Virginia Commonwealth University Health System doctors now have patients' full medical records at their fingertips thanks to a secure network installed by Packet360, an IT systems integrator headquartered in Henrico County.
The network allows doctors to make their round with a digital tablet that provides instant access to not only information usually on their chart but also results from labs and other medical records.
To enable such mobility, Packet360 installed a wireless network that is robust and high in availability. While installing the network, Packet360 also connected patients and their visitors to the Internet so they can access e-mails and do work remotely.
This is an added bonus that helps improve patient satisfaction, said Kevin Gerber, the firm's president and CEO.
"For example, in the bone-marrow transplant ward, you have patients there for an extended period of time," Gerber said. "If there is a child involved, the network will allow parents to work and communicate to the outside world while staying with their child."
The Henrico County small business uses technology from manufacturers like Cisco Systems, Microsoft Corporation and Hewlett-Packard and others and combines them into solutions. Usually the technologies consist of voice-over-Internet telephony and wireless and network security hardware.
"Often, there are situations that a single technology cannot solve," Gerber said. "But technologies integrated together actually have the end results that customers are looking for."
Gerber founded Packet360 in 2001 and the company is on track for nearly $20 million in revenue this year. The firm received attention to its growth when Inc. Magazine named it the 36th fastest-growing private company in America.
Packet360 earned $8.1 million in revenue last year, which was up 2,693 percent from 2003, the base year that firms are measured for the magazine's list.
"We've focused on industries that are looking to enhance their productivity through the use of technology," Gerber said. "Health care has historically been an area that's lagged behind as adopters of technology. With rising costs, health care providers have looked at ways to reduce costs and improve productivity. Technology is probably the No. 1 way they are looking to accomplish this."
Around 70 percent of Packet360's clients come from health care organizations, with the majority located in Central Virginia. Some of its health care clients include Bon Secours (Henrico County), Martha Jefferson Hospital (Charlottesville) and Mary Washington Hospital (Fredericksburg). Other clients are in education, government, legal, manufacturing and financial services.
In late 2006, Packet360 moved from downtown Richmond to a 10,000-square foot facility in Henrico County to accommodate its growth. "We were really attracted to Henrico because of the facility we found here and the quality of work environment for our employees," Gerber said. "Our facility is really one of the main tools we use to attract and maintain the best talent we can find. Being here in Henrico and having a natural setting, it's been something that's worked really well for us."
At the facility, there's a conference room that can be transformed into a classroom, where clients can test the latest and best technologies from Packet's vendors. Also there's a network operations and technical assistance center where engineers monitor flat-panel screens 24 hours per day, assuring clients that their network and applications are humming with precision.
"We'll be able monitor in real time the availability and up-time of our customers' networks and respond and troubleshoot issues that come up very, very quickly," Gerber said. "It's certainly becoming a very important component for our mission critical health care and legal customers to know in real time if there is any performance degradation of their network, we can address it immediately."
Packet360 hired a local accounting firm to audit its financials last January for a possible direct public offering. Gerber hopes that soon his firm can be a part of Nasdaq. The future certainly looks bright.
"We've added 22 employees in the past 12 months," said Gerber, who at 33 fits in age-wise with his employees. "We're proud of the fact that we have been able to create so many high-tech related jobs so quickly."
