Westwood, Massachusetts-based Meditech announced Friday that A. Neil Pappalardo, the company's founder and chairman, died on Jan. 27 at the age of 83.
WHY IT MATTERS
Launched in 1969, Meditech is generally considered the first electronic health record company – predating its market rivals Epic and Cerner, which were each founded in 1979, by a decade.
The company notes how, after graduating from MIT in 1964, Pappalardo took a job at Massachusetts General Hospital and was struck by the inefficient paper-based processes there, ripe for potential safety errors.
The programming language he developed there – the Massachusetts General Hospital Utility Multi-Programming System, of MUMPS – was transformative.
It helped launch the nascent health IT industry, and MUMPS-based language is still used by Meditech today (and, of course, by Epic, whose founder Judy Faulkner learned about it when she was introduced to Pappalardo in the '70s).
Starting with just a few employees in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Meditech grew steadily over the next 40 years into one of the marquee players in the EHR space, maintaining significant market share and earning high marks from customers, with a special focus on serving small rural and community hospitals.
But early on, "the greatest challenge was simply explaining what software was," Pappalardo said, according to a quote supplied by Meditech. "Potential hospital customers had little or no idea what we were selling and, more importantly, how it could possibly benefit them."
THE LARGER TREND
Nearly 60 years later, Meditech is used by more than 2,000 health system customers across 29 countries. Pappalardo stepped down as CEO in 2010, but remained involved with the company as it continued to launch new products such as the pioneering web-based, mobile-focused Meditech Expanse.
Other innovations from the company include ambient listening technology, AI tools to help with workflow efficiency, task automation and more.
Meditech announced that the company's current President and CEO Michelle O'Connor will serve as the interim chair until the next board meeting in the spring.
"Neil's family intends to proceed with his preferred plan to maintain Meditech's current ownership structure with no anticipated changes to the company's operations or ownership model," the company said.
ON THE RECORD
"Neil was a renowned philanthropist, dedicated to advancing education, research, and innovation globally," said Meditech’s board of directors in a statement. "He was unwavering in his belief that our company must contribute to ensuring all communities have access to advanced, high-quality EHR solutions. He intentionally focused on deserving communities with the greatest need, rather than only targeting the very well-resourced. His dedication profoundly improved the healthcare industry and the lives of many."
"Neil was a true visionary whose ambitions were not driven by fame or fortune, but by a profound desire to make healthcare better for everyone," added Lawrence Polimeno, Meditech vice chair and former president and chief operating officer (and Pappalardo’s first employee). "His dedication was to people – his employees, customers, and the patients they serve. He built a company and a culture that will continue to inspire future generations to focus on innovation, value, and compassion for one another. He was also a great friend and inspiration, and I will miss him dearly."
Mike Miliard is executive editor of Healthcare IT News
Email the writer: mmiliard@himss.org
Healthcare IT News is a HIMSS publication.
