SAWC Tech Spotlight · Spring 2024
The Future of Post-Acute EHR:
The Future of Post-Acute EHR:
Dr. Paul Kim Interviews DocNow Founder/CEO Dr. Kashif Saeed
Transcript
Introductions
PK
Dr. Paul Kim
Hello, everyone, and welcome to SAWC Tech Spotlight. I'm really happy to be joined by Dr. Kashif Saeed from DocNow. Dr. Saeed, welcome aboard.
KS
Dr. Kashif Saeed
Thank you, nice to meet you.
PK
Dr. Paul Kim
Nice to meet you. Tell us a little bit about your company.
KS
Dr. Kashif Saeed
So we are fundamentally an EHR that was founded in 2019. I'm a physician by training, I'm a physiatrist, I entered the post-acute care space, I was seeing patients, and then burnout became very real, and I very soon realized that technology is not there to augment us as providers.
I was lucky enough to meet my CTO, and he worked in the health care tech field back in the 80s, and we took a chance, and he's like, let's solve a very basic problem. Fast forward 2 years later, we had a base EHR system. I was customer number 0 on this. And then from then on, we kind of grew very organically.
I was lucky enough to meet my CTO, and he worked in the health care tech field back in the 80s, and we took a chance, and he's like, let's solve a very basic problem. Fast forward 2 years later, we had a base EHR system. I was customer number 0 on this. And then from then on, we kind of grew very organically.
PK
Dr. Paul Kim
So it's a relatively new company.
KS
Dr. Kashif Saeed
Correct, yes, yes. We were founded in 2019, and we grew very, very quickly. Current day, we are primarily in the post-acute care space. That is our primary specialty.
Positioning & Features
PK
Dr. Paul Kim
I know there's a lot of different EMRs available out there and some are very large, like Epic is probably the most common one in the United States. Where does your company's program fit as far as helping people in the post-acute space and perhaps even in private practice?
KS
Dr. Kashif Saeed
Right, so the world of EHRs are obviously very complex; they are a key component of a provider's life. They control essentially the majority of workflow on a day-to-day basis. We developed DocNow with some very basic tools that haven't been done well, in our opinion — from facility integrations, we have charting tools, smart phrases, and customizable templates. So it's a very configurable system that works for the provider.
PK
Dr. Paul Kim
It's very personalized and specific to whoever's using it, I assume.
KS
Dr. Kashif Saeed
Correct.
PK
Dr. Paul Kim
How about, is there a billing component as well to your EMR?
KS
Dr. Kashif Saeed
Yes. In our system, you're able to document and do charge capture. We connect to any billing company via an API interface or an HL7 interface. We also have a MIPS integration that can be very cumbersome at times for providers; we try to make it as easy as possible.
PK
Dr. Paul Kim
Can you, for the non-tech savvy people out there, explain what MIPS integration is?
KS
Dr. Kashif Saeed
So MIPS has to do with a Medicare-based incentive program, and it essentially requires physicians to report on certain measures based on clinical practice.
PK
Dr. Paul Kim
And your software automatically collects that information and shares it?
KS
Dr. Kashif Saeed
We augment the providers to have that information readily accessible to make their decision making a bit easier.
PK
Dr. Paul Kim
I know some EMRs also have a component that does orders, for example, for DME supplies. Is that a piece of your software?
KS
Dr. Kashif Saeed
Yes, we are currently building ordering mechanisms that will connect to external systems. We're also partnering with different ordering companies in terms of product. So it is a key component of the system.
Growth & Market Focus
PK
Dr. Paul Kim
You started in Seattle — but you're not only in the state of Washington, I'd assume, because it's a software company, so you could really be anywhere.
KS
Dr. Kashif Saeed
Correct, yeah. We have a quite large customer base currently. We're in about 1,500 post-acute care facilities, pretty much all over the country.
PK
Dr. Paul Kim
Wow — and why did you pick the post-acute space specifically?
