“If we’re going to get healthcare online in the next 10 years banks need to be part of it.” Until I heard Bobby Smith say this, CEO of SSI Group, I wasn’t quite sure how he felt about medical banking. He asks Debbie Short, a well regarded industry executive at SSI, to join our discussion. “The model is growing slowly for now,” she says. His statement, towards the end our talk, catches me off guard but I probably shouldn’t be surprised. He’s invested in medical banking and sees the link between banking and bringing health records online yet freely admits the process is slow.

The SSI Group is a remarkable success story. The firm has mostly grown organically; not through acquisitions. They provide electronic health data services to over 2,000 hospitals across the country and others too. I believe they are a critical path player for moving healthcare online so I’m very interested in what Bobby has to say today.

Bobby is relaxed, reflective and congenial. He’s a world traveler who enjoys a good book and likes to garden. Maybe it’s the Mobile, Alabama mind set where he’s from, I don’t know, but his low key manner doesn’t match the wide-ranging impact of his work. He’s done an incredible job of steering SSI into a national entity. He tells me about a new hospital installation in Alaska and how his staff chartered a small plane, promising to bring back supplies on the return flight! “That was interesting,” he says with a chuckle. Yukon Hospital went online in three weeks…not bad! Another hospital learned about it and signed up in this frozen state nicknamed “the last frontier.”

Its a beautiful day in Mobile, Alabama, where SSI is located.

Speaking of rough places to fly in and out of what about Mobile, Alabama? It’s the proud home of SSI’s corporate headquarters. Good thing I’m driving! The surroundings are an impressive blend of Victorian homes and streets lined with old trees laden with Spanish moss. SSI’s building elegantly reflects this style, quietly housing a healthcare ‘digital empire’ of sorts. The dichotomy – old world/hi tech – piques my interest.

The marketplace seems more excited about in-house conversion of paper than handing it over to a bank lockbox, Debbie says. Her comments touch upon the theory of ‘disruptive innovation’ – clients are gained one-by-one even though the value of a new program is proven. It’s just the nature of changing a conservative industry. It takes persistence and patience to sell the program, and the ability to package programs accurately (in-house programs can leverage bank technology too).

In 2007, SSI and The Bank of New York Mellon (BNY Mellon), a major global bank, teamed to create one of the first inter-organizational systems in medical banking (see press release). BNY Mellon, eyeing the scale of SSI, saw an opportunity to meld treasury management services with a full suite of health data services that help clients transform paper-driven processes to a digital platform. Today they are learning how to position this platform and also how to move improve things like point of service payments. Another area they may find worthwhile is linking electronic health records with online banking. That’s where Bobby and I share a common view. Hopefully it won’t take 10 years! Until next post…