Moby Kazmi

Dr. Moby Kazmi is the President and Co-founder of CoPilot Provider Support Services, LLC, a leading provider of technologically advanced patient access services for the life-sciences industry. He leads the development of the company’s innovative bio-pharma reimbursement HUB solutions to overcome access to treatment barriers and improve patient outcomes. Moby also oversees CoPilot’s digital platform, providing healthcare professionals and bio-pharma clients with instantaneous data regarding patient insurance approval.

As part of CoPilot, Moby Kazmi established and drives CoPilot Cares, a charitable initiative that benefits underprivileged children and families around the world through a variety of philanthropic efforts. One of CoPilot Cares’ key investments is the installation of hand pumps for clean water where access is lacking. To date, CoPilot Cares has installed more than 200 hand pumps in India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, providing clean water to families within their local communities.

Prior to CoPilot, Moby Kazmi co-founded CareMed Specialty Pharmacy, an independent specialty pharmacy. It quickly gained recognition as one of the nation’s fastest-growing, privately held companies by Inc. Magazine, and by December 2013, annual sales reached $250 million. PharMerica, a leading provider of pharmacy services, acquired CareMed in March 2017.

Moby Kazmi serves on the Board of Directors for both Bali Memorial Trust and N.A.M. Helping Hands Foundation. He is a past recipient of the Entrepreneur and Philanthropist of the Year Award from the Friends for Good Health Organization and has received several citations from the New York State Senate, the New York State Assembly, the Towns of North Hempstead and Oyster Bay, New York. Kazmi was also recognized by the Nassau County Executive for his entrepreneurship, philanthropy, and service as a global goodwill ambassador.

Moby Kazmi earned his B.S. in psychology from Stony Brook University and his M.D. from Avalon School of Medicine. He has authored a number of posters and articles focused on patient outcomes and healthcare value, presented at ISPOR (International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research) and the Association of Academic Physiatrists Annual Meeting (2015). Originally from New York City, Kazmi now resides in Orlando, Florida with his family.

Where did the idea for CareMed Specialty Pharmacy come from?

During medical school, I noticed a troubling issue in the healthcare industry. At the time, many of the key distribution channels were basic and did not offer a true personalized service.

Physicians were frustrated that patients couldn’t get access to life-saving medications. Patients were worried about how they would afford such high co-pays. Existing patient assistance organizations were not convenient, often expecting terminally ill patients to contact them and wade through red tape, causing additional trauma for those already in dire medical need.

To address this issue, I co-founded CareMed Specialty Pharmacy in 2006. The mission of CareMed was to improve the lives of patients, one patient at a time. Our goal was to simplify the insurance process by providing comprehensive clinical and reimbursement support services to physicians and patients. The idea blossomed into a hugely successful endeavor. Patients received medicine swiftly and accurately at a low cost and doctors avoided difficult paperwork often accompanied with specialty medications.

CareMed gained recognition as one of the nation’s fastest-growing, privately held companies by Inc. Magazine, and by December 2013, annual sales reached $250 million. PharMerica, a leading provider of pharmacy services, acquired CareMed in March 2017.

What does your typical day look like and how do you make it productive?

I get up every day by 6:30 AM and start by training and exercising with my 4-year-old son. We have a Mixed Martial Arts routine we do together which is amazing! Then, I make sure both my kids get dressed and my wife gets my older child ready for breakfast and school. When 8:00 AM hits, I’m starting in on the workday – responding to emails, taking client meetings, and monitoring operational metrics. At that point, I take particular care to make sure we are on track to reach our goals. I’ll take periodic short breaks from work to check the daily news and stay informed about current healthcare issues. My productivity is a result of time management and organizational practice. One strategy I have is that I set specific, feasible, daily goals for work that have to be accomplished by day’s end and I make sure that I am able to do those no matter what.

How do you bring ideas to life?

I have a notepad full of ideas I carry with me (no, not on my iPhone). I’m continually thinking of ways I can improve our technology, make things easier for patients and physicians, and make our platforms more intuitive, more user-friendly — using our automation to accomplish more.

When I have ideas that I feel are particularly viable, and want to be put into practice, I make sure to discuss with a diverse team of stakeholders to make sure that I’m getting a full perspective on the idea. As a part of this work, I’ll also connect with clients to make sure it is an aspect of the business that they are interested in utilizing. After all, it’s the clients that will underwrite these new ideas, so we need to make sure they are at least intrigued, if not fully bought in. It is crucial to prioritize. Our organization has a great deal of potential ideas – and as I mentioned, I have pages of them, but we have to make sure that what we are putting out there really is a feature that physians, patients, and our pharma partners want and will make their lives easier.

What’s one trend that excites you?

I’m extremely interested in the innovative forefront of digital healthcare technology. When I can, I am constantly reading up on the incorporation of things like artificial intelligence, VR/AR, robotics, or nanotechnology in the future of healthcare. I have no doubt that, in order to stay relevant, it is necessary to understand that the future of healthcare will be tech-driven. Already, tech has provided inexpensive and more effective solutions for diseases (including for the COVID-19 pandemic).

