Health Tech: Kevin Murdock On How ConfirmD’s Technology Can Make An Important Impact On Our Overall Wellness
An Interview With Dave Philistin
Never give up. There will be situations and times where you have to pivot your original ideas.You’ll experience triumphs and failures, but always stay focused on the initial why, especially when things start to get difficult.
In recent years, Big Tech has gotten a bad rep. But of course many tech companies are doing important work making monumental positive changes to society, health, and the environment. To highlight these, we started a new interview series about “Technology Making An Important Positive Social Impact”. We are interviewing leaders of tech companies who are creating or have created a tech product that is helping to make a positive change in people’s lives or the environment. As a part of this series, I had the pleasure of interviewing Kevin Murdock.
As the CEO and Founder of one of the largest medical diagnostics laboratories in the Southeast, Kevin Murdock has seen a variety of needs within the healthcare industry throughout his career. With over two decades of founding a medical supply company (Vessel Medical), a custom surgical kit company (CPT Medical), and a medical data management company (OnGen), Kevin saw a need for patients to have direct access to their medical information. His newest venture is the acquisition of ConfirmD, a mobile app and desktop platform designed by healthcare professionals for easy access and management of healthcare records. This powerful app not only allows users to take control of their health data in a secure platform, but it also allows employers to maintain safer workplaces as well.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series. Before we dive in, our readers would love to learn a bit more about you. Can you tell us a bit about your childhood backstory and how you grew up?
My parents always instilled in us growing up that a combination of hard work, discipline, and finding ways to work smarter was how to truly become successful with your goals. They always made sure that they relayed the importance of helping others and giving back as well. I’ve applied those values as I’ve built my companies and when I’ve decided to take on new ventures like ConfirmD which helps people to better and more easily manage their own healthcare experience.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
I would say that, looking back at where this all started and how far we’ve come is the most interesting to me. We’ve been able to make a large impact in healthcare innovation over the years because I’ve surrounded myself with a phenomenal team that is genuinely dedicated to providing quality solutions for the improvement of healthcare and the patient experience. I love to bring people onto the Diversified Medical Healthcare team who are forward thinking and motivated daily to improve patient lives.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
My dad, Jerry Murdock, who grew up in a orphanage and is self made.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“Find a need and fill it.” These wise words were said by Norman Vincent Peale, author of The Power of Positive Thinking. In all of my business ventures in healthcare, I used my experience to hoan in on what was missing, and used resources to fill a need. That phrase has always felt right in the healthcare industry for me personally, and will continue to fuel my future endeavors.
You are a successful business leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?
Relationship Building — I began my career in distribution working with a pharmaceutical company. During that time, I was fortunate enough to establish relationships with a wide range of physicians. I was able to hear first-hand what their frustrations were, what was going well, and what kinds of tools they had in order to improve their patient care, while making their lives easier. Whenever I had an idea, I was able to run it by the network I created for myself. I was able to get their opinions on my ideas, and leverage these relationships to bring my ideas to market. I believe that prioritizing relationships in any industry is important, but especially in healthcare, as physicians trust really holds a lot of weight.
Curiosity — I gained a large curiosity about the needs within the healthcare industry throughout my career. I’ve always loved problem-solving, but I’ve continued to aim to take it a step further and find a solution that hasn’t been done before through technological resources. Technology, especially in the healthcare space, is only as powerful as we can create it to be, and I’ve always been super intrigued by leveraging it to solve practical problems in healthcare.
Forward-thinking — When thinking through a healthcare solution, I want it to not just solve today’s problem, but I want it to be a solution that can be utilized for decades. I’m always looking for new ways to address various needs within the industry. That’s the culture that my team exemplifies in all that we do.
Ok super. Let’s now shift to the main part of our discussion about the tech tools that you are helping to create that can make a positive impact on our wellness. To begin, which particular problems are you aiming to solve?
Traditionally, accessing our multiple health records hasn’t been the easiest process. It usually requires calling your provider or logging into many portals and all of our information lives in different places. In the world we live in now where the pandemic has caused different regulations by state in various industries such as education, government, nursing homes, healthcare, and more, it’s essential for individuals to be able to show their vaccination status and test results right when they’re needed. It’s also equally as important for companies to be able to have their internal, up-to-date healthcare data analytics in real time in order to make decisions for the future.
How do you think your technology can address this?
Every patient should have easy access to their own health records, especially in society now when everything is instant and at our fingertips. Having an individual’s healthcare records all living in one place allows them to have the power to easily transfer their care without hassle and empowers them to make decisions. When it comes to vaccination status and negative test results, it will also allow them to get back to their everyday lives much quicker.
For large enterprises and healthcare communities, technology like ConfirmD will allow them to remain compliant as state regulations are constantly changing. Having access to this data will allow them to create safer work environments as well.
Can you tell us the backstory about what inspired you to originally feel passionate about this cause?
In the prime of COVID-19 during the first year when state and government officials were trying to navigate this new way of life, it was very obvious that there was an immediate need for data. Once an employee was tested, they would have to wait for their records to arrive in their inbox. Once they got the results, they then had to forward it to their employer. Then, the employer has to manually track each and every individual getting tested. With an issue as serious as COVID-19, organization and instant results are key for employees and enterprises to thrive.
How do you think this might change the world?
With the ability to see instant test results, prove vaccination status, and more, we will be able to have some consistency that we haven’t been able to experience since COVID-19 impacted the world. Employers will be able to make safety decisions quicker, individuals will be able to get back to their everyday lives, and patients will be able to access their health records with ease.
Keeping “Black Mirror” and the “Law of Unintended Consequences” in mind, can you see any potential drawbacks about this technology that people should think more deeply about?
When people think about health records being stored, or anything regarding data and COVID-19, their minds might go to contact tracing. ConfirmD is absolutely not designed to be a contact tracing app. Our app was designed with the highest privacy standards and is fully HIPAA compliant.
Here is the main question for our discussion. Based on your experience and success, can you please share “Five things you need to know to successfully create technology that can make a positive social impact”? (Please share a story or an example, for each.)
- Establish a vision, then surround yourself with the best
- Identify a gap in the market
- Gain insights from patients and providers
- Don’t be afraid of failure
- Keep a pulse on the trends
If you could tell other young people one thing about why they should consider making a positive impact on our environment or society, like you, what would you tell them?
Never give up. There will be situations and times where you have to pivot your original ideas.You’ll experience triumphs and failures, but always stay focused on the initial why, especially when things start to get difficult.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
Follow ConfirmD’s blog to follow my current and future work.
Thank you so much for joining us. This was very inspirational, and we wish you continued success in your important work.
