April 20, 2016 | Net Health

3 Minute Read

Tech Vibe Radio Show

Pittsburgh Technology Council’s #TechVibeRadio visited Net Health last week!

Listen in on their interview with our CEO, Anthony Sanzo, President, Patrick Colletti, and some other “pacesetting” Strip District companies.

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Listen to Patrick Colletti Podcast View Podcast Transcript

Welcome back everybody. You are listening to TechVibe Radio, and not just TechVibe Radio, Audrey.

It’s TNT.

It’s dynamite.

Okay.

It’s the TechVibe Neighborhood Tour.

Can you just leave it at TNT?

I can’t get past it.

I know you can’t.

There’s no way around it.

Okay. So here we are, having a chance to talk with Patrick Colletti from Net Health.

And we’re hanging out in their space today, too.

We are.

Smack bang in the heart.

And we were reminiscing about some of the cool things that he continues to do-

I know.

… to cultivate a pretty interesting culture over at Net Health. Hey, Patrick.

How you doing?

Welcome to the show.

I am really glad to be here.

But first off, you’ve been with this company for quite a while, through the thick and thin.

That’s right.

How long has it been?

It’s been, I think my 15 year anniversary is coming up, believe it or not. Yeah, it’s hard to believe.

I can’t believe that.

Yeah. 15 years.

That’s what I’m talking about.

How long has the company been around?

So, Net Health’s been around for, in all of its phases, probably about 18, 19 years. So we went through that dot-com, slash dot-bomb phase, went into growth phase and had a turn around element in there. And now, I like to think of it as multiplication. So technically it wouldn’t be multiplication, but by having multiple products in multiple markets, much bigger than we used to be.

Very varied focused. So talk a little bit about Net Health and what they’re up to.

Yeah. So yeah, I would say culturally, I’ll start there. What we’re trying to do is create a place of flourishing. And so that sounds really flowery and you got to remember, we’re PE-backed, we have dead serious investors. But at the heart of it, we’re trying to create a culture and a place where employees can flourish. We know, and we’ve seen year after year, if you create a place where employees can flourish, you’re going to have growth. You’re going to have dynamic growth in our case. And so I’d say culturally, that’s what we’re up to. And that’s a big idea. And it’s a big deal to us.

Part and partial of that and part of the growth we’ve had over the past three years, is finding other similar businesses to Net Health, acquiring those businesses and then creating truly one Net Health. So we own the outpatient market segment for one particular vertical. And what we found is there were some other underserved opportunities in the healthcare environment. And so we found good opportunities there, made our acquisitions and purchases, and have tried to keep running, keep running hard.

So when people think about Net Health, what are some of the verticals?

Yeah. So think of us as outpatient specialized care leaders. So if you look at the healthcare information technology market, what you see is a few 800 pound gorillas.

right.

Very big companies, some of which are public, some of which are private. And they provide hospitals these large EHR systems. And these are typically for inpatient electronic health records. Unfortunately, when they sell, they make big promises and they say, “Hey, we can connect every part of your healthcare environment. We can do it all. That’s why you should sign a $30 million check.” Well, the reality is that-

I like that.

Well, the hospitals don’t like paying for it, but I think Cerner loves it when they get those checks. Enterprise and speciality EHR’s loves it when they get those checks. But the reality is this, they don’t do outpatient specialized care very well. It is too small for them in many cases. And so what ends up happening is, the CIOs and CTOs buy into this idea that we’ve got it all covered, but in reality they don’t. And so that’s why there are niches that we provide products in.

So one for example was wound care, another is therapy. So when I say therapies, think physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy. And then the third with our Agility product line, is both employee health, Occ Med, and corporate health. And so all those other things that a hospital may be connected to, including urgent care. So our value proposition is very simple. We have a symbiotic relationship with those 800 pound gorillas. They don’t acknowledge that they need us, but in fact, they need us.

They need you.

Absolutely.

They need you good.

They do.

So is it because of the Affordable Care Act, is there opportunities in the Affordable Care Act tied to outcome-based requirements for reimbursement?

