Provides training for medical coding specialists and medical coding services for physician groups, hospitals and other health care organizations. Founded 2002. (Los Angeles)

Growth Rate

1,531%

Executive:

Greg Sinaiko, president and founder

Early Days/Financing:

I was working as a consultant for the health care consulting firm started by my father in 1990 when I saw a glaring need for improved medical coding services. (Medical coding is the process of converting descriptions of medical procedures into specific codes that are then sent in billing statements to insurance companies.) While there is a standardized set of codes, it’s still a tedious process as one procedure like heart surgery might involve dozens of codes. I saw that in the medical groups we were dealing with the physicians and their staffs didn’t receive the training they needed up front to handle this coding process. So I convinced my father and other owners of the company to put in some seed money, less than $250,000. Other companies actually do the coding services for medical groups. We differentiated ourselves by providing the training so that the medical groups can do it in-house.

Big Breaks:

Landing two big medical group clients within the company’s first year. One of those groups was affiliated with the University of Southern California. That’s when we realized there was a really big need for the service we were providing. We also were able to hire two medical coders who were of “industry leader” status; that convinced others to come to us. Then, in 2004, Medicare changed the way it reimbursed for HMO plans, making medical codes even more important. That was a really big boost for us.

Biggest Challenges:

We quickly discovered there is a national shortage of qualified medical coders. We developed bottlenecks as we had people waiting to be trained but few qualified medical coders to train them. Another issue has been adequately screening staff as the company ramped up its growth.

Secret of Success:

Recognizing a business opportunity and quickly putting together a business plan and gathering top talent is absolutely crucial. We had qualified people come on board quite early.

What’s Next:

Expanding beyond current Southern California focus to West Coast and then nationwide.