Tech Jam 2023: After 40 years, Physician’s Computer still treating doctors’ tech woes
An example of tech manufacturing in Vermont: a BioTek employee working. Photo courtesy Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development
This story was originally published on the Community News Service website as a project in which interns covered a business present at the Tech Jam put on by Seven Days. The Community News Service is a program in which University of Vermont students work with professional editors to provide content for local news outlets at no cost.
Tom Heller worked as a computer science educator for 20 years before he joined Physician’s Computer Company, a Winooski software provider that supports the technological needs of independent pediatricians.
Three years ago, Heller became a technical specialist for the company, which operates out of the historic Champlain Mill building on the Winooski River. “I wanted to find a company that used Linux,” said Heller, who had experience with that operating system.
Today, he works directly with clients, physicians with mostly small practices, and communicates with them about their equipment and technological assistance that the company can provide.
Heller is the kind of employee that Physician’s Computer Company, or PCC, continues to pursue after 40 years of operation. He stood with colleagues at PCC’s table Saturday at Tech Jam, an annual job fair put on by Seven Days newspaper. At the Hula innovation and technology campus on Lakeside Avenue in Burlington, the event connected technology companies with attendees of all ages — prospective employees, tech enthusiasts and college students.
Founded in 1983, PCC bridges the gap between computer science and healthcare by helping independent pediatric practices navigate the technological landscape necessary for any small business operator. The team of around 100 employees offers software for appointment scheduling, billing tracking and data compiling for clients, as well as consulting and development guidance.
“We want to make it possible for independent physicians to stay independent,” said Martin Kennedy, PCC’s software designer, who has worked there since 2019. Like food deserts, some communities experience “care deserts” with little access to doctors and other healthcare, so a new practitioner starting up in those places can struggle with few resources. That’s where PCC comes in — with a behind-the-scenes helping hand.
At Tech Jam, PCC advertised six open positions: web application developer, sales consultant, rapid response team member, project manager, technical implementation specialist and technical support specialist. Though PCC is focused on coding and computer processing, it hires people with a variety of backgrounds, said James Frei, a technical specialist for the company. “Anyone who’s willing to listen and learn, we’re happy to have aboard.”
PCC attracted Tech Jam participants such as Jacob Speer, who moved to Vermont a year and a half ago with his partner to be closer to friends and family. As a web developer interested in applying computer science to the medical world, he was looking to work for a company just like PCC, he said.
Aaron Dunmore, a software engineer who moved to Burlington the day before the Tech Jam, shared a similar view of the company’s appeal. He has an interest in electronic health records — computer systems that compile patient data, track appointments and ease workflow.
Megan Maddocks, the people and culture champion at PCC, helps the company grow internally by connecting employees and assessing their job satisfaction within the business. She described her role as a “different spin on HR.”
Maddocks touted PCC’s status as a public benefit corporation that contributes to the betterment of its community, giving equal value to its employees, environmental concerns and profit. PCC sponsors the flower beds around the Winooski traffic circle, the Vermont Youth Orchestra in Colchester and the ECHO Leahy Center for Lake Champlain in Burlington.
In its 40 years, PCC has connected with about 300 pediatric practices in most of the 50 states, including the Virgin Islands, Hawaii and Alaska. After the COVID-19 pandemic, the company could expand the reach of its workforce and allow a hybrid work environment, with 6 full-time staffers living outside of Vermont.
All of the PCC representatives at Tech Jam described “the people” — both clients and coworkers — as the best part of their jobs. But Kennedy, the software designer, added that the tech work is just as rewarding: “I really enjoy fixing other people’s code.”