The Health Innovators Show

Many (if not most) innovators have pivoting on their mind right now. They’re asking themselves: what role can I play in helping fight the COVID crisis, while still making sure that it’s the right move for my business? Of course, this will look different for every innovator. And since nobody can see the future, it’s critical to be as strategic as possible as you’re planning and executing on what’s next for your company. But one big opportunity you shouldn’t overlook is how to find the right partners to co-create something awesome. In this episode, we chat with Stacie Ruth, CEO of AireHealth. She shared with us her brilliant and thoughtful co-creation pivot strategy to make sure that her respiratory care device and app can help more people, faster — while still making sure that her company can continue to stay relevant and flourish in the long run. Here are the show highlights: How to ask other businesses for help without letting them hijack your business (20:04)  Why innovators thrive during chaotic times (27:54)  How to promote your healthcare solutions during a pandemic so you don’t erode trust between you and your customers (5:00)  How to easily transform your current healthcare products to better help during the crisis (6:01)  Make sure you have this critical piece in place before you pivot to help with the pandemic or your business won’t last (15:05)  Neglect this when collaborating with other businesses and you’ll pay for it years after the crisis (17:56)  Mr. Rogers’ secret for helping more people that works especially well during a pandemic (7:17)  The “September check” method for pivoting that ensures your business survives after the crisis (24:26)  I've spoken with dozens of health innovators, and nearly everyone is trying to figure out their best pivot strategy. But they don't know what to change, how to pivot, or if their new pivot strategy is the right move. So I went into overdrive putting together a clear, actionable 5-step worksheet that will help you quickly define your most viable and profitable pivot path through the COVID crisis. And I’m giving it to you for FREE — no strings attached at https://www.legacy-dna.com/pivot Guest Bio:  Stacie is a Connected Health Entrepreneur and the CEO of AireHealth, a respiratory care health company. Go to https://www.aire.health/ for more information, and to get in touch, email stacie.ruth@aire.health.

After nearly 30 years of chasing a dream to connect technology and healthcare, when COVID-19 invaded our everyday lives, Dr. Joseph Kvedar witnessed more movement in his field of expertise over the last month than he has in years. But what does that really mean for the telemedicine industry?   Whether you’re an innovator new to the field or an established player in the telemedicine industry, you’re going to want to hear Dr. Kvedar’s take on how today’s pandemic has thrust telemedicine into the spotlight and how that momentum may play out as we inevitably move into a post-COVID economy.   In this episode, Dr. Kvedar discusses the impacts, implications, and possible outcomes healthcare and health innovator industries may experience due to covid, and offers his own insights and tips on: Why telemedicine is taking hold right now and how the technology that enables telemedicine can reach further into our everyday lives via education, finance, and other industries The past obstacles to the telemedicine industry and why/how that has changed within the COVID-19 economy The challenges telemedicine may face post-covid and the importance of advocating for processes within the telemedicine industry that are being proven as beneficial  Opportunities and challenges health innovators may face due to COVID-19 Tips and insights for telemedicine and health innovators as we move forward - and beyond - the current pandemic crisis   Guest Bio Joseph C. Kvedar, MD is a professor of dermatology, Co-Chair on digital reimbursement for the AMA, incoming President of the American Telemedicine Association, and Editor in Chief for npj Digital Medicine.    A 27-year believer in the idea that there could be a better model of health care delivery with the ability to provide care outside of a hospital or physician setting, Dr. Kvedar has had the privilege of leading the advance toward a more connected health experience while working at Partners Health.     If you have additional questions or insights you’d like to discuss with Dr. Kvedar, you can reach out to him on LinkedIn at Joe Kvedar, Twitter at @jkvedar, by email at  jkvedar@partners.org, or by visiting joekvedar.com.

