About Medicity

Why do we do what we do?

We believe there is a better way for doctors to deliver care to patients…

Way back in 1997, Dr. Kipp Lassetter was a physician with a private practice in South Carolina. At night, and on weekends, he worked in the Emergency Department at a local hospital.

Like other physicians, Dr. Lassetter's passion was to deliver the best patient care possible. But, there was a barrier, which at the time seemed as big as the Great Wall of China, and it was this - Dr. Lassetter would see a patient in his practice and then the patient would show up in the ED while Dr. Lassetter was working there. He knew the patient, and he knew there was important information about the patient that he needed at his fingertips, but the information was locked in his office two miles away. And conversely, he would see a patient in the ED and then schedule a followup appointment in his office, but when the patient showed up, the information he needed was locked in the hospital systems down the road!

This frustrated Dr. Lassetter to no end because information was everywhere, but nowhere…He knew that there had to be a better way…

Way back then, Kipp had a vision for creating what he called "electronic medical cities" nationwide so that doctors everywhere had the information they needed to make the best clinical decision for their patients.

Now fast forward to a few years later when the local hospital bought Kipp’s practice. With new financial resources and a non-compete with the local hospital, Kipp finds himself at a crossroads in his life. He could go down one path of setting up shop as a doctor somewhere else. Or he could choose a different path and use his newfound financial resources to pursue his dream of building "electronic medical cities." Kipp put his money where his mouth was and Medicity was born!

In the early years, Medicity has some good early success, which was rewarding for Kipp because it validated that other doctors struggled in the same way he did. But while the company was growing, it wasn't fast enough for Kipp. Medicity was self–funded and organically grown and a few years later, Kipp realized that Medicity was a company with some really cool technology, but lacked the resources needed to really reach every doctor and every hospital nationwide. Kipp didn't have a bullhorn big enough to shout loud enough or far enough from the rooftops. The lights in his vision for electronic medical cities was starting to dim.

But then, in 2009 the federal government got involved in health care reform and provided financial incentives to doctors for adopting electronic health records (EHRs). This gave Kipp and Medicity a puff of wind at their back and the company really started to sail. And then in 2010, the federal government introduced payment reform, incentivizing providers to adopt new payment models based on outcomes – resulting in entirely new business models. ACOs, Clinical Integrated Networks and at-risk payment models began to emerge nationwide. Providers had to act fast and they knew they had to create their own "electronic medical cities" to support these new business models. Like a hot air balloon, Medicity soared as providers everywhere required HIE technology to survive – and to thrive. Kipp was elated as he watched hospitals and doctors offices light up!

Today, Kipp's vision is being realized every day. The "electronic medical cities" have become reality. Medicity creates highly intelligent networks for hundreds of thousands of providers nationwide, all of whom rely on Medicity to help them coordinate care and gain valuable insight about the individuals and populations of patients they serve.

In January of 2011, Medicity became part of the Aetna family and we are proud to be supported by the leadership and strength of a Fortune 100 company. But that's another story…