Absolutely. So healthcare is changing. I mean, think about this today. Many of you have a Fitbit, you’ve got some kind of health device. We’re becoming far more aware of our health. We’re being connected to that by way of high-deductible plans. So many of you have high-deductible plans, and now you’re beginning to feel the actual pinch in the expense of your healthcare. And we’re just beginning to change the way we think about the way we consume healthcare. Well, that’s going to trickle down,

absolutely. And the way that the government and other payers are going to think through that is, they’re going to look at outcomes. They’re going to have to find out who is performing the best healthcare and at what price level. And that’s why companies like Net Health are so well-positioned, because we’re actually tracking outcomes. We’re finding out what therapies work, what therapies don’t work. And so we’re empowering the healthcare providers who use our software, to have that info.

Is that data then returned back to the user?

Absolutely. So we’ve got a couple of layers of doing that. So one is just simple reporting. Next level is really analytics, and that’s taking simple information and turning it into really actionable data. A third thing we do is benchmarking. So with one of our products, we have what is the country’s largest active usage of people performing wound care. And so they can compare how their particular facility is doing healing wounds to another facility, to an actual national average. So they can benchmark, find out in real time how they’re really doing, how much money they’re spending, and what the efficacy of the therapy is.

Are you seeing trends where there’s high incidents of return back into the hospitals, where hospitals are not getting reimbursed?

So that’s a big problem for hospitals right now, absolutely. We focus on outpatient specialized care. So in terms of the patients that we see, they’re purposely going to the hospital, being treated on an outpatient basis.

Okay.

So less an issue of recidivism in the hospital environment.

Right. Okay. And, but we are seeing more and more people on outpatient. I mean, things that people used to spend lots and lots of time in hospitals for are now outpatient.

Absolutely. Yeah.

It’s very hard to actually stay in the hospital for very long.

Everybody is incentivizing that patient to go away from the hospital now.

So do you have people on staff that are actual medical practitioners?

We have lots of people on staff that are medical practitioners and have experiences, clinicians, worked in the field for many years clinically. So we’ve got an awesome team. In fact, our product team, a lot of people on our training and implementation teams. And we’ve got some BAs, we’ve got a Director of Clinical Services, we’ve got a Chief Clinical Officer.

Right.

We’ve got lots of people who live and breathe healthcare and have done so for many, many years.

So you were talking before we got on the air about the amount of vacancies that you have. So you’ve grown astronomically through organic growth and a couple of acquisitions. What kinds of positions are you looking for right now?

What are you hiring for?

Yeah, so we’ve got lots of positions open in sales. So we’ve got a few open today, we’ve got seven that are opening up in the next three, four or five weeks. And some of those are based in our Nashville office, and some of those are based here. Some of them are based anywhere in the United States. We’ve got project manager positions, we’ve got BA positions. We’ve got-

BA means?

Business analysts.

Okay.

And we’ve got some training and implementation positions open as well. So people actually implement the software that hospitals all over the country are purchasing from us each day.

Great stuff. Now, Strip District.

Strip District.

You’ve chosen to be here. What is it about the Strip?

Well, he was a pioneer.

That’s right. Actually a pioneer.

You were a pioneer, right?

Yeah. So we moved the company into the Strip about 13 years ago.

Wow.

And so, if you all on the airwaves were able to look at what we’re looking at right now, you would see that we have a view of the Cork Factory Lofts, which when we moved here was an abandoned warehouse building.

Kind of scary actually in some ways, back in the day.

It was, yeah.

Was it?

I mean, covered with graffiti. There were trees growing out of where windows should have been, the building didn’t have windows. So pretty sketchy. There was no osteria, there was no where Marty’s Market used to be. That was a gravel parking lot, where Lot 24 is right now, that is a gravel parking lot. Otto Milk building was abandoned. And I’m turning around and looking out the window here, and I’m seeing a new apartment complex, it’s 300 apartments, mixed use. There’s going to be a restaurant down there. It’s bubbling up.

And some high-end condos on the other side of the street.

