Much of the success of ChartWise can be traced to the strength and stability of the "three-legged stool" provided by my combined backgrounds in medicine, technology and business.
My first paying job in medical software was the summer of 1969, working in the computer-services department of the Lahey Clinic. I was in the fledgling Medical Sciences program (in Brown's first M.D. class), but already hooked on computer science.
By the time I returned to Rhode Island in 1989 as a board-certified cardiologist, I had amassed considerable experience in medical computing and was developing novel methods to process and display X-ray movies of the heart and its arteries.
Into this mix came Americo Petrocelli, a true Rhode Island renaissance man. His mentorship helped me to grow my first company, Heartlab, from a two-man startup to a thriving business with an international footprint.
Those three legs of the stool – medicine, technology and business – are all currently featured prominently at ChartWise. I experience the trials and tribulations of patient care in the era of computerized medical records, design technology solutions to improve them and execute on a business plan to bring those solutions to market. There are few (if any) in the commercial arena with strength in all three areas, and I strive for others in the company to have at least two. Without that skill-set mix, ChartWise could not succeed.
The best way to grow your company is to make sure your people have the right – and complimentary – skills. •