Healthcarefirst was a 2010 honoree at Springfield Business Journal's 2010 Dynamic Dozen awards. Information was accurate at the time of the honor. Click here for information about this year's event.Offering clients inexpensive solutions for their technology needs has consistently paid off for Ozark-based Healthcarefirst, as the company posted record revenue of $6.4 million in 2009, up from $5.5 million in 2008.
“In uncertain times, our customers are a little bit slower to make an investment of a couple of hundred thousand dollars,” said Bobby Robertson, the company’s chief executive officer.
The company offers Web-based software solutions for home health care and hospice groups, allowing those companies to do everything from immediately updating client charts while in the field and scheduling patient visits to handling Medicare or Medicaid billing.
All data is stored on Healthcarefirst’s secure servers, taking the weight of information technology services off of clients' shoulders and ensuring that those companies’ data is safe.
Lisette Smith, billing coordinator for Hospice of Texarkana in Texarkana, Texas, said her nonprofit hospice service has used Healthcarefirst’s services since 2004.
The hospice first used Healthcarefirst solely for accounting functions but has since grown to include other applications as well.
The nursing staff now uses Healthcarefirst’s technology for clinical documentation, which allows nurses to update and check patient information from the field.
“(Before, it was) all paper records. If they had any questions about a particular patient or what’s been going on with their disease process, they’d have to pull the chart and read through the records,” Smith said. “Medications change almost daily for some of these patients, so if they weren’t aware of the change, it’s hard for the nurse to keep up.”
Robertson said word-of-mouth referrals have been the primary fuel for Healthcarefirst’s growth.
“Word-of-mouth has been great for us, but the reason they’re talking about us is because we’re providing a product that’s easy to use – there’s no hardware to install or IT support,” Robertson said. “They go on, we help them get started in the system. That’s it. They need an Internet connection.”
Healthcarefirst also charges fees for service on a monthly basis, so there’s no long-term contract for customers to worry about.
“When you remove those barriers that typically stand in the way, it makes it very easy for you … people start talking,” Robertson said.
Healthcarefirst is not solely dependent on referrals for its growth, however. In August 2008, the company sold majority ownership to The Riverside Co., which specializes in small- and medium-size businesses. The company remains in Ozark, and Robertson retains some ownership. And while most of the company’s sales happen online, a strategically placed sales force allows representatives to help customers personally.
Healthcarefirst also plans to acquire two businesses in the coming year.
“They’re companies that provide similar services but have older technologies. It gives us the opportunity to introduce a client base to a better technology,” Robertson said.
And toward the middle of this year, Healthcarefirst will relocate to a larger building in Ozark to accommodate an expected increase in staff, despite the fact that the company has been in its current location only three years. The new building will allow the company to double the size of its staff.
Despite its rapid growth and sharp increase in revenues, Robertson can’t help but point out that business could have been better.
“Our numbers would be better if there weren’t so much uncertainty around health care and what form it’s going to take in coming years,” he said.[[In-content Ad]]