It’s crazy.

Crazy.

Right over there.

Yeah.

So you saw, you went where no man and woman were.

We did. Yeah. And I think one of the things I love about the Strip District is, for me in my experience, it is authentic Pittsburgh. You go a block or two from here and you walk down the street, you check out Wholey’s, you go to Penn Avenue Fish Company, you hit 21st Street Coffee. You see real Pittsburghers, you see real shop owners. This is what people look like when they’re doing real life in Pittsburgh.

It’s little small businesses everywhere.

It is.

And it’s ethnically diverse.

It’s beautiful. I mean, it’s actually a beautiful picture of real life. And so we dig it and we’ve been here for a long time. Big fans of the Strip.

Cool. Well, almost out of time. Patrick, if people want more about Net Health and what you guys are doing here in the Strip District, where can they go and check you guys out?

Check us out at nethealth.com and see what we’re up to.

Great stuff.

Thanks so much.

Patrick Colletti, Net Health. Thanks for hosting us here for our TechVibe Neighborhood Tour, 2016, in the Strip District.

My pleasure, guys. Thanks for coming by.

We’re taking a quick break. We’re coming right back, this is Jonathan Kersting.

And this is Audrey Russo.

We hail from the Pittsburgh Technology Council, day in and day out. Find out how we help tech companies succeed by going to pghtech.org.

Listen to Anthony Sanzo Podcast View Podcast Transcript

The following is paid for by the Pittsburgh Technology Council. Information on the program is intended solely to further the public’s general knowledge about the product. Opinions expressed should not be relied upon for any purpose by any member of the audience.

Newsradio 1020 KDKA does not guarantee the accuracy of any of the information aired on the following program.

You’re listening to TechVibe Radio, Pittsburgh’s only talk show exploring the region’s fast growing technology industry and entrepreneurial community. TechVibe Radio is brought to you through the generous support of our sponsors, including Allegheny County Airport Authority at flypittsburg.com. Buchanan Ingersoll and Rooney at BIPC.com. Chorus call at copygenetics@pittsburghtox.com. PNC Bank at pnc.com. JRG Advisors at PTC Cororate Coverage Group at JRGAdvisors.net.

Technology is driving Pittsburgh forward, so jump in the driver’s seat and strap on your seatbelt. Here are your hosts, the Pittsburgh Technology Council’s Audrey Russo and Jonathan Kerstin.

Welcome everybody. It is TechVibe Radio, not just TechVibe Radio.

No.

TechVibe neighborhood tour TNT 2016. I cannot contain myself.

I know he’s so proud, he’s so proud of that little acronym.

Audrey, this has been many months in the making.

It has been, so glad that we’re doing this in the Strip District.

Exactly in the Strip, and this is all happening because Net Health will company here in the Strip District.

A little company.

Happened to win Tech 50 this year and I was talking to their President, Patrick Colletti. He’s like, you guys should come down here and do a show. I’m like we haven’t done a remote in a long time. They’re taking over the entire Crane building for crying out loud Like three floors of Net Health stuff going on here, like unbelievable.

So great.

So I was like we’re bringing the show on the road. I said, but you know what? There’s so many other companies in the Strip. And so we invited all these companies from the Strip to stop by today and I’m just excited and we’re kicking it off with Anthony Sanzo, who is the CEO and Chairman of Net Health.

How are you guys today?

Thanks for stopping out. Thanks for letting us use your office.

Stopping out?

Yeah.

Stopping out. I think you are coming .

Stopping in yeah.

I think we, I think we camped out,

This is.

I think we camped out.

This is done my easiest commute ever.

I’m telling you yeah.

Even grab a coffee on the way in. It was fantastic.

I did.

Yeah.

So, but you know, our listeners should know about Net Health, but just in case they know, give us your pitch.

Oh, our pitch. Well, we are a leader in specialized outpatient software and our client base today is roughly, you know, nearly 50,000, I’m sorry, 5,000 clients at this point in time in several markets.

So we’ve grown in, in right here in the Strip from an organization that was not too many years ago,

No.

