We all know that medical doctors live a hectic lifestyle, but Steven Buslovich, MD, is taking hectic to a new level. In addition to his clinical work as a geriatrician and medical director of several nursing homes, Dr. Buslovich is also co-founder and CEO of a startup called Patient Pattern, a company dedicated to bringing quality care directly to the bedside. And if that’s not enough, he and his wife have a 15-month-old son who keeps them on their toes 24/7.
Dr. Buslovich grew up in Brooklyn and attended Carnegie Mellon University for undergraduate and graduate school, where he received a master’s degree in healthcare policy and management from the H. John Heinz III School of Public Policy & Management. He then moved back to Brooklyn, where he worked as a healthcare consultant prior to attending Stony Brook University School of Medicine. He completed his internal medicine residency at Yale New Haven Health System and a geriatrics fellowship at Mount Sinai School of Medicine.
“With a background in understanding the complexity of our current healthcare system, I learned traditional medicine through a different lens — realizing how medical school education had not changed in decades while the healthcare system had evolved drastically and we weren't being adequately trained on applying innovation in medicine within our new environment,” Dr. Buslovich said. “I wanted to change that.”
Enter Patient Pattern.
By definition, Patient Pattern is a health IT and data analytics software company founded in 2013 that uses mobile and web-based smart-survey technology to generate a comprehensive health risk assessment to determine levels of physiologic fitness and provides predictive and practical intelligence using evidence-based clinical algorithms.
That’s a lot to process, so Dr. Buslovich offered a simpler description.
“The premise behind Patient Pattern is to bring quality care to the bedside, where care happens. As patients are aging and acquire many more chronic medical conditions, they are becoming medically complex, and given the shortage of a geriatric-trained healthcare workforce, technology is the only solution. Our team created a set of real-time analytic tools to help clinicians and healthcare leaders improve the care outcomes of their medically complex patients,” Dr. Buslovich said.
Located in the NYS Center of Excellence in Bioinformatics and Life Sciences at 701 Ellicott St. in Buffalo, Patient Pattern is currently serving hospitals, nursing homes, and regional health information organizations in four states and has generated international interest from some of the largest healthcare companies worldwide. The growing company now has 10 employees, as well as a vast group of advisors.
“I was inspired to move the company to Buffalo by a local geriatrician, Stephen Evans, MD, and geriatric nurse practitioner Margaret Sayers, GNP, who were spearheading advanced models of geriatric care across Western New York,” said Dr. Buslovich. “After being accepted to the START-UP NY Program (a program of Empire State Development that helps new and expanding businesses through tax-based incentives and innovative academic partnerships), I formally moved the company to Buffalo.”
Typical of any move, there have been both positive and negative experiences. Positives, according to Dr. Buslovich, include a smaller community of engaged leaders with a willingness to innovate, and a lower cost of living and operations. Negatives to date include a shortage of tech talent and difficulties recruiting talent to relocate to Buffalo. “But, we believe we have found those key team leaders and will continue to grow with individuals who believe in our mission and can see where the company is headed.”
While his life may be hectic, Dr. Buslovich is understandably proud of his accomplishments and the positive impact he and his team have already made within the healthcare industry.
“The great thing about my clinical work as a geriatrician and medical director of several nursing homes is that I visit the patient, evaluate them at bedside, and have a patient no-show rate of zero percent! Not only is this a great way to deliver personal care, it affords flexibility in my schedule to allocate time for meetings, customer development, and project management in between and outside of what we typically label traditional business hours. I truly love being a geriatrician and use Patient Pattern to improve my patients’ outcomes on a daily basis. I can't say enough about our great team at Patient Pattern that supports me so that we can all accomplish our company goals.
“I run a startup, which means I'm always at work,” Dr. Buslovich added. “I have a very supportive wife, who is completing her child neurology residency at Women & Children’s Hospital of Buffalo, and a 15-month-old son who is our joy. I've had to make changes to my schedule to make sure I'm devoting time to him. Baby food breakfasts and bath time are my newest skill sets, and I look forward to learning more.”