When you’re an established, comprehensive company bringing products to market in a vertical industry such as healthcare, there’s a certain amount of expectation that runs alongside your everyday processes. That is, of course, until a pandemic comes knocking on your door.   So what happens when an industry hemmed in by HIPAA guidelines and government regulations is given the proverbial green-light to act quickly? They pivot — and they pivot with lightning speed.   In this episode, Sheila Loy discusses how HID Global took a proven, tested product and reworked parts of the platform to meet the need for infectious disease tracking that’s necessary not only in today’s COVID-19 economy, but for future disease-specific crises as well. Sheila gives us insights into: The importance of having a strong understanding of your market and how that can help uncover an unmet need Staying on track with expectations in a fast moving pivot when your company has historically long go-to-market procedures How to know when you have a product that is relevant in the current market — and when you need to add to, or scale back, that product to give clients the most useful end-product for their needs Timing and relevance and how they represent half the battle when bringing a product to market Why communication and internal education is key to a successful pivot — when everyone is on the same page, it’s easier to make the necessary adjustments and keep your company’s momentum moving forward     Guest Bio Sheila Loy is the Director of Vertical Segmentation of Strategy at HID Global, a worldwide leader in providing trusted security solutions in the identity and access management space. Sheila manages the framework strategies and how HID goes to market as a comprehensive company in a vertical industry such as healthcare.   You can reach Sheila at sheila.loy@HIDGlobal.com. You can also visit HID Global’s website to learn about their contact tracing and surge response solutions.

Being a health innovator during the COVID-19 Pandemic can be difficult — dwindling funding, shifting priorities, and challenges with getting your message to resonate with the right audience can make it seem darn near impossible.   But what if it isn’t? Running a lean, nimble, and focused path during any crisis, from financial to biological, can help startups remain in the game while also providing a chance to pivot their product to fulfill a current need. Or sometimes, more importantly, a future need.   In this episode, Emrah Gultekin, CEO of Chooch.AI discusses how his company was able to reteach its AI to read radiology scans and provide a much needed, quicker diagnostic tool to the healthcare industry during the COVID-19 crisis. Emrah’s insights include:   How crises can fuel innovation How the move towards human to technology interaction forced by COVID can help accelerate the adoption of technology-based innovations The importance of positioning your business horizontally so it can have options for growth, and be able to better navigate an unpredictable future How rapid cycle innovation can test innovation’s boundaries in positive ways Why staying lean and nimble can better position your company to survive some aspects of a crisis situation How the concept of “present bias” can hinder or help an innovator in times of uncertainty   Guest Bio Emrah Gultekin is an entrepreneur, innovator and the co-founder and CEO of Chooch.AI. Chooch is a Silicon Valley start-up and visual AI solution that provides fast, accurate facial authentication and object recognition for the media, advertising, banking, medical and security industries.    For those who want to learn more about Chooch.AI and how they may be able to help your company, you can reach out to them at  www.chooch.ai, or email them at hello@chooch.ai.

Most often, people, businesses, and economies are shaped and changed over time through a gradual process of cause and effect. And sometimes, things like COVID-19 happen — which throws everything we know about early adoption, selling, and marketing out the window. Instead, it demands we adjust, adapt, and pivot, or get out of the way of those who can.   In this episode, Bryan Graven, CEO of HiLite Health, throws his company’s window wide open and allows us to take a glimpse into their positioning when COVID-19 hit.   He speaks candidly about adjusting marketing and selling processes during the chaos of a pandemic. Bryan also speaks about the importance of recognizing the opportunities your company may be able to capitalize on and what health innovation, sales, and marketing might look in a post-COVID economy.   Bryan touches on: The effectiveness of video in digital outreach and its ability to build trust and credibility, all while offering clients convenience and better comprehension of the messages you’re communicating The challenges of running a start-up business and how that plays into the COVID economy When the time is right to sell your innovation vs. building relationships Positioning your company to be in the right place when the chaos calms down And the hidden opportunities this pandemic has created to: Build and strengthen business relationships Enhance and fine tune your innovation Tighten your brand messaging, and Pivot into a stronger position to hit the ground running when the dust settles Guest Bio Bryan Graven is CEO of HiLite Health, a company that creates tailored digital solutions platforms for the medical community. He spent 20 years in the healthcare IT arena, including 10 years as CEO of National Physician Services, before turning his energy and passion into developing Hilite Health and its digital health platform HiliteMD.   Driven to seek out solutions through innovation, Bryan leveraged those two decades of IT expertise to develop and deliver the best possible solutions and resources and empower the healthcare community to offer better business and patient experiences. To learn more about Bryan, HiLite Health, or HiLiteMD, visit HiLiteHealth.com or email him at bryan@hilitehealth.com