Less than 40 employees to a company. That’s now 240 employees,

Two hundred and forty.

Two hundred and forty, yes.

And you have like offices in other cities now.

We have, we have offices in Jacksonville. We have a office in Nashville, very cool city. We have an office in Altoona. And of course we have most of our employees right here in Pittsburgh. And, and as you said at the opening, we have renovated a little over 30,000 square feet in the Crane building here.

I can see a little over ,little.

Little over.

Little over 30,000 square feet.

At least according to my landlord,

Yes.

That’s correct.

Space is a-

I’m sure we have the tape measure out. I’m sure that they’re charging you.

And every square inch is really cool. Like this is a place people would want to work. Audrey, like.

Yeah, I took great view of the river. You see all the growth that’s happening. There’s a lot of Cranes going on.

There are lots of Cranes.

Going on here.

I mean the Strip is a happening place. It really truly is. I think it has been for a long time. I think it’s just becoming a little bit more gentrified as well, but we love being on the, on the Strip District and, and I don’t give Patrick Lady too many compliments, so I will give him one right here.

It’s going on the air.

It, it right, right, right. I can never deny.

Never.

Having said this, but a smooth, I think it was in early 2000, we were located in downtown Pittsburgh and I was the chairman, but not, not an employee chairman at the time.

Right.

And Patrick wanted to move from downtown to the Strip. And I, you know, I did not believe it was necessarily the best idea in the world. And I have to admit that I was being very selfish because he was two floors separated from here at the time. And then he was going to be what a whole two miles separated.

I know.

From me.

Really far.

But he pushed, he pushed, he pushed hard. He play was very confident that the kind of company that he envisioned that we would build would be better situated in the Strip. And at the time there were not as many tech companies here, but the Crane building was not quite an incubator, but like an incubator.

What yeah.

Building for some of the tech companies.

It was some of Pittsburgh’s first cool space.

It really-

In some ways back in mid nineties,

I think we made it cooler by the way.

I think you do, you do a lot of cool things.

I am, I am bias, but I think we’ve made it cooler.

But anyway, I think back then we occupied 2,400 square feet on the fourth floor.

Yeah.

Of this building. And I think it’s terrific that today we, we occupied that space and just increased it by about 28,000 or so square feet so.

So why are you such a cool company?

Oh, well, we’re a cool company for a lot of reasons. I’ll, I’ll, I’ll, I’ll go first and probably always to our culture. And you’ve heard me Audrey say this before.

Absolutely.

I’m very, very, very proud of the culture here, but here too. I’m not the one who created it.

I, I you know what I say about my strengths in, in protecting the culture is I haven’t screwed it up since coming here as a full time CEO. But you know, our, our culture is one where we make it very clear that we’re here to grow. We, you know, we, we are very unshy about our, our plans to grow.

But when we look at growth, we look at, in a couple of ways, we say we we’re, we’re here to grow as people. So personally, we’re here to grow professionally. We’re here to grow within our community and we’re here to grow as a company.

So I, I, I think, you know, stating it upfront that we’re here to grow, but we’re going do in a fashion where we are looking for, for people to try new experiences for people to take some chances for people be also very unshy about balancing work with with life. And I think we will, we’ll see a lot of that around this, through this company, it’s a relatively young company present company excepted. And so we have a lot of young children in our company, a lot of babies in, you know, in our company. And we appreciate the, the fact that we can be professional.

We can get our jobs done, but we don’t have to be tied to our desks for 60 or 70 hours a week.

Right. Tell me about the importance of building the culture. You’ve done lots of things with your space to really enhance the culture, keep this great library next to the space we’re in right now. It’s like a quiet space. People can go to, you actually have a conference room, you actually made your own wallpaper with some Pittsburgh’s stuff. I mean, so many different ways. You’re getting people engaged and making it a fun and vibrant place.

Right.

How do you keep that going?

Well, so look, it’s this probably one once or twice in your, in your work lifetime that you get to design an office that might fit the needs of a, of a company.

And make your own wallpaper.

