Interview: Wei Pan, Head of Engineering, Celo Health
As part of our interview series, we spoke with Wei Pan, Head of Engineering at Celo Health. Celo Health is the developer of a HIPAA-compliant secure messaging platform that enables healthcare teams to collaborate seamlessly and securely on patient care.
Wei Pan, Head of Engineering at Celo Health
Tell the readers about your career in the healthcare industry
I hold more than 15 years of experience in software development, specifically in the area of healthcare security. I graduated from the University of Auckland with a bachelor’s and a master’s in computer science. My development expertise is focused on cloud software architectures and web applications, iOS, Android, and Microsoft technologies. A key part of my career over the years, has been managing development teams in different parts of the world. I’ve been able to manage these dynamics successfully primarily because of the type of development methodology I’ve implemented called Kanban. This is an agile development method focused on process improvement, managing workflow efficiently, fostering team collaboration and transparency, and reducing lead time for new ideas from the ideation cycle all the way to customer delivery. To be successful in software development, you must focus on process improvement so the end result is quality, reliability, and rapid delivery to the customer. Most importantly, the software we develop must be highly secure and compliant with numerous regulations worldwide including HIPAA and the HITECH Act.
What was your first position?
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My first position was as a software programmer and then later as a development manager for a company that focused on patient safety in an anesthetic environment. This is where I honed my skills in developing software compliant with patient data security standards, as well as improving workflow that led to better outcomes for patients in anesthesia departments. Early on, I realized the need to develop solutions for healthcare companies that were easy to use. Healthcare companies don’t have time to learn complex technology since they need to focus on what they do best – patient care. Just as important, the software had to fit their needs rather than the healthcare company changing its processes to fit the software.
It was also during this early part of my career that I learned about hand-held mobile technology – such as Nokia phones – before smartphones were invented. This was invaluable experience for me since a lot of the cutting-edge technologies with those devices at the time became the technology foundation that allowed the breakthrough of smartphones. I learned valuable lessons during this part of my career on how critical it is for software companies to be always looking ahead to how new and emerging technologies can improve software so it evolves with the market’s changing needs and rules and regulations.
What is your current position?
For the past five years, I have served as Head of Engineering for Celo Health. I lead a team of engineers located in different countries and time zones. We have dedicated teams focused on iOS, Android, cloud, and web technologies. Other parts of our team include quality assurance, product designers, and maintenance.
What are the main challenges in your position?
The biggest challenge I was faced with when I joined the company was building a new solution architecture from the ground up. As we rewrote the software, the focus was building a global platform with high scalability, security, and ease of use. Our focus on usability really helped define a market advantage for Celo’s software since customers report instant onboarding of employees with little to no training needed.
A major challenge, not unlike other companies, is recruiting the right people. Naturally, we want to recruit bright and technically proficient employees with the right mindset. Successful development requires employees who understand and share the same vision of the company and are passionate to learn new technologies. We also seek employees who want to take responsibility and support their colleagues in other technology areas beyond the scope of their job roles. These are important attributes since it allows us to give them a sense of ownership and to be a critical part of delivering value to our healthcare customers.
Another key challenge, which is common for many small- or medium-sized software companies, is the ability to deliver quickly to market. That is critical for company growth. Healthcare companies need to evolve based on their market dynamics and changing regulations. Software has to keep up with all that so we are constantly developing new features and custom workflows for our customers so they can deliver better outcomes, meet compliance requirements and compete more successfully in their market. That’s why software development is not a clock-in type of job but rather one that may require long hours, at times, to meet goals and deadlines. We manage this by offering the latest business and development software technologies, tools, and methodologies for our teams in a very flexible work environment.
Tell the readers about any significant event in your career
The most significant event for me was starting my career with Celo, where I took on the ambitious challenge of completely overhauling the product architecture to suit the future growth of the platform. It required rapid recruitment of technical specialists in cloud, web applications, Microsoft and iOS and Android, among other technologies, as well as implementing new processes and methodologies. All of this had to be done quickly and in less than a year. This work was validated after we delivered a platform that not only offered high security, scalability, and ease of use but also collaboration features specifically tailored for healthcare providers.
Are you working on any interesting projects?
Our team is continuously evolving Celo’s platform with new features to keep up with our customers’ changing needs. We are working on bringing the best of technological innovation to healthcare professionals in our platform such as AI.