I am very excited to see what technologies are coming soon to fight cancer and other deadly diseases.

What is one habit of yours that makes you more productive as an entrepreneur?

My productivity hinges on a frame of mind. In my work, I attempt to always switch my mindset so that instead of thinking “I have to do___” instead I consider that “I GET to do ____.”

Rather than waking up every day with the thought that I am burdened by exercise, I think to myself what a privilege it is that I get to run every day. When I have multiple business meetings back to back, I consider, what if my business wasn’t successful – then I wouldn’t have ANY meetings. This simple change in perception goes a long way toward making my day more productive.

What advice would you give your younger self?

I would say to my younger self that one of the most important lessons of business success is prioritizing business goals and initiatives.

As an entrepreneur, what is the one thing you do over and over and recommend everyone else do?

I try to jog every morning and I highly recommend it. It’s my alone time, where I can focus, listen to music or podcasts, and release tension. While I know running isn’t for everyone, I encourage everyone to take 30 minutes a day to do some kind of physical activity. It’s something that comes highly recommended by the American Health Association as a way to improve your health and also if you exercise right away in the morning, you can feel a sense of accomplishment that you already started the day right.

What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business?

The strategy I use to grow is a commitment to constant improvement. In order to remain ahead of competitors, it’s crucial to have the drive to succeed, but also to truly enjoy the excitement of innovating, learning, and trying new things.

Once you feel as though you are good where you are, or that the status quo is fine, I feel like you are asking to fail. Constant learning is important as well. If you think you know everything, you will be sadly mistaken. Staying humble and understanding that life is constantly learning, and relearning will mean you are able to succeed. Also, if you do not approach life with an attitude of discovery, you won’t know what it is that you don’t know. For example, if you haven’t kept up to date on what is happening in tech, there are advancements that you are missing out on that could help you improve. Keep moving forward.

What is one failure you had as an entrepreneur, and how did you overcome it?

One aspect of my life that I now understand as truly important is work-life balance. I know that there are many people out there (because I was once one of them) who scoff at the idea, and feel that constant work is the only way to move forward. But in my experience, when, as a young entrepreneur, I found myself focusing all of my time and energy on growing a business, I soon found my work and my health suffered.

I started to get headaches and was fatigued — something that directly affected my work. When I went to a doctor, he told me this was due entirely to stress and because I was also not following a healthy lifestyle, I was diagnosed with early onset hypertension.

It’s easy to say that your health is the most important thing — and I know that it’s also easy to dismiss that sentiment when you are working hard on building a business. But if I had to do that part of my life over, I like to believe I would be able to be as productive, if not more so, if I had worked less and taken care of myself more.

The truth is, in my estimation, overwork and multi-tasking is not as productive as you think and just ends up taxing you to the limit.  When you are healthy and energized, you can accomplish more, make better decisions, and be present for other parts of your life too.

What is one business idea that you’re willing to give away to our readers?

One of the issues in health care I still see is problems in care transitions when patients are going to multiple doctors or care facilities. There should be an app that has an application programming interface that allows it to connect with all electronic medical records or EHR systems that physicians and hospitals use. The hope would be that the software could securely and easily transfer information like PHI and medical records for a patient to a new physician or hospital. If you can build something like that, let’s talk.

What is one piece of software or a web service that helps you be productive?

Of course, I am particularly fond of the proprietary technology we created at CoPilot and it makes me happy to think of the ways that we can help patients, physicians, and our pharma reps through the intuitive approaches we take. I love the idea that we are never finished innovating and there are always more ways we can reduce pain points and create better services. Otherwise, like everyone else, I use Microsoft Office, which is convenient. I also love social media because of the way it can inform and engage people.

What is the one book that you recommend our community should read and why?

When I read Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear my life truly changed. For one thing, it’s where I began to understand the concept behind saying that I GET to do something rather than HAVE to. The book does wonders when it comes to promoting positive habits and discouraging aspects of life that may have become toxic.

Another part of the book that I have put into practice is called habit stacking where one adds good habits to something that would be done every day anyway. For instance, right when I wake up, I stretch and literally fall onto the floor and do pushups – I made it a habit that comes directly from rolling out of bed.

Another nugget of knowledge I learned from the book has to do with steady change. Making small improvements, even taking a small part of the day to do something beneficial for yourself emotionally, can pay huge dividends.

What is your favorite quote?

“All big things come from small beginnings. The seed of every habit is a single, tiny decision. But as that decision is repeated, a habit sprouts and grows stronger. Roots entrench themselves and branches grow. The task of breaking a bad habit is like uprooting a powerful oak within us. And the task of building a good habit is like cultivating a delicate flower one day at a time.”

― James Clear, Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones

Key Learnings:

• When I have ideas that I want to put into practice, I discuss them with a diverse team of stakeholders to make sure that I’m getting a full perspective on the idea.
• One of the most important lessons of business success is prioritizing business goals and initiatives.
• In my work, I try to always switch my mindset so that instead of thinking “I have to do___” instead I consider that “I GET to do ____.” This simple change in mindset goes a long way toward making my day more productive.