How AdvantEdge Healthcare Solutions is Overcoming the COVID-19 Crisis – Interview with David Langsam, CEO

How is AdvantEdge Healthcare Solutions currently positioned?

First off, I would like to mention that although AdvantEdge Healthcare Solutions has not been spared from the economic uncertainty, we are grateful to be in a position with limited exposure.

Having multiple locations and a history of operating with remote employees allowed us to execute swiftly and thoughtfully during these unprecedented times. With continuous adjustments and refinement of our processes, business model, and technology, we have been able to deliver for our clients with the quality and performance they know and deserve. Allowing AdvantEdge not only to address the challenges of the COVID-19 crisis but also to identify opportunities throughout.

With 85%+ of your employees working from home, how has the experience been for AdvantEdge?

The work from home experience has been great, and what made this such a unique experience was our readiness to transition. We have always had 15% – 20% of our workforce remote, and have been using video conferencing as a normal part of our business for many years, making the “COVID” transition much less intrusive and disruptive than it likely is for most of our competitors.

The heavy-lift was increasing our remote workforce from 20% to 85%, which also has implications on how business may be conducted in the future. We are discovering several functions traditionally done in the office that can transition to a remote environment more easily than expected. We do not subscribe to the general theory that productivity decreases when working from home and have proven that to be incorrect. I believe we will see new and unique business models going forward, across many industries.

With AdvantEdge having global operations, what is the situation like for other countries?

Our visibility into the global environment mainly comes from our 2 locations in India. Much of India has implemented and eased restrictions in manners similar to the United States. In India, like the United States, we have seen protocols around office capacity, facemasks and other PPE, social distancing, and the concept of “essential business.”

The mood has been quite positive; through constant contact with our global team, we discuss techniques to handle workloads and how to properly distribute work based on the ebbs and flows of domestic and international COVID based restrictions, allowing us to provide the best service and solution to our clients. Having our own global operations and not relying on outsourcing to third-party BPOs overseas, who have been incredibly affected by this crisis, has helped us tremendously during this time and will continue to do so.

Do you have any tips for navigating these times?

Have an open line of communication with your team, up and down, environmentally and legislatively, to understand how business is being effected from all aspects.

Stay informed, stay engaged, and continue to do what is right. Actionable data, as opposed to anecdotal information, should be a considerable driver of your decisions.  We believe in asking questions early and often and accepting real data, even if it is not what we want to hear. If your team is constructed of amazing individuals, like ours is, you shouldn’t be afraid to lean on them.

You also need to be truthful with yourself relative to the economic effects of this crisis. The healthcare industry felt the financial impact of COVID-19 greatly, and it’s essential to acknowledge and address the reality on the ground, even though it necessitates more difficult [and often unpleasant] decisions and harder work. Build your plan based on financial realities and follow that blueprint to recovery.

What have you learned from this experience?

When the going gets tough, the tough really do get going. I don’t mean this as a self-reflection but a reflection of my team. I am honored to see first-hand how my team responded when faced with this adversity, and I can proudly say their character is unbelievable.

“People are always stronger than you think, and if you have trust in your team, you will be rewarded.”

Throughout all of this, our mission has not changed; improve healthcare outcomes for all people by enabling our clients to have a razor-sharp focus on delivering clinical care within their communities.  Eliminate their distractions by making them our competencies. Be a resource and communicate, communicate, communicate.  It has been a privilege to be on a team so dedicated and focused.