BrainTrust #4: Investing ?? + ? + ??: A New Engagement between Healthcare Professionals and Startups

The healthcare sector is dynamic and driven by ongoing innovation. Traditionally, collaborations with key-opinion leaders (KOLs), a select group of healthcare professionals (HCPs), were central to bringing new solutions to market. There are many examples, such as Julio Palmaz (stents, Johnson & Johnson), Ioannis Pallikaris (LASIK, VISX), Fred Moll (robotic surgery, Intuitive), and Alim-Louis Benabid (deep brain stimulator, Medtronic).? However, the accelerating pace of innovation demands a wider net to bridge the "adoption chasm" for technologies like digital health, wearables, and AI-powered diagnostics.

This article explores this paradigm shift: actively engaging the broader HCP community through advising, investing, and forging collaborative partnerships with promising startups.? We delve into the critical role of meaningful dialogue between diverse stakeholders to understand the true impact of innovation and identify hurdles to adoption. We redefine engagement, exploring the concept of the "Health Agent" and why it's important for HCPs to consider stepping into innovation advisory roles and actively shape the future of healthcare. Finally, we articulate the reasons for HCPs to consider investing in the early-stage innovation ecosystem. This approach not only empowers HCPs to share their invaluable expertise, but also ensures clarity in the decision making in understanding the impacts of the innovations on the healthcare system. Organizations like Netra Health and The Doctor Group are leading the charge by facilitating these partnerships, paving the way for a more collaborative and innovative healthcare landscape.

BrainTrust: Empowering Collaboration Through Insights

Netra Health is passionate about identifying and driving disruptive advancements in healthcare. Our BrainTrust initiative seeks to distill our reflections into shareable articles, and with this fourth installment, we provide our rationale:

• Promote Discussion: While scientific and technical breakthroughs are critical, widespread adoption hinges on navigating a complex landscape of stakeholders with varied needs and timelines. Investors chase return on investment (ROI), regulators prioritize safety, clinicians juggle efficiency with patient care, and patients seek accessible, affordable solutions, and payors seek to manage health economics. We believe the first step is dialogue to spark debate and battle-test novel ideas.
• Highlight Opportunities: Through our work, we uncover promising startups with a potent combination: a meaningful approach, dedicated mission, and cutting-edge technologies. We? hope to highlight these "hidden gems", offering our perspectives of their potential to drive change.
• Empower Investors and Entrepreneurs:? The pace of disruptive innovation is accelerating, and we seek to empower both investors and entrepreneurs to make better decisions.

Every contribution, while seemingly small, has the potential to make a difference. By sharing insights and outlining unanswered questions, we aim to catalyze improved patient outcomes, enhanced access to care, and impact the practice of medicine.

Redefining Engagement in Healthcare Innovation

Activating and empowering HCPs is core to our mission. For this article, we have joined forces with The Doctor Group, who recognizes the immense value HCPs and practices bring and seeks to unlock this value.

The current healthcare innovation landscape often relies on a small number of high-profile "whale" KOLs. While this model has proven effective in specific areas like implantable devices and surgical tools, it may not be ideal for innovations requiring broader adoption and nuanced value propositions.

The challenge lies in engaging the vast majority of busy in-clinic clinicians whose daily workflows and patient interactions directly impact successful adoption. These professionals possess invaluable insights and wield significant influence over treatment decisions.

For too long, these types of HCPs have been the silent engines of healthcare progress, contributing their expertise and insights to companies for free, leaving significant equity on the table. This outdated dynamic is undergoing a revolution by empowering HCPs to capitalize on their valuable contributions and actively shape the future of healthcare alongside industry partners.

Beyond Free Consultations: Recognizing and Demonstrating Value for HCPs?

Think back to the last time you interacted with a healthcare company representative. Chances are, a HCP like you provided valuable feedback, insights, or even participated in product development – all without compensation or formal recognition. While other industries, like sports with its Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) movement, understand the power of collective intelligence (CI) and individual value, healthcare has lagged behind, and there is a push to change that.

While healthcare professionals offer valuable expertise, simply proposing an idea does not guarantee compensation. Companies need a tangible pathway to integrate these ideas to expand their value proposition. To effectively collaborate with startups, HCPs should consider the following activities in their interactions:??

