Cincinnati PR

Nick Recker knew he had a solid business model when he launched Path Forward IT of Cincinnati in 2002, capitalizing on experience earned during IT jobs at OU and Xavier.

The striped, black-and-white shirt that he’s been wearing recently, however, strictly comes with the territory.

The catalyst for the explosive growth that the Madeira native and his team have logged at Path Forward (www.PathForwardIT.com) is a health care unit providing turnkey solutions for medical practices installing Electronic Medical Record (EMR) systems. And to some physicians, it’s a painful process.

Enter health care’s IT referee, preserving the peace between physicians and their EMRs.

“Putting physicians on an EMR is a brutal, bloody, extremely challenging and difficult proposition, politically and logistically,” Recker sez. “It’s like taking your skeleton out of your body, and putting it back in.”

Something’s going right.

After relocating and expanding his office earlier this Spring, Recker and Path Forward IT are careening down a growth pattern to double their workforce of 33. The company has tripled revenues since 2006.

The Path Forward IT solution starts with the first steps of software review and selection. And considering the breadth and depth of Path Forward, it never really stops. The company with ops in Dayton, Columbus and Lexington provides consulting for network design, implementation and support, as well as custom software development, web design and a help desk.

“Asking a physician to completely change the way they practice medicine, so that they can now accommodate an EMR into their lives, can quickly lead to a challenging conversation,” Recker added.

“New physicians often fear the extra time required to properly use an EMR could inhibit the growth of their practice. Established physicians worry about sacrificing the quality of the doctor-patient interaction.

“The hook is ease-of-use, but some doctors have to be dragged, kicking and screaming, through implementation. We’re here to ease the pain of the entire process, from A to Z, using the absolute best hardware and overall solution for the individual client,” Recker said.

For clients such as Oncology Metaology Care Inc. of Cincinnati, Path Forward provides its 47-physician roster with a comprehensive turnkey IT solution that integrates day-to-day support with EMR implementation services, project management and support.

The Path Forward process allows the practice to leverage all of its software investments to provide the highest level of care possible to its patients.

For Beacon Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine of Sharonville, Path Forward’s work on its EMR was outstanding, according to Medical Director Tim Kremchek, M.D., who’s also the orthopaedic surgeon for the Cincinnati Reds.

“We have worked with Nick and Path Forward for many years, and not just with our EMR. They have been instrumental in helping us develop our website, and at my age, with a non-sophisticate like myself, it has allowed us to be more confident with our use of technology and to really be on the cutting-edge,” Dr. Kremchek said.

“We have been able to use the EMR for things such as day-to-day patient care, prescriptions, and for better communication between Beacon physicians and our patients. We have a very educated clientele, and our patients have been able to understand the processes of what we do, while educating themselves on the pathologies with insight and links on our website we have set up to help them,” Kremchek said.

Cash incentives help: every private physician committed to implementing an EMR can reap up to $42,000 in stimulus money from the Feds. Medical practices with patients tapping into Medicare will find out – sooner or later – that an EMR is a prerequisite.