Milton Hauser is Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of MedeFile International, Inc. For nearly 30 years, he has been a noted pioneer in the field of advertising and marketing, creating and executing many high profile national campaigns and programs for such companies as Panasonic, Sanyo, Avon, Lederle International and other Fortune 500 companies. For over 16 years, Mr. Hauser served as President of his own production company, where he earned distinction as an award winning writer/producer of both television commercials and industrial productions.
Please begin with a brief historical sketch of the company and a picture of the things you’re doing at the present time.
The company was started a number of years ago after my mother had fallen ill. As an only child whose father had already passed away, it fell to me to take control of her care. As with most caregivers, I started by attempting to gather and organize all her relevant medical information. Throughout this process, and as I began to determine the best and most effective treatment plan for her, I discovered that the medical professionals treating her, and the medical establishment in general was not only a bit disorganized and massively fragmented, but also held little regard for the information needs of the patient. This was especially true with respect to the patient’s ownership of, and rights to, information that might be pertinent to the course of their care. It was as if the physicians involved were so consumed with using information for their own purposes, they forgot about the patients’ need to know and react to critical treatment data.
Furthermore, they almost always kept this information to themselves, locked in cabinets or in proprietary software systems that only they could access. Physicians even had difficulty sharing information with one another. In short, the situation was a mess, in my view. So I set out to address these inequities and develop a solution that would enable everyone — doctors, hospitals and patients — to easily share, analyze and transact vital medical records data.
Now, I am not a technologist, but I do understand the power of a creative business concept. As a first step, I created a solid team, including the best people I could find. Together, we identified a number of technologies, which we then evaluated over and over until we found ones that met our standards for quality, ease of use, security and expandability. For example, we initially considered using “smart cards” (credit card-like devices containing embedded chips) and found out that they were not viable. We evaluated numerous CD-based and USB-based technologies as well. As a result, we have the premier product in the medical records management industry, not just from a personal health record perspective, but also from a managed care and provider perspective as well.
While our product approach remains geared to the patient or consumer, we continuously develop tools that are viable for providers and payers as well. We have founded our approach on the belief that an individual has the right to possess their medical information. They have the option to carry this on their person or simply access it online. After all, it’s their property.
Would you explain how it works?
On the surface, it’s really very simple. A person subscribes to MedeFile and grants us permission to gather their records from their physicians, hospitals or wherever they are treated. They also provide basic details about their caregivers, their health history, current treatments, etc. Based on this information, we contact these health care providers, laboratories or wherever the records are stored and gather all this information on their behalf. The records may be sent to us, based on our requests, in a variety of forms including electronically, via fax and even on paper.
Regardless of the records’ form, we digitize them, index them, encrypt them and put them into the MedeVault, a highly secure, encrypted and confidential digital repository that lies at the heart of the MedeFile System. These records instantly become accessible to the member. Members may access them online, have them sent anywhere they please or download them to their MedeDrive (a proprietary USB device that members can use to carry their medical records with them at all times). Access to the information within a member’s account is determined solely by them — they may grant or rescind access to anyone they wish or keep it entirely to themselves.
The entire process is designed to be a very simple and user-friendly procedure, at least from the member’s perspective. Under the covers, however, our technical department has created a level of automation that supports this entire process and enables the company to effectively leverage its staff, providing a tremendous cost-savings to the company. Our records gathering, indexing and dissemination processes are all patent-pending.
What physical form does the MedeDrive take?
It’s a patent-pending USB device that works in any PC running any version of Windows from Windows 98SE onward. It does not require installation of any program on your PC and simply starts itself when plugged in.
If someone were picked up by an ambulance, when could the MedeDrive be used?
The MedeDrive can be used immediately when an ambulance picks them up. When you place the MedeDrive into any PC, it immediately displays the member’s emergency medical information sheet. This sheet was developed in concert with leading EMS authorities, so it looks very much like a “run report” used by most EMS providers. It contains vital medical information that can be immediately life saving, such as blood type, allergies, chronic conditions, current medications, etc. This information is generally needed by emergency responders in order to stabilize a patient quickly and safely so that they may transport him or her to the hospital for treatment.
Afterward, if the patient regains consciousness or has loved ones who can supply the member’s username and password, the MedeDrive can offer the doctors at the hospital a full medical history for the patient. Of course, if these login credentials are not available, the medical information provided on the emergency medical information sheet also contains information about a member’s physicians, who may then be contacted directly.
What is your vision for the company in about three years?
MedeFile will continue to be successful and will play a major role in shaping the way medical records are managed in this country and perhaps a few others. The company expects to retain a reasonable share of the market going forward.
What would be the two or three best reasons for the long-term investor to look very closely at MedeFile?
MedeFile has an enormous growth potential. We operate in a critical area of the economy and at a time when the aging baby boomer population is beginning to require more medical care. Given their penchant for convenience, baby-boomers will naturally gravitate to MedeFile’s product offerings as they age. In addition, MedeFile is a very agile, technically advanced company and I think we are going to be vastly successful.
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