• Data and Validation: Support an idea with tangible data, market research, or pilot studies that demonstrate its ability to address a measurable need.
• Solution Roadmap: Provide an actionable plan outlining the minimal viable product and steps needed to develop the idea, including timelines, key milestones, and critical resources.
• Team Expertise: Highlight personal qualifications and collaborations with unique skill sets, such as engineers, business specialists, or researchers.
• Financial Projections: Develop realistic business case showcasing addressable market, value creation, and potential return on investment?
• Market Landscape Analysis: Analyze the competitive landscape to identify existing, emerging, or comparable solutions and clearly explain the differentiation of the idea.
• Intellectual Property (IP) Expertise: Articulate potential IP protection strategies that provide freedom to operate or provide competitive moat

By combining the initial spark of inspiration with this tangibility, HCPs can bring more direct value and make more compelling cases to consult, join advisory boards, or even have a deeper partnership.

Optimizing Solutions, Shaping the Future

Healthcare professionals (HCPs) are not simply observers; they are active agents of change with invaluable insights gleaned from daily workflows, patient interactions, and the intricacies of the healthcare system. This unique blend of practical understanding and diverse perspectives makes them critical partners in both optimizing existing solutions and spearheading the development of new, impactful innovations. By fostering partnerships between HCPs and relevant healthcare companies, we can unlock mutually beneficial collaborations that drive progress across the industry.

Think Sports Agent, Think Healthcare Professional Advocate

Just like athletes have agents, HCPs may need representation, helping to navigate the complexities of industry.? This advocate can empower HCPs and practices by:

• Demystifying their value: Helping HCPs understand their unique expertise and the true value they bring to the table.
• Navigating the complexities: Guiding HCPs through the legalities and logistics of engagement with healthcare companies including appropriate engagement models.
• Securing fair compensation: Ensuring HCPs receive appropriate compensation for their contributions.
• Facilitating meaningful partnerships: Matching HCPs with the right companies for mutually beneficial collaborations?

This relationship is not about individual gain; it is about harnessing the collective power of HCPs expertise to drive better development and impact meaningful innovation.?

Why HCPs Should Invest in Startups: A Deeper Dive

While a primary goal of investing in startups is ensuring a thoughtful potential return based on risk taken, it is also about actively shaping the future of healthcare.? However, a critical gap has also been recognized: HCPs, who possess frontline expertise and witness healthcare challenges firsthand, often remain on the sidelines of investing. This realization sparked a new ambition: empowering HCPs to become active participants and reap the numerous benefits of investing in healthcare startups:

• Expanded Horizons: Gain early access to emerging solutions, enabling anticipation of future roadmap and shape strategic decisions for practices
• Pain Point Solutions: Validate start-ups tackling key hurdles to the goals of medicine, playing a role in directly improving operational efficiency and enhancing patient engagement and outcomes..
• Talent Magnet: Ensure connection to top talent seeking to catalyze future change and building a stronger workforce for exceptional care vs. continue status quo.
• Sustainable Innovation: Generate potential financial returns, however ensure that those returns are reinvested to fuel further improvements to finish the initial promise and provide a cycle of innovation and growth

Investing Wisely: A Roadmap for Healthcare Professionals

Entering the healthcare startup investment world requires vision and due diligence in a multi-faceted approach:

• Validate the opportunity: Delve deep into the issue the startup addresses, confirming its relevance to current needs.? Compare the competitive landscape and assess the startup's differentiation.
• Evaluate the solution:? Scrutinize the proposed solution's potential, functionality, and development plan.? Ensure the capabilities, experience, and alignment with the vision of key personnel, identifying any gaps.
• Seek out Expert insights: Gather valuable insights from relevant experts and opinion leaders to critically assess core assumptions.

Evaluating healthcare startups for investment is a complex process. Investors often leverage the experience of diverse teams with backgrounds in clinical practice, technology, regulatory, intellectual property, manufacturing, and business to carefully assess pre-IPO (i.e. not traded on the public stock exchanges) opportunities. Through dedicated efforts over time, investment firms have developed meticulous internal processes for informed decision-making.? This due diligence can last 4-6 months and can culminate in a comprehensive report shared with its investors which summarizes key aspects of the startup, including advantages, disadvantages, risks, mitigation strategies, and potential financial returns.? Such information can assist HCPs in identifying investments aligning with their individual investment objectives, goals, and risk tolerance.

Key Steps for HCPs: Charting Your Investment Journey

While the above approach offers a framework, here are crucial steps for HCPs embarking on their own investment journey to get started:

• Know Your Environment: Conduct thorough research to understand the current healthcare landscape, identify relevant startup ecosystems, and assess your organization's investment capacity and risk tolerance.
• Develop Expertise in Due Diligence: Partner with professionals experienced in evaluating healthcare startups, ensuring a robust process for assessing technology, market potential, and leadership teams.
• Build a Network: Connect with venture capitalists, incubators