We’re living in unprecedented times. COVID-19 has closed borders and shuttered businesses. And for many startups, cancelled events means vanished opportunities to build critical networking relationships, showcase their innovations, and secure funding they need for their next steps.   That’s why it’s so important for businesses to be able to take a step back, re-evaluate where they are and where they’re going, and try to figure out how they can fit into the new COVID economy.   On today’s episode, we talk with Adeel Malik, CEO of Clearstep. He was able to create an extension of his care routing tool, helping health systems with their urgent need to quickly and effectively triage COVID-19 patients and ensure that scarce resources are spent wisely. He shares:   How his team quickly pivoted Clearstep’s messaging to cater to their audience’s new, urgent needs — and how they had a record-breaking 8-day sales cycle with a new health system customer Why it’s critical to reassess how your business can fit in with today’s new market needs, while still making sure that you don’t lose sight of your core product in the long-term How you can raise capital in a time where it’s more important than ever to prove your relevance, usefulness, and longevity to investors The importance of having the right team — and the best team — to weather the storm and grow together   Guest Bio Adeel Malik is the CEO of Clearstep, a care routing tool that aims to create the new consumer experience for accessing healthcare. The tool “consumerizes” the healthcare experience, giving patients all the data they need to make informed choices about their care.   Adeel came to Clearstep after spending several years working in healthcare consulting. Before that, he was a medical researcher for Johns Hopkins.   To learn more about Adeel and Clearstep, check out the company’s feature on TechCrunch or visit www.clearstep.health. To chat with Adeel, fill out the website’s contact form and mention that you’d like to connect with him.

Many innovators looking to launch a technology-rich product may come into the game with glamorous visions of tech giants and gurus snapping up their innovations and immediate market adoption. But the path to success is less often glamorous and more often long and arduous. It requires a foresight of challenges and the flexibility to pivot when necessary, which is becoming increasingly apparent in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.   To maximize a product’s chance at success, it’s imperative for an innovator to have a solid understanding of what they can expect when first embarking on their path to product launch. They also need to plan for outliers and the unexpected.    On today’s episode, Electronic Caregiver Founder and CEO Anthony Dohrmann tells us about his experiences on the path to product launch. He offers insights and strategies on what it’s like to have a radical innovation idea, and the work that goes into seeing it come to fruition.   Anthony shares:  His take on the importance of coordinating input between providers, patients, caregivers, and families That even if you have thousands of people telling you that your product is just what the industry needs, a focus group comprised of those who will use your product every day will give you more comprehensive feedback — and help you avoid costly mistakes How having a solid understanding of how to secure capital — and how capital requirements may shift as you develop your product — is an often mis-assessed key to the launch process How to recognize the silver linings and opportunities presenting themselves as COVID-19 pushes a rapid evolution of the country’s healthcare landscape    Guest Bio Anthony Dohrmann is the CEO and Founder of Electronic Caregiver, a company that uses advanced technology and artificial intelligence to create a voice-based virtual caregiver to serve clients based on their needs and resources.   Pushed to pursue his innovative nature through circumstances, Anthony has successfully leveraged his love of technology and drive to change the healthcare landscape into a truly innovative product — and its introduction into the market couldn’t have been better timed.   To learn more about Electronic Caregiver, visit ElectronicCaregiver.com or call 833-ECG-LIFE.

