Our mission at First Line Software is to work proactively and collaboratively with our customers – leading academic medical centers, healthcare software vendors, and clinical research organizations on initiatives that enhance and expand different forms of care delivery. Our recent work includes multiple large scale data transformation projects with world-class healthcare institutions, innovative development of clinical research accelerators, and developing a software suite to aid in efforts to stop the spread for COVID-19. Let us introduce the person who drives First Line Software’s healthcare practice into the future. So meet Anatoly Postilnik, the head of our Healthcare IT practice.
I came to IT naturally. Initially, I was educated as a structural engineer with a specialization in structural calculations. I was involved in the analysis and automated calculation of buildings by numerical methods. I started writing software for that, as well as for visualization of the results. Then, I got a second degree in applied mathematics and computer science. How long have I been working in this field… I dread to think :), since the mid-80s.
The most attractive thing about my work is that we help treat people and save lives. We can’t see it, but thousands of doctors, nurses, and patients use our systems. The results of our work are available to users in a few days or weeks. While in other industries, such as in the automotive or construction industries, it can take months or years to develop and deliver the final product.
Right now, medicine and medical sciences are experiencing a technological revolution. We are in the middle of this revolution – even on the cutting edge. We have the opportunity to work with the most innovative organizations and people in the United States and around the world.
There’s another feature of the practice. Yes, we provide developers to our clients and provide added bandwidth to their teams. However, we are also focused on solving specific problems that our clients face. This requires special knowledge, the development of specialized methodologies, and the organization of new processes. Many engineers in teams working on healthcare projects have learned to understand not only technology but also the scientific side of medicine and the business needs. This unique skill set of our engineering teams, allows us to serve our customers in a wholistic way that our competitors can’t. We are proud to be well-known and have a good reputation in Healthcare IT.
Until recently, we have been developing and integrating patient treatment systems: Medical Information Systems, electronic patient card systems. Most hospitals and medical practices worldwide use ready-made solutions from product companies, and the market is crowded. Now we are focused on analyzing and improving the quality of processes and medical data, machine learning and artificial intelligence, automating decision-making processes, and supporting clinical research in various forms, from data extraction to application development for doctors, patients, and scientists.
We keep developing new patient treatment apps for startups, product companies, research organizations, and pharmaceutical companies.
Due to the time difference, I divide the day into two parts. In the morning, I work with the developers’ teams and our employees in Europe. When evening comes, I meet with American clients and partners. Since I work on many projects at once, I build a prioritized backlog, which I check and update every evening. In the evening, I also make lists of tasks and questions for project managers in our teams so that they can look at them and get ready for our morning meetings.
Unfortunately, this scheme collapses when you need to communicate with Australia (which is 14 hours ahead), as well as with the west coast of the USA (which is 3 hours behind). In any case, the working day turns out to be very long. To relax, I take a break and do exercises from YouTube videos for 30 minutes. When everything gets boring, I go to play pickleball for a couple of hours. 🙂
Work entertains me well, and I can’t get bored with our champions. I love being outdoors. I fish, pick mushrooms, ride a bike, do mountain hiking, and play pickleball in summer. In winter, I go cross-country and downhill skiing. When the weather is bad, I play banjo or ukulele and play pickleball. I am also fond of photography and cooking (mainly for my friends and neighbors).
This is a tricky question. It is assumed that I could re-read this book many times, and I don’t really like this process. The books I often think about and want to return to are “Sapiens” by Yuval Harari and “A Short History of Nearly Everything” by Bill Bryson. Twenty years ago, the last one probably would have been a textbook on functional analysis :).
Anatoly, what advice can you give to novice managers who dream of working in the IT-sphere?
Many people forget that IT is not an end in itself. It is aimed at solving the problems of life and business. For example, when developing medical systems, we must remember that patients, doctors, and many other users are behind these solutions. Understanding the business processes and problems that need to be solved is the way to success.
“Creativity is the main trait that sets humans apart from animals. We must stay creative to remain humans”
“Keep calm and carry on” (Winston Churchill)
Anatoly has more than 30 years of technology, product development, and solutions delivery experience, including over 20 years in the Healthcare Industry. Anatoly resides in Boston, MA. He is an avid hiker and has reached numerous mountain tops in Europe, Eastern and Western United States, and Asia.
Whether you have a problem that needs solving or a great idea you’d like to explore, our team is always on hand to help you.
First Line Software is a premier provider of software engineering, software enablement, and digital transformation services. Headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the global staff of 450 technical experts serve clients across North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia.
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