In the News

Medical assistant Marla Jensen brings up a patient file at Northern Rockies Orthopedic Specialists in Missoula recently. The software for the system was written by Pyron Technologies Inc. of Missoula. TOM BAUER/Missoulian

Niche in medicine
by Robert Struckman of the Missoulian
December 6, 2004

Missoula company carves out space in emerging health care field

In an exam room at Northern Rockies Orthopedic Specialists, medical assistant Marla Jensen drew up a patient's file using a computer program written by programmers at Pyron Technologies Inc., 228 W. Main St.

The program, called MRI Report, is one of a half-dozen components in owner Dave Pyron's bid to carve a niche for his 8-year-old company in the emerging medical technology field.

Pyron is aiming at the clinics that surround hospitals, not so much the hospitals themselves.

"They (orthopedic clinics) are probably about the smallest piece of the health care industry," Pyron said.

Yet those clinics need technology, and, for a small crew of Missoula programmers, they comprise a market that's plenty big enough.

"It's just peachy," Pyron said.

Not that an orthopedic specialty can be built overnight or that a high-tech company can turn from its other commitments on a dime. Pyron Technologies was built with a much different focus.

The company began by offering networking and computer support for its clients. Later the company expanded to creating and maintaining Web sites for small to medium businesses in Missoula. Its clients include Liquid Planet and Miss Zula's. The third component, growing all along, is focused on meeting the needs, and developing programs if necessary, for the health care industry, especially orthopedic clinics.

"We've been narrowing our focus more and more. That's really the long-term strategy. It's about drawing in business from out of state," Pyron said.

Pyron, 35 and newly married, moved to Montana about 19 years ago. He earned a business degree from the University of Montana and entered the computer world in the late 1980s, writing articles for computer magazines. He then spent some time in South America as the information technology manager for a wood products company. Two years after he founded Pyron Technologies in 1995 (the funding came from his own resources), he hired the first Web developers. Since then, the firm has slowly grown.

"From me working out of the basement to the 25-employee mark," he said.

A few months ago, Pyron purchased the building that now houses his business. That gives him room to expand to the second floor in the future, he said. All of his work is done in-house, he said.

"There's no compelling reason for me to outsource anything," he said.

About eight years ago, Pyron made connections in the medical technology field. Six years ago, he began to consult with small clinics - many of them orthopedic - around the country.

In his travels, Pyron gained, along with a tremendous amount of frequent flier miles, a strong understanding of the needs and resources of clinics. Clinics with, say, five doctors generally have a total staff of about 40 and generate about $8 million in income per year, he said.

As a rule, the clinics have aging computer technology and major paper problems. Paper is scribbled on, faxed and moved by courier. None of those processes is especially efficient, he said.

"Clinics are essentially brokers of information. If you automate 90 percent of the data, it can save a clinic at least five hours a day. That's one part-time employee," Pyron said.

Three years ago, Pyron arrived in Cleveland at the offices of Horizon Orthopedics, a clinic with three locations and an MRI facility called ProSports Imaging.

Horizon's chief executive officer, Jennifer Aponte, wanted Pyron to help her clinics organize their paper chaos.

"We had been transferring the (MRI) images across the country for a decade, but the patient information was going by fax. Things got lost. There's this whole hang-up in the information flow," Aponte said.

Since then, programmers from Pyron have developed with Aponte and others at the clinic a new program that bundles patient information with the MRI image. The program, MRI Report, is owned by Pyron Technologies. An MRI is essentially like a sophisticated X-ray image; the letters stand for magnetic resonance imaging.

"MRI Report is secure, quick and portable. It makes the information automatically available on the Web to any physician who authenticates himself or logs onto the Web site. Physicians love it," Aponte said.

The access issue is a big one in the medical community. Federal law dictates patient information must be protected. In an exam room with a networked computer terminal, an unauthorized person must not be able to access confidential data on other patients.

Pyron hasn't been the only one trying to increase information flow while safeguarding patient confidentiality. A whole segment of the information technology industry has been working on that problem for years.

The technology side of the health care industry has been growing at a yearly rate of about 35 percent, said John Wallace, vice president of sales for the West and Great Lakes regions for Mysis Healthcare Systems, one of the top five health care technology companies in the nation.

"As the trend toward increased technology continues, more products will spring up," he said. The larger vendors will tie their solutions together with the smaller, niche applications.

"We're starting into that transition," Wallace said.

In his office last week, Pyron agreed. To illustrate the advances being made recently, he held up a device that can dangle like a badge around a physician's neck. The product automatically logs the carrier into a system at any computer that he or she approaches. When the physician turns away, the system automatically freezes.

"I wish I had invented this," Pyron said.

The device works niftily with MRI Report. In fact Robin Monogue of Northern Rockies Orthopedics said the clinic has asked Pyron Technologies to outfits its six "smart" exam rooms with the device. The exam room terminals already use MRI Report.

For small clinics such as Horizon or Northern Rockies, MRI Report is nice because it's not tremendously expensive. Some information systems cost up to $50,000. Pyron has worked to keep MRI Report cheap. He hopes to offer a limited version of the program for $700 per month. (There's also a $3,000 setup fee, Pyron said.)

"The price is important," Monogue said.

For the past several years Northern Rockies Orthopedics has advanced along the information highway at a reasonable pace, Monogue said.

Moving fast is too expensive, and then there's the learning curve, she said.

Pyron hopes to keep his company ahead of the curve. He plans to grow the firm - adding between eight and 20 employees in 2005 - but not too fast, he said.

Including MRI Report, Pyron Technologies is working on "a half-dozen niche applications," Pyron said. MRI Report is almost ready for widespread use, he said. Over the past three years, the kinks have been worked out.

"We have customers lined up. I see our growth really taking off over this next year," he said.