One of the biggest hurdles an innovator faces is the quest to prove you have a solid product-market fit. (Especially because many innovators fall prey to their own assumptions that their innovation will be loved by the masses, without pausing to get the masses’ thoughts first.) This quest is closely tied to another huge hurdle: getting traction in the early stages. In the vast majority of cases, the early adopters, or first users of your innovation, will be quite different than your mainstream users down the road. And it’s absolutely critical to address this as early as possible. On today’s episode, CarePredict Founder and CEO Satish Movva tells us about his savvy early adoption strategy. It’s clear that this early strategy led to the success of his multi-award-winning wearable device, which he developed to help care for his elderly parents. Satish shares: His early adoption strategy of testing his device in the smaller, more controllable environments of senior living centers vs. trying to scale too quickly with a commercial model That a B2B early adoption strategy doesn’t mean you can’t go B2C later — but it will help give you invaluable insights to iterate your innovation before your mainstream launch How the mindset of jumping straight to the B2C market is one of the biggest reasons that innovators never get off the ground Some of the key game-changers and differentiators of his device, like being the first wearable on the market to be able to track arm gestures   Guest Bio Satish Movva is the Founder and CEO of CarePredict, a wearable device that helps to predict serious health issues in seniors before they happen. CarePredict has earned several awards and accolades, including earning a spot in the Digital Health 150 and being named as an Honoree for Wearable Technology Developed Just for Seniors at the CES 2020 Innovation Awards. Satish has spent nearly three decades working in healthcare tech, holding positions with companies ranging from large provider and physician corporations to household names like IBM. To learn more, visit www.carepredict.com or connect with him on LinkedIn.

The more I work with health innovators, the more evidence I have that many healthcare entities are hesitant to innovate. Between all the red tape and risks, many find it hard to see the value. And when they do, the industry generally has much longer acquisition cycles for buying and adopting new solutions. But refreshingly, not everyone is resistant to change. On today’s episode, we’re joined by Pothik Chatterjee, Executive Director of Innovation & Research at LifeBridge Health. LifeBridge is an example of a health system that’s truly on the forefront of innovation, and it’s incredible to hear about. Pothik tells us about his role at LifeBridge, specifically as it relates to his work with startups and health innovators. We discuss topics like: The challenges that new innovators face when it comes to finding the right decision-makers and advocates to pitch and “sell” their innovations to What he looks for in potential innovation partners, like a compelling narrative, a diverse team, solid experience, and the ability to really prove ROI The general process of evaluating potential partners and finding the right way to work together, from designing the pilot to transitioning after the sale The differences and considerations LifeBridge looks at when evaluating innovations that are radically vs. incrementally disruptive to the system’s current M.O.    Guest Bio Pothik Chatterjee is the Executive Director of Innovation & Research at LifeBridge Health, a Baltimore-based community health system. Pothik’s department acts as the “front door” for health tech startups that are looking to enter a clinical setting and find the right partner to do so.    Pothik has worked with hospitals for more than five years, with a high involvement in innovation and operations. Even in his earlier work in financial services, healthcare has always been a theme in his career, leading to his conscious switch into the hospital side. He’s dedicated to better understanding the needs and challenges of patients and providers, so he can better connect them with solutions in the market.   To learn more about Pothik’s work, visit www.lifebridgehealth.org/innovation. You can also connect with him on LinkedIn.

It’s no secret that innovating in healthcare is a completely different beast than other industries. That’s why it’s so important for innovators to work inside a framework, making sure they’re covering the most important considerations on their path. And inside that framework lies a series of checkpoints and critical needs that innovators can’t afford to ignore. On this episode, we’re joined by Jon Warner, CEO of Silver Moonshots and author of 40 books, most recently “SLAM: Build your startup idea or early stage business with the Startup Launch Assistance Map.” We cover some huge topics for innovators, including: How to make sure you’re accounting for upstream and downstream issues, instead of creating a single-point solution that’s never adopted Having a deep understanding of your market so that you can hyper-target the people whose “hair is on fire” — the ones who really need your solution the most The critical need to get as much traction and velocity as possible so that you can rise above the noise   Guest Bio Jon Warner is the CEO of virtual startup accelerator Silver Moonshots. Silver Moonshots works with entrepreneurs who are focused on solving for older adult issues, allowing Jon to focus on his passion of making life better for the 50-and-older population. As a serial entrepreneur, he has several other roles, including Co-Founder of BetterLife Remedies and Adjunct Professor and Mentor in Entrepreneurship at the University of Redlands. Jon has been in the healthcare industry for more than 30 years, where he started his career on the business side, helping healthcare organizations build more efficient systems and processes. To learn more about SLAM and buy your own copy, check out his website www.slamprocess.com. You can also connect with him on LinkedIn.