KS
Dr. Kashif Saeed
So I worked in the post-acute care space and realized there's a major gap. The acute care systems — Epic, Cerners of the world — they're handling those problems. The post-acute care space gets overlooked, and I think that's leading to good providers not wanting to serve those communities purely because the systems aren't in place.
PK
Dr. Paul Kim
Just to define the post-acute space clearly — is that included in rehab hospitals, nursing facilities, LTACs?
KS
Dr. Kashif Saeed
Correct. Anything post-discharge from an acute hospital.
PK
Dr. Paul Kim
Okay. How about private practice?
KS
Dr. Kashif Saeed
We have not entered the clinic space yet. It's in our pipeline for 2025 to enter the outpatient market as well.
PK
Dr. Paul Kim
Honestly, this is the first time I've talked to a company specifically targeting that area. You clearly saw the need. Where else do you feel your software could be helpful?
KS
Dr. Kashif Saeed
So we started as a base EHR with a generic work system for any specialty, and then we were introduced to wound care and realized there's a major gap in wound care systems currently in the market.
PK
Dr. Paul Kim
Since 2019, 1,600 facilities — is that right?
KS
Dr. Kashif Saeed
1,200.
PK
Dr. Paul Kim
That's incredible growth in a very short period — especially during COVID. What are your corporate goals? Just grow and grow?
KS
Dr. Kashif Saeed
Yeah, our fundamental goal is to listen to the providers. That's why we've been successful up to this point — we take provider feedback, implement it, and roll it out. The adoption rate has been very high, with a lot of organic growth. Our goal is to build a system that truly works for providers.
Challenges & AI
PK
Dr. Paul Kim
And clearly there's a need — demonstrated by how rapidly you're growing. What barriers have you encountered?
KS
Dr. Kashif Saeed
The primary barrier is adoption of new technology from healthcare providers. I'm a provider — I'm stubborn, and other providers are too. Changing habits is difficult. But we've realized it can be done if the technology is designed to be flexible with multiple workflows and different ways to do things.
PK
Dr. Paul Kim
I view EMR as an inefficient tool because I was raised in a time of paper charts. I understand the billing and documentation benefits, but I feel it slows patient interaction. We're going to talk about conversation capture and generative AI capabilities that will detach us from the monitor. Is there thought in your company to enhance what you have to allow more face-to-face interaction with patients?
KS
Dr. Kashif Saeed
Spending more time face-to-face with patients is the goal of any provider in an ideal world. If we can design a tool where assessments can be done at bedside, data captured accurately and then seamlessly transferred into a note — there's less time in front of a computer. And less mistakes, perhaps. I'll see 20 to 25 patients in a session and can't remember everything. Conversation capture and applying those into the note components is the natural evolution for all EMRs.
Vision & Future Direction
PK
Dr. Paul Kim
In the last few minutes we have, I want to discuss future direction. I've been around the tech space a long time — there's always some goal, whether it's to be purchased by a larger company or become a major player in the EMR space. What is your vision?
KS
Dr. Kashif Saeed
Current vision is, number one, solve fundamental problems. Our goal is to build an ecosystem around the EHR that continues to augment provider workflow and on top of that, start solving basic problems the back office deals with: compliance issues, reporting, clinical data, developing research protocols, and clinical practice guidelines. So there's a lot to be done.
PK
Dr. Paul Kim
Well, I think you've made a tremendous effort in that space and I know there's still work to be done. Any final words about your vision, and as a physician, where do you see the need from the wound care side of things?
KS
Dr. Kashif Saeed
The highest impact, I believe, would be implementing predictive analytics for best outcomes in the wound care world — for instance, having data to develop cost of wound over a lifetime. That's one good example, augmenting providers to make good decisions about which product to use. However, this needs to be data-driven in an ideal world. That's the current challenge.
PK
Dr. Paul Kim
Well, I just want to thank you, Dr. Saeed — DocNow is the company. We're very excited to have spoken with him today. Follow the link to his website if you want further information. Thank you very much.