What products/services do you provide for the healthcare industry and what is unique about them?
Celo Health provides a HIPAA-compliant messaging platform that enables healthcare teams to collaborate seamlessly and securely on patient care. Celo’s platform, which utilizes health-grade encryption, differentiates itself by being one of the few solutions in the market that is not only HIPAA-compliant but also globally compliant with international data security regulations.
The platform features a built-in directory that enables healthcare teams to reach the right person instantly. It is so easy to use that many customers report a 92 percent onboarding rate of staff in the first week of implementation. Celo’s technology also utilizes Microsoft Azure, a cloud computing platform, which has more security certifications and accreditations – HIPAA and globally- than any other cloud provider in the market. Celo’s goal is to go above and beyond the required minimum standards. Consequently, we provide input on how to safeguard healthcare information for the future by working directly with regulators on future healthcare privacy legislation.
When did you first get involved with HIPAA compliance?
I became involved with patient data security early on in my career. However, my involvement in developing HIPAA compliance software started when I joined Celo. We used some of the top HIPAA consultants in the industry to provide us with guidance on developing our technology. Our experience in developing compliant software with GDPR, IS0 27001, SOC 2 cloud compliance, Cyber Essentials, and ICO, also proved valuable when working to achieve HIPAA compliance within our platform.
What are your main challenges regarding HIPAA?
The wording, rules, and policies are a bit outdated. A lot of their rules also don’t apply to software-as-service companies (SaaS). So, HIPAA needs to address standard rules on how technology complies with patients’ data, and specifically, how data is transmitted in a secure cloud deployment model. There needs to be a clear blueprint for this.
What do you think needs to be improved in the HIPAA regulations?
I believe HIPAA needs to align better with international global standards such as GDPR. I believe the HHS can learn from the GDPR, Europe’s strict data security policy, and find a balance that fully addresses the evolving trends in U.S. healthcare regarding patient data security, as well as cybersecurity. There are also data security and cybersecurity best practices being introduced by standard organizations such as IEEE and through security industry conferences, as well as by Microsoft, Google, and Amazon, that can be leveraged by the HHS to update the HIPAA regulations.
Do you have any predictions for the future of HIPAA?
The software industry offers data security technology that can promote more data sharing and interoperability (better integration and connectivity with other data sources) in the healthcare industry. I think HIPAA will move to promote those areas and allow better access to software throughout the healthcare ecosystem. HIPAA also needs to address data security in terms of the consumerization of health care with patients’ growing need to access their data, as well as new healthcare deliverable models like Telehealth and new entrants in the market such as Walmart’s health supercenters and Amazon’s online health services.
Do you have any predictions for the future of healthcare regulation?
There are many new healthcare provider models that have been introduced to fill in the gaps on patients’ access to healthcare whether it’s constrained due to economic, medical worker shortages, or geographic issues. Future healthcare regulation will need to address these new entrants, such as the single doctor operating out of his home, retail health supercenters, and online healthcare services, to name a few.
Do you have any predictions for the future of healthcare technology?
Technology will make it easier to deliver full and unified information on patients. Currently, there are gaps in information primarily due to the lack of interoperability but that is changing as technology companies develop open, standard-based platforms that easily integrate with other systems and applications. More technology applications will offer integration with Artificial Intelligence which will transform healthcare business processes and make patient care, reporting, compliance, and administration more productive and efficient.
Do you have any predictions for the future of the healthcare industry?
I believe the healthcare industry will more widely adopt healthcare interoperability standards, rules for exchanging healthcare data electronically among different systems or applications, such as FHIR, and HL7. As healthcare providers are faced with more financial constraints and limited resources, they’ll see the benefits of interoperability through more efficient and productive operations.
Anything else you would like to share with our readers?
The consumerization of healthcare has led patients to seek more personalized care, transparency in pricing, and more choices such as retail clinics and virtual care. At the same time, healthcare organizations are faced with daunting challenges in terms of financial resources, declining workforce resources, and changing compliance requirements. Celo and others continuously deliver new products to address these evolving business dynamics. Healthcare has taken its time in adopting new technology, but this will change in the near future as providers now see the benefits: more cost efficiencies, improved productivity, easier compliance, and most importantly, better patient outcomes.
