A. Hadi Chaudhry is the CEO and President of CareCloud, Inc., a publicly traded (Nasdaq: CCLD, CCLDP, CCLDO) healthcare technology company. It offers solutions to medical practices and health systems throughout the United States.
With over 40,000 providers, large and small, using CareCloud to expand their practice, the comprehensive suite of software and services enables providers to take control of their future. Through a complete suite of software and services, they assist providers in increasing collections, reducing operational expenses, optimizing care delivery, and improving the patient experience.
As one of the largest providers of health IT solutions, CareCloud is uniquely positioned to assist providers in moving past burdens and smoothly transitioning into the next generation of healthcare. They provide fully integrated solutions that combine revenue cycle management with electronic health records, practice management software, and patient experience management software, allowing providers to focus on care delivery rather than administrative tasks.
Tell us a little bit about your background and how you started your company.
I appreciate you giving me this chance to speak on your platform. My name is A. Hadi Chaudhry. I joined CareCloud, then known as MTBC, in 2002 as an IT manager, and today I am the elected CEO for the company. Qualification-wise, I ventured into different fields; however, my strong fascination with technology and digital evolution led me to a computer science academic program.
The foundation on which CareCloud was built was the very proverb, “Necessity is the mother of invention.” Our founder, Mahmud Haq, began looking for an IT solution to recommend for his wife’s practice decades ago.
He decided the market needed a reliable solution that was simple to use and adaptable to all practice types; after a thorough search, nothing turned up. A private healthcare IT firm that supports healthcare business owners with technology support was greatly needed, and the then-rising visibility of healthcare IT also aided it. As a result, CareCloud (previously known as MTBC) was established.
What would you say are the top 3 skills needed to be a successful entrepreneur, and why?
The top 3 skills for any entrepreneur are leadership skills, determination, and time management.
- Leadership Skill: Setting a good example for your team and guiding them through difficult challenges, while remaining composed and cooperative, is a difficult but crucial task. Your organization will be most successful if your leadership is developed with an eye toward your team and business.
- Determination: Even in difficult times, businesses continue to thrive because they love the hustle. The most resilient people enter endeavors with a little bit of grit.
- Time Management: In the life of an entrepreneur, there are only 24 hours a day, which is never enough time. Your workday needs to be prioritized and scheduled to be as productive as possible while running a business.
How have the pandemic and Lockdown affected you or your new business?
COVID fueled market growth for telehealth and digital healthcare solutions. The digitization of the healthcare industry has always been a priority for CareCloud. Even though technology in healthcare is hindered by patient health information (PHI) and a need for more secure technologies, COVID has sped up adoption. We are pleased that more people are now embracing technological solutions.
To put it mildly, the healthcare sector has a promising future. We’ll see an increase in technologies in the future that support data sharing, fair access, and interoperability. There will likely be more positive patient involvement in the delivery of care in the years to come.
The next era of healthcare technology is also anticipated to see an increase in devices like behavioral moderators, human ability detectors, and decision controls. CareCloud is managing cutting-edge technologies and providing usable solutions with an all-hands-on-deck strategy, so that we can continue to be a market leader in healthcare IT.
Tell us a little bit about your marketing process, what has been the most successful form of marketing for you?
There is no denying how competitive the healthcare software market is. The market is crowded, the buying cycle is agonizingly slow, and competitors might have a bigger name. The key is to develop a strong healthcare marketing plan. For us, this means improving patient portals, mobile-optimizing website, and offering higher-quality customer service in healthcare marketing.
A successful form of marketing is to keep an eagle vision on everything. Once you get comfortable, you start making errors, so always check your work with a third-person eye.
What are you learning now and why is that important?
We all know that the healthcare industry has seen rapid growth due to the digital revolution, but it still has a long way to go, and continuous learning is essential.
CareCloud is developing solutions that leverage technologies such as AI, ML, and Robot Process Automation as digital technologies evolve. We have a long way to go, and our expert team is researching various new and exciting technologies. We envision creating simpler, technology-enabled healthcare solutions.
What productivity tip do you swear by?
The backbone of our productivity is our global workforce. CareCloud has consistently supported a remote working environment. Personal and professional lives are inextricably linked. We can hire the best professional team in the world thanks to flexible scheduling and remote work capabilities. Employees are motivated to produce their best work when given a fair and welcoming workplace.
According to what we’ve learned from experience, effective management requires setting realistic goals and assigning tasks to ensure that a remote workplace runs smoothly. Even though there might be difficulties in the short-term, these can be resolved with honest communication.
Can you recommend one book, one podcast, and one online course for entrepreneurs?
I would love to recommend “The Leader in You: How to Win Friends, Influence People and Succeed in a Changing World” by Dale Carnegie & Associates, Inc. There are 17 chapters in this book that showcase the traits and situations of an effective leader.
This book can be a great influence on entrepreneurs of the future. There are bound to be failures as you drive your business to success. However, failures should never paralyze a leader; rather, serve as a stepping stone to success.
What helps you stay motivated to keep going?
We all have days when we want to run away and relax, but you must plan on dropping everything and becoming a travel writer to make it a realistic escape strategy.
It can be challenging to keep going. Motivation, on the other hand, can fade all too quickly.
I need tracking of the screen time I am exposed to as the CEO and President of a growing health IT service firm, given that I have to attend several team meetings daily. Nonetheless, I try to make time for my mental and physical well-being.
Also, I am not a fan of working oneself to exhaustion. Achieving an effective work-life balance is the key to living a healthy and happy life.
What is your favorite quote?
This Alvin Toffler quote has become my life mantra:
The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.
– Alvin Toffler
Only through “change” and the capacity to acclimate to the new practices and discard outmoded procedures is one’s ability to survive in today’s cutthroat market with rapid technological advancement possible.
Be flexible and adapt to change rather than becoming overly rigid about processes or technologies.
What valuable advice would you give new entrepreneurs starting out?
The vision of today’s young entrepreneurs inspires them with passion; however, they pause when they run into problems in the real IT world. It’s important to stop, gather your thoughts, and note your mistakes. But, it would help if you didn’t let it distract you for too long and you lose sight of your long-term objectives.
Recognize your areas of weakness, address them, and assemble a cohesive group of like-minded people to serve as your team. It’s okay not to know everything. You can learn from everyone in the field if you are humble. Startup founders will be able to learn from everyone, given the speed of the technology sector
What is your definition of success?
Failures teach us how to succeed. We have a culture of respect and foster a can-do attitude in our employees at CareCloud, where we collectively build a vision of success as a team. Back in 2007, when CareCloud was planning to go public, we worried that being a small company would invite setbacks, and we were right. However, we achieved our objectives with faith in our vision and team support and are now a KLAS-accredited, multi-million-dollar healthcare IT firm.
How can readers get in touch with you?
You can easily learn more about us at carecloud.com, or visit our social media accounts on Twitter and LinkedIn and drop us a message there.