And make your own wallpaper. And when we started this process, the process of renovating the space that we’re in, we set out to do a couple of things.

And I say, we, because it was not just me, but one, one of the things we wanted to do was we wanted to create a space that we thought would be reflective of the corporate personality that was probably driving us. But we also believe that we weren’t going to create the wheel for the first time. So we took the time to tour a few offices. We toured local Google. We we went to a Foursquare in New York and, and a few other places when I pick those two, because we actually borrowed two ideas from them. And one of those ideas was the library where we got from, from Google. And, and there was a fear of many of our colleagues here of going to a completely open office structure, as you see today.

Alright.

And so we said, based on the study that we got from Google, that let’s create a space that would be totally protected.

So if somebody, you know, needs to get away from the noise or the buzz, what have you, they can go into the office. They can read personally, they could read for work. They could bring their computers in. The only thing they couldn’t do is have a meeting or have a phone conversation.

Oh.

So.

Nice.

That’s where that idea came from. I actually think it turns out to be a lot more quiet than anybody thought it would be. And I think the, the use of the, the use of the library is more just because it’s a cool space to go to from time to time,

Uh huh.

As opposed to a space that you need to from Foursquare to get to your point about our.

Yeah.

Custom made wallpaper. One of the things they did at Foursquare where they had a themed conference rooms, and we just thought that was great idea.

And so rather than saying confident be, we, what we wanted to do was create four conference rooms named after the cities or the decorated after the cities, in which our offices are located. So the one that you referred to is our Pittsburgh’s conference room, so it has a number of different things that you would immediately know you’re in Pittsburgh. When you walk in.

There’s Heinz pickles in there.

Heinz pickles, there’s the city of champions and many, many other things. And, and we’ve done that for Jacksonville and Altoona and, and Nashville as well.

There’s big curve in Altoona?

There is a big, there is a, there is a horseshoe curve in Altoona.

That’s right man, you went you write without it. So a little Strip District history, new Strip, this Strip.

We going to do a quiz.

Just real. I’m not going to quiz.

How about a quiz?

No, but Alcoa has its roots in the strip.

I did not know that.

I mean Pittsburgh reduction company founded in the mid, mid 19th century.

Of course, Westinghouse.

Yes.

Airbrake first Airbrake factory, I think was right down the road here in the current opera house right now. I mean, it’s like the Strip is like when the original innovation centers, you know, in Pittsburgh.

And this is the current iteration of all the innovation going on here, and Net Health is leading the way.

And Anthony, we’re so glad you allowed us to set up shop here for this,

Yeah.

For this broadcast, because we had Astrobotic stopping by.

Great.

You’re trying to take payloads to the moon for crying out loud. And they’re doing that from the Strip, like when.

We are going to try to do that as well.

That’s great.

Did you know that we signed up,

We signed up.

More later.

Oh, I’m excited to learn about-

So.

This.

Don’t go away. Astrobotic’s coming in a bit.

In a bit. We also have warned that security stopping by.

Yes another Carnegie Mellon.

Yeah.

And coming down our, up from the, I think they’re on the second floor. Some coach during the Crane building here.

They’re in the Crane building.

As well too.

They are kind like Jess Travis is coming up to say hello and be part of our TNT 2016 tour. We couldn’t do without Net Health. Thanks much for have us over Anthony.

We’re glad to host you and happy-

We are glad.

-to see you guys always.

Awesome.

Keep up the good work.

So stay tuned.

I Can’t wait to get the show on the road.

Now I’m getting hungry from the smells.

Yeah.

I thought that was me.

Yeah.

Was yeah.

You know out there in the Strip District. All the food.

Exactly, right?

Not your smell, Jonathan all the food. This is the most ethnically diverse foodie neighborhood that exists anywhere.

Exactly. Right.

So it’s really exciting.

It’s all on the Strip. And so this TechVibe Radio we’re coming right back after this quick break. This is Jonathan Kirsten.

And this is Audrey Russo.

And we are from the Pittsburgh Technology Council. Learn more about us at pghtech.org.

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