In my role as a co-organizer of a local chapter of a community-based digital health organization, and a fellow networker at many a tech event regardless of industry, I feel as if I have a special window overlooking the growth of digital health in the Los Angeles area.
Let me set the stage for you.
Per US News & World Report, Los Angeles boasts 2 hospital systems in the top 20 Best Hospitals Honor Roll in the nation — University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) Medical Center at #5 and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center at #17. Additionally, both hospital systems are ranked nationally for various adult specialty conditions as well as our third hospital system Keck Medical Center of University of Southern California (USC). All 3 are ranked in the top 10 hospitals in California, and 2 — UCLA Medical Center and Cedars-Sinai — are ranked #1 and #2 in Los Angeles and #1 and #4 in the entire state.
It is a very true statement when I say that our region’s healthcare systems are leaders within the healthcare industry.
While our region has maintained nationally ranked healthcare systems that serve residents in the Los Angeles basin as well as patients around the country and the world, our region has also experienced a seismic growth in the tech community coupled with an increased interest in digital health. With over 500 startups in the area, Greater Los Angeles is now the second or third (depending which analysis you’re reading) largest tech hub. With a recent IPO by Snap Inc., a billion dollar exit by Dollar Shave Club, and many other startups originating in LA, our sprawling regional area has received its share of attention. Silicon Valley has had it’s eye on Silicon Beach for some time now.
A sprawling Silicon Beach on a warm winter’s day
With a tech community growing amidst an established, traditional network of healthcare systems, you would think that these two groups would have plenty to talk about but from my perspective, I see challenges.
On the one side you have practitioners, employees, executives within the healthcare industry who are highly educated, deeply motivated individuals — and long practiced in their expertise. On the other side you often have grassroots, community-based individuals with ideological aspirations, appetites for changing the status quo, disruption, and innovation.
And on both sides of the table, I often see a tendency towards dismissal of the other side. (Sounds like a similar episode that has been playing out in our national political landscape.)
In an effort to build toward a larger community that develops new ideas, remains open to change, embraces different opinions, and becomes nimble and stays nimble, I argue that our digital health community needs to become better at embracing the healthcare industry.
And what do I mean by ‘better?’ I have a few thoughts on what this ‘better’ could look like. Suggestions that I have listed below are based on my experience of organizing and attending health tech/digital health events in the Los Angeles area. I see that the onus — or burden — is on the startupper.
Change means that what was before wasn’t perfect. People want things to be better. — Esther Dyson
To our digital health enthusiasts who are seeking feedback, support, and even contribution from healthcare industry professionals, I encourage the following:
- Be overly prepared
I can’t emphasize this enough. Know your market inside and out. Know your product. Know the competition. Know the influencers. Be as best an expert as you can be, without being one. It’s a tough assignment in healthcare, but with knowledge comes expertise and with expertise comes credibility.
Image courtesy of Unsplash
2. Listen
Don’t defend, just listen. It is my opinion that this is one of the most understated skills of any employee, executive, founder, etc. regardless of industry. It is critical to hear others, and it is critical to hear how your solution makes others think, even if you don’t agree with the individual. This article by Lindsay Holmes in Huffington Post provides great tips: 9 Things Good Listeners Do Differently.
3. Attend healthcare events and conferences
Be seen regularly by the community that you want to embrace. Be the face of your startup. If you attend an event, where you see the same people regularly show up month after month, make sure to have an update ready for them. Digital Health Today has a great calendar of running healthcare events and you could always check your local listings at Eventbrite and Meetup.
Image courtesy of Pixabay
4. Leverage your Twitter account
Twitter is not the the easiest social media platform to grow traction, but it is the easiest to listen and lurk. It is a great resource to learn about your area of healthcare, learn influencers in your area of healthcare, and learn trends. When you are ready, you can participate and contribute, and build awareness about your digital health company. This is a very fast way to establish your work and direction, while contributing to the growth of others. Try following Nick Adkins, Topher Spiro and Andy Slavitt for power tips on how to tweet like a mad healthcare obsessed fiend.
"in parts of the world that have not developed modern health care systems, the shift to #digitalhealth may come first" ? #hcldr https://t.co/HQ1YOQMV6k
— Nick Adkins (@nickisnpdx) April 8, 2017
This political development is right. Trumpcare has been chased further off the deep end. https://t.co/v3J2phJgfT
— Andy Slavitt (@ASlavitt) April 7, 2017
5. Be a student of the healthcare industry
This reverts back to Tip #1 — Be Prepared. Be a diligent student of healthcare, not just of tech. Get immersed. You might as well, there’s so many degrees of complexity to comprehend. To get you started on the right track, there’s a great Medium post by Andrew J. Rosenthal titled Make It Really Look Like You Know Healthcare — What the Experts Read to Stay Current. I would also explore courses on Coursera. Courses like Duke University’s Healthcare Innovation and Entrepreneurship can help round out your understanding in a short period of time.
6. Seek specific feedback
Last observation note — seek specific feedback. It’s important to seek feedback from experts across the healthcare spectrum, if only to test the concept, but focus on those experts who would really use, benefit and hopefully approve of your solution. Healthcare is so fractured, and so specialized that it’s important to really work to find these individuals who will have the most to contribute to your digital health effort.
These are notes to myself as well as to other digital health enthusiasts. I take these observations into consideration as I think toward the future and how to continue to build a faster, more productive, more efficient, and more effective bridge between the two communities. I’m eager to hear your thoughts as well.