Q&A With Curi Advisory Partner, Steve Hendrick 

In 2021, Curi acquired Arrowlytics, a proprietary practice analytics platform, allowing us to expand our organization’s service offerings and establish the Curi Advisory business unit. Curi Advisory Partner, Steve Hendrick, was present at the inception of Arrowlytics, and continues to serve physicians as a key member of the Curi Advisory team. We recently sat down with Steve to learn more about his life, his industry experience, and his vision for the future of Curi Advisory.

Please tell us a bit about yourself. 

I was born and raised in Southwest Virginia as the youngest of six siblings spanning across 19 years. When I was seven, my father passed away, and my mom raised me and my sister on her own. I think that experience shaped a lot of who I am and how I see the world. It taught me the importance of work ethic, sense of responsibility, and provided a deep respect for the strong women in my life, both in my personal life and throughout my career. 

My wife, Tonya, and I have two wonderful children, Rachel and Zach (25 and 21, respectively). Both of my children have become responsible young adults, and I’m very proud of them. We spent many years helping them cultivate their interests, whether that meant hauling them and teammates all over the country for competitions or coaching rec leagues to spend time with them and their friends. Another important member of our family is Carlos, our beloved Shih Tzu/Lhasa Apso mix. Carlos is my “ride or die,” my emotional support, and was my best bud while we were holed up during COVID.  

Could you tell me about your career to date and how it has prepared you for your role at Curi? 

I started my career with Medic Computer Systems in Richmond, Virginia as a computer field engineer in the healthcare industry, before transferring to Dallas, TX, as the company was growing. I eventually transitioned into a position with one of our clients, an ortho group, and it was baptism by fire. Suddenly, I was no longer in charge of the IT configuration of practice management/billing system, but also the management and billing offices — something I was not anticipating or prepared for. When I sent the SOS call out to some of my previous clients, the incredible administrators took time out of their days to help and teach me what I needed to know. Soon I had a good grasp on practice operations and revenue cycle management, as well as the importance of taking care of your clients and surrounding yourself with smart people.  

I then moved into a similar job with a large primary care group, where I was exposed to further experiences as they underwent multiple mergers. This was also my introduction to capitation and real managed care, as I was asked to implement a TPA system to automate eligibility, referrals, claims processing, and much more. With that new foundation, I transitioned into working for a risk-bearing IPA pursuing PE investors. Working with PE firms and investment banks was a cutthroat environment, and I learned a lot about how to protect practices against getting taken advantage of. I continued in this line of work until I got burnt out from travel and decided to take a job with OrthoCarolina, taking me off the road and bringing me a bit closer to home to focus on family. That’s where Arrowlytics was born. And the rest is history. 

What was the genesis of Arrowlytics? 

When I joined the OrthoCarolina team, it was made up of two groups that had been competing for 80 years. Eighty years! And they had a 75% overlap of clinic locations. It made sense for the clinics to merge, and while leadership recognized this as an advantageous move, it was difficult to get the physicians and staff on board. 

We had to get these doctors focused on making data-driven decisions, rather than allowing themselves to be driven by emotion or tradition. We had to prove beyond doubt which processes were best. To do that subjectively, we created KPIs and metrics to track their effectiveness, and ultimately make decisions about how the practices should be run. Once we started that process, it took hold, but it became too laborious to continue doing this manually. 

We decided to find a vendor that could assist us, but we turned up empty handed. Out of pure necessity, we built our own software — the software that became the cornerstone of Arrowlytics. With this software, we completely transformed the decision-making culture. And as soon as word got out, other groups were curious about how to do the same. 

When the original version of the Arrowlytics software was created, there was no intent to market it as a service. It wasn’t until we realized how much it can help independent practices grow and thrive that we engaged with investors to bring it to market. One of those key investors was Curi, and we began a very fruitful working relationship, all the way up until our acquisition in 2021.  

What do you enjoy most about working at Curi? 

The biggest attraction to working with and for Curi has always been the opportunity to work alongside people who have genuine, sincere conviction about supporting physicians. Anyone who has struggled to navigate the modern healthcare delivery system has an appreciation for its difficulties and challenges. We need to encourage doctors to not only remain in control of their practices, but to become even more involved outside of the exam room. They are the beating heart of this industry, and they are the only ones that will be able to fix the broken system. However, they can’t do that without the time, support, or the incentive, and it’s our job to relieve some of the challenges that hold physicians back. That requires a team of people who have a genuine care and willingness to help. 

What do you see as the biggest priority in your role? 

We’ve got to grow. We’ve got to get the word out. When we can get practice leaders to take the time out of their busy schedules to meet with us, I genuinely believe they will understand the vision and recognize just how much our services can help them work more efficiently and increase their revenue while simultaneously relieving many of the time-consuming tasks involved with running a thriving medical practice. 

Many of these practices and the leaders tasked with running them are in survival mode. They are simply trying to keep their heads above water, and the thought of strategic planning seems out of reach and even unimportant. My priority is to somehow get their attention and help them see the life raft right in front of them. We know practices are struggling to stay independent. We know doctors and leaders are overwhelmed and burnt out. And we want nothing more than to help them not only relieve some of these challenges and remain independent but become incredibly successful in the process.