As part of our Columbus Leadership Series, Client Relations Manager, Andrew Hulse, had the opportunity to interview some of central Ohio’s most notable leaders and executives.
In our first post, Andrew sits down with Updox CEO, Mike Morgan. Mike has a successful track record in helping organizations use technology to transform the way healthcare is delivered, having more than 25 years of healthcare leadership within software, behavioral health, and HIT organizations.
Situated on the second floor in one of Dublin’s brand new Bridge Park buildings, Mike Morgan and his team at Updox are making a huge impact in the healthcare technology space. Located in the heart of their new open, vibrant office space, Morgan has his desk situated right next to his team in the thick of the action. In a conference room lined with pictures of his family and the first employees of the Updox team, Mike Morgan greeted us with a smile before digging into the heavy discussion of healthcare.
“The one thing that everyone can agree on is that healthcare is hard,” Morgan explained when asked how he views the landscape of the healthcare industry, “and it shouldn’t be. The biggest shift we see right now is the providers viewing themselves as a business. They’re really thinking of patients as a customer. How do you really make a great experience for a customer or a patient?”
What was wildly apparent in our conversation with Mike is that he cares. He cares a lot. From allowing his employees to design unused space and use it how they see fit, to walking through the office with a contagious smile, Morgan is on a mission to create a healthier world and ease the pressure points within our healthcare system.
As he sees it, many organizations are working towards ‘fixing’ Healthcare, but the team at Updox has taken an alternative view on what ‘fixing’ really means. To him, ‘fixing’ healthcare begins by ‘simplifying’ the process for providers and physicians.
“Our mission is to simplify healthcare; to ease the administrative burden. The ultimate goal is to ease the daily burden on staff and providers, and ultimately they can focus more on the patient experience, and that then creates healthier patients.”
From the structure of their offices to the mission at hand, Morgan and his team have found a way to simplify the business side of healthcare, alleviate the daily pressures on our healthcare providers, and translate that impact to improving the lives of patients who are more likely to adhere to their treatments in the long run.
“When we think about our mission, to make things easier for physicians and their staff, we really make that permeate all throughout our business. We take that goal of making things easy and also employ that when we think about how we work with prospects and customers. We want someone who decides to subscribe to Updox to say, ‘Wow, that was the easiest technology…I didn’t buy something; I’m actually happy.’
If there is one thing that Mike Morgan understands front to back, it’s that the organizations that are going to win in the future are those who choose to focus on their customers to drive all business decisions. Morgan sees Updox in a broader scope. Not just as another SaaS company, but as an organization that can help in changing the lives of those who need it most.
A man on a mission, Morgan knows what needs to happen to create a serious shift in our Nations’ healthcare. His passion to help change the way physicians and providers view their jobs, their work, their industry, and their days could be felt with every keystroke and phone call that his growing team took. Whether it was walking a current client through the ins and outs of the platform, collaborating in one of their many customer-named conference rooms, or simply enjoying the company of one another, one thing was apparent: the Updox team is making an impact.
Leaving the Updox offices, it was obvious why so many people in Columbus look to Morgan as a leader in the business community, an entrepreneurial advocate, and a sounding board for innovation. In true Updox spirit, we aimed to simplify our key takeaways from our conversation with Morgan:
Morgan is an innovator and humble leader who cares deeply about the future success of healthcare in our nation.
