Meet Randy Horton: Shaping MedTech Through SaMD and Cloud Standards as Orthogonal’s Chief Solutions Officer

Randy Horton

Published on: February 25th, 2025

At Orthogonal, we take pride in highlighting the diverse experiences and contributions of our team members. We’re excited to spotlight Randy Horton, our Chief Solutions Officer, whose deep-rooted passion for connected technology and healthcare innovation has shaped his career. From the early days of the internet to pioneering advancements in Software as a Medical Device (SaMD) and cloud computing standards, Randy’s work is driven by a commitment to improving patient outcomes and transforming the future of MedTech.

Pioneering the Future of MedTech

Randy got hooked on the Internet very early on, back when Mosaic was the only browser and you could check out every existing website in an evening. Since then, he’s spent his career guiding organizations using connected technology to get to their “what’s next,” with about 80% of his time working in healthcare. He crossed paths with Orthogonal’s founders two decades ago as a customer and officially joined five years ago to help “improve patient outcomes faster.” Randy is proud of the positive impact that his work has had on society during his career. At Orthogonal, that includes supporting many projects bringing great Software a Medical Device (SaMD) to market and co-chairing the AAMI standards Working Group defining safe cloud computing practices for medical devices.

Insights into the Industry

For Randy, healthcare is at a crucial crossroads: rising costs and care demands collide with the promise of population health, digital tools, cloud computing, and AI. He sees massive potential in shifting our approach to healthcare delivery from traditional “points of care” to “points of living,” enabling people to monitor and manage their health wherever they are. Randy stays current by attending conferences, subscribing to newsletters and podcasts, and asking questions of everyone he can connect with. He believes that huge opportunities can arise in borrowing the best ideas from every corner of the tech industry and methodically applying them in MedTech.

Beyond Work: Postcards, Films & Impact

Outside of work, Randy has a newfound passion for postcards—sending one daily to keep in touch with his kids who’ve “grown and flown. Fascinated by the history, breadth, and depth of postcard collecting, he’s fascinated by how postcards were the original “social network,” complete with selfies, status updates, vacation pictures, and political messages. He’s also a big movie buff and devotes time to supporting mission-based organizations with his startup know-how. He’s a husband and parent in a house of five humans, plus he serves as the full-time emotional support human for a very attention-loving dog.

Shaping the Future of MedTech

Randy embraces the complexity of healthcare (and life) and thrives in gray areas where significant challenges demand fresh thinking. He credits a Montessori-style, “no box” approach to shaping his creativity. Looking ahead, he hopes to help Orthogonal continue scaling and solving the most complex problems in MedTech—turning today’s roadblocks into tomorrow’s industry standards. For him, strong, trusted relationships and honest guidance form the backbone of a sustainable, people-first company that pushes boundaries, learns from mistakes, and delivers a real, positive impact for patients worldwide. Randy gets up every day excited to fulfill Orthogonal’s mission of Improving Patient Outcomes Faster and living by our engineering credo: Move Faster. Break Nothing.