"In healthcare we have HIPAA. Do you know what the P stands for? Portability...not privacy. HIPAA is meant to protect patients, but instead it often protects the status quo. It is used to prevent the portability of patient (customer) records. Sometimes it is used to absolve a person or organization of accountability. It creates a culture of risk aversion. HIPAA is a good regulation, but historically, regulations don’t keep up with the pace of technological change and moreover, highly-regulated environments are often the most in need of change. Today’s patient wants convenience over privacy. You can’t email your doctor using ad-supported email services because it’s not secure, but you can fax an x-ray image and you can snail mail most anything. HIPAA poses challenges because patients would rather text and risk privacy breaches. People like you, though, will find ways to innovate even in highly-regulated environments like these."
-- John Sung Kim, founder and inventor of the cloud software company Five9, which went public on the NASDAQ market in 2014 at a $350 million valuation. He has also acted as an adviser to venture-capital funded start-ups such as Odesk, RingCentral, Qualys, 6connect, and LGC Wireless. Kim currently serves as the CEO of the mobile healthcare company DoctorBase.com which was just acquired by Kareo, a provider of cloud-based software and services for small medical practices.
Kim is a 1997 Penn State graduate with a degree from the College of the Liberal Arts. He spoke Wednesday, April 15, at IST Startup Week, a week-long celebration showcasing talented innovators and entrepreneurs from around the country, including alumni from the College of Information Sciences and Technology and Penn State. Tune in to live streaming of events at http://startupweek.weebly.com/live-streams.html.