014 verifications at the push of a button, no matter where you practice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

John<\/em>:<\/strong> If you take a step back, provider credentialing is pretty straightforward in terms of inputs and outputs, but the real challenge lies in the middle: Each hospital and organization handles the process differently due to their specific litigation concerns, bylaws, and practices. This makes it hard to create a one-size-fits-all system. With OneView, we focus on streamlining the collection of data, organizing outputs, and tracking the process without forcing every organization to change its methods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The inputs and outputs of credentialing are generally standard, but the variations in how each organization manages them create major interoperability issues. Many hospitals stick to their traditional ways \u2014 \u201cthis is how we\u2019ve always done it\u201d \u2014 which makes it tough to standardize across the board. While standardization is a big challenge, I think it\u2019s the direction the industry is gradually moving toward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Modio Health: What are your insights on the future of credentialing? Are there any emerging trends or predictions you can share?<\/strong>
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kirk<\/em>:<\/strong> There’s been tremendous growth of credentialing companies and data companies since we started Modio. Modio was among the first in this space. Looking ahead, the industry needs significant investment to keep pace, especially as part of larger staffing companies. The trend is moving toward a unified provider record, a concept we\u2019ve championed since 2015. While ideas like blockchain and AI are often discussed, the reality is that we\u2019re unlikely to get widespread agreement among health systems to trust each other\u2019s verifications. The real game-changer will be finding ways to streamline data verification, automate processes, and rethink how we approach credentialing to boost efficiency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

John<\/em>:<\/strong> We\u2019ve seen the evolution of credentialing from manual processes \u2014 like paper, Excel documents, and sticky notes \u2014 to early digital platforms that were essentially static databases hosted on physical, onsite servers. For about 10 to 20 years, these platforms dominated until we entered the scene with Modio. We transformed the landscape with cloud-based solutions that made data integration and automation more dynamic and efficient. Our approach was unique, especially five years ago when cloud-based systems were still a novelty, and we pushed the boundaries of automating data sources, setting the stage for the next phase of advanced automation in credentialing.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I believe the future of credentialing will shift from focusing on workflows to simply \u201chere\u2019s the data required in the format you need.\u201d Automation and machine learning will hopefully allow us to gather and verify data without having to track every single step, making the process faster and more efficient \u2014 providers can be greenlighted without the endless back-and-forth.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Modio Health: So with 10 years now in the rearview mirror, what does the future hold for Modio?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kirk<\/em>:<\/strong> We\u2019re about five years into a successful acquisition with CHG, and it\u2019s been a journey of balancing priorities and learning to work as a unified team. Now that we\u2019ve found our rhythm, I\u2019m excited about the future investments we\u2019re making. The refreshed look, feel, and enhanced features are setting the stage for what\u2019s next. From here, it\u2019s all about new feature development, and I can\u2019t wait to see where the next 24 to 48 months take us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

John<\/em>:<\/strong> When we partnered with CHG, our initial focus was on integrating teams and creating stability. Those first few years were all about learning to work together and building a product that could support CHG\u2019s strong operations. They\u2019re already great at what they do, and adding the right tools only makes them better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Looking ahead, we\u2019ve got a solid road map for the next couple of years, with plans to advance credentialing and deliver on the promises we\u2019ve made. We\u2019re also starting to think further out, envisioning the next three to five years and positioning ourselves as leaders in the field. It\u2019s going to be an exciting journey as we continue to evolve the platform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Learn more about Modio Health<\/a> today.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For the past 10 years, Modio Health has been at the forefront of provider credentialing, transforming an outdated and cumbersome process into one that is streamlined and efficient. Recently, we had the pleasure of speaking with co-founders Kirk Heath and John Bou to explore the<\/p>\n

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