Online Exclusives

OWM: Please describe the education, training, and work experiences that prepared you for your current position as the executive director of the US Wound Registry (USWR).
  During my residency in Family Medicine, I had some exposure to public health research. Back then, we were using paper medical records, and few people were discussing patient registries as a mechanism for research. I became interested in electronic health records in 1995 when the AMA published its 53-page physician documentation guidelines. By then, I was a faculty member of the medical school and we were threatened with pay cuts if we over-coded our services. It was clear to me that only a computer could consistently calculate the level of service correctly, given the complexity of the system. So, in 1995, I began working with a computer programmer to automate the calculation of the physician charges generated in the wound center. By 2000, Intellicure, Inc (College Station, TX) was a company, and David Walker, our CEO, had developed a similar internal calculation system for the hospital facility charges.

OWM: Please describe the education, training, and work experiences that prepared you for your current position as CEO of Telemedicine Solutions, LLC.
  I’ve always been a people-person with a keen interest in the world of medicine — so much so that at one point I was actually thinking about becoming an ER physician. However, experience told me I don’t do well with broken bones, so I graduated from business school and entered the healthcare industry in a sales capacity. This was a time where technology was leapfrogging what we could do in both medicine and communication technology. I found the intersection of these two worlds fascinating because I believe by leveraging technology you can make healthcare better. We see this all around us not only with new medicines and medical procedures, but also in the way we approach our jobs, daily workflow, and processes.

OWM: Please describe the education, training, and work experiences that prepared you for your current position as CEO of Burman’s Medical Supplies.
  I graduated in 1983 from Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science (now University of the Sciences) with a Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy and was awarded the prestigious Presidents Award for high academic achievement. After college I worked for my father, Harvey Burman, at Burman’s Pharmacy (Brookhaven, PA), and in 1995, I purchased the pharmacy from my father. The pharmacy’s respected reputation provided an ideal base upon which to build other companies and serve a broader range of healthcare needs. In 1989, I founded Burman’s Home Health Care, which was known for its comprehensive durable medical equipment (DME), oxygen, and field-based clinical respiratory therapy program. I sold this company in 2003 and founded Burman’s Medical Supplies in the same year to focus on wound care supplies.

OWM: Please describe the education, training, and work experiences that prepared you for your current position as the co-founder and executive director of the Save a Leg, Save a Life (SALSAL) Foundation.
  I am a graduate of Tulane University (New Orleans, LA) with a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology. I received my Doctor of Podiatric Medicine Degree from the Temple University School of Podiatric Medicine (Philadelphia, PA).

  My first year of Residency was at the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Philadelphia, which was the pivotal year in my career as it led me to recognize the importance of wound care and limb preservation. An additional year of surgical training in Langhorne, PA at the Delaware Valley Medical Center and then a move to Florida in 1997 allowed me to further pursue my passion in wound care. I established my private practice that evolved into a free-standing wound center. Writing, lecturing, and immersing myself in the wound care community have allowed me to meet so many talented and kindred spirits who share the desire to continually improve outcomes and quality of life for our patients.