Photo credit: Alex Proimos/flckr

PENSACOLA – For the next five years, when the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs recruits doctors and other medical professionals, it will use software and expertise developed by a Pensacola company.

KontactIntelligence, also referred to as Ki, won the VA contract on Sept. 21 and will provide the agency with technology-based recruitment services through Sept. 20, 2020. 

Niels Andersen of KontactIntelligence in Pensacola.

“The VA will be using Ki to recruit the over 5,300 physicians and support the recruitment efforts of more than 41,000 allied health professionals needed to meet current healthcare demand by our nation’s veterans,” said Niels Andersen, president and CEO of Ki.

“I am extremely happy to be able for our small team to have such a significant impact on the health and welfare of so many as we support the valiant effort … to tackle this critical need to have more access to care by our veterans.”

Founded in Pensacola in 2001, Ki is essentially a one-stop shop for all services needed to build and operate a quality in-house physician recruitment function, including software, marketing, consulting and even full-service private client physician recruitment services provided by Ki’s sister company, VeritasHealthCare.

The growth and development of small businesses such as Ki are important to the health of the Pensacola metro area's economy. The majority of economic activity comes from such small businesses, and those that deal in technology-rich fields, as Ki does, are especially attractive to improving the quality of life in the community.

Ki will provide VA with components built specifically for the physician and provider recruitment and engagement/retention industry, including:

— An automated mobile optimized marketing technology

— An applicant tracking system that includes on-boarding and credentialing

— A business development customer relationship management system

— A provider network development and management system

— A provider engagement and retention system

— A business intelligence and metrics dashboard and reporting system

The contact has a core value of $135,926 with options built in to quickly facilitate additional services as needed.

Donovan Chau, executive director of Innovation Coast, said the VA contract will help Ki’s continued growth and market dominance in the healthcare space.

“For all of its shortcomings, VA is a comprehensive U.S. government organization with nationwide reach and over 1,700 health care facilities,” he said. “KontactIntelligence’s role in helping the VA adapt to the 21st century will bring it greater nationwide attention and, hopefully, follow-on contract work.”

Ki’s success in getting the VA contract reflects well on the region, he said.

“Pensacola and Florida’s Gulf Coast leave an indelible mark on any soldier, sailor, airmen or Marine who has been stationed here,” Chau said. “KontactIntelligence’s award of the VA contract further contributes to veterans’ positive perception of our region.”

Innovation Coast is an alliance of companies and institutions of higher learning in Northwest Florida. The organization works to promote and grow technology and knowledge-based companies in the Pensacola area.

Currently, Ki has a staff of 11 people, but Andersen expects the VA contract will require more people to be hired.

“Even at this early stage, we expect the VA will request assistance with a variety of products and services that were not part of the original contract requirements but are part of the suite of solutions offered by KontactIntelligence and our sister company VeritasHealthCare,” he said. “As we scale to meet these needs, we expect to scale (staff levels) accordingly.”

VeritasHealthCare is not the only other organization involved with the VA contract.

“We have two teaming partners on this project as well that will play an increasingly larger role not only within this VA award and additional requests by the VA, but also with our nationwide footprint in the commercial sector as the gold standard and innovator in our business segment,” Andersen said.

Those two partners are the Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition in Pensacola and Denmark-based BullSender.

“Our partners play an instrumental role in or artificial intelligence and cutting edge initiatives in human and data relationship marketing technology solutions,” Andersen said.

Andersen also expects another company he is creating, VetCV, to be involved, if only indirectly. VetCV is a game changing Web- and app-based veterans services provider that among other things, puts control back in the hands of the Veteran of their healthcare and military record data.

“Physicians and other healthcare professionals currently on active duty and those that are veterans will be exposed to VA job openings,” he said. “The VA will be posting all jobs dynamically on VetCV.”