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January 23, 2003
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modeMD helps physicians on the move
Article by John Wheeler, Nevada News, University of Nevada, Reno
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When John Donne wrote that no man is an island, he probably wasn’t thinking
about doctors on hospital rounds.
"Physicians who have to take care of patients outside their offices in hospitals,
nursing homes, rehab centers, etc., are basically out there stranded, without
any staff support," says University of Nevada School of Medicine professor and
practicing internist Phillip Goodman. "The hospital’s system and the doctor’s
system are totally independent. All the billing and management happens through
your home office."
It’s a serious problem. Industry surveys say up to 30 percent of doctors’ revenue
claims are filled with errors and nearly 15 percent get lost. That adds up to
some $25 billion in missed revenues annually. In addition, there’s also the
potential for medical errors – which kill more Americans each year than highway
accidents, breast cancer or AIDS.
A couple of years ago, Goodman, who is director of the medical school’s Division
of Medical Informatics, decided to tackle the problem. As a physician who is also
a computer expert, Goodman had the unique skillset to find an alternative to the
inefficient paper-based system traditionally used by doctors. He’s also director
of the university’s Brain Computation Laboratory, where his research involves
supercomputing and simulating brain function.
"I started using a personal digital assistant (PDA) with generic software, but
found it was just too awkward and I couldn’t build in the rules and workflow that
doctors need," Goodman says.
He realized that while PDAs were the right hardware, the software wasn’t
available. To complicate matters, PDA programming is much more difficult than
PC programming. At this point, Goodman decided to take the plunge. With help
from medical student Sven Inda, he came up with the overall program design.
"Using some of my own money in combination with funding through the state’s
Applied Research Inititative, I was able to hire about six months’ worth of
consulting programmers who implemented the basic system we had designed," he
says.
With the initial programming completed, another watershed loomed. To integrate
the system and add the advanced features meant finding additional funding.
"With the help of the university and state believing in the vision as well, we
set to work looking for funding and also officers who would know how to
professionally manage the organization," Goodman says. "I was lucky to get both."
Funding came from two sources. About half came from the Sierra Angels, a network
of investors. The other half came from Nevada Ventures, a local venture capital
firm that has also independently supported research at Nevada. With all the
pieces in place, modeMD was up and running. With former Silicon Valley executive
Roy Graham on board as CEO and a team that includes students from the campus
computer science department, modeMD began marketing its unique PDA application
last October.
"modeMD is a wonderful example of a partnership with the Applied Research
Initiative that is resulting in economic development of a high-tech business
in the Reno area," says Vice President for Research Linda Brinkley.
modeMD’s hospital service is the first of several products the company envisages
for the medical profession, with programs for anesthesiologists and medical school
residents next in line for development.
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modeMD Presents at Major Venture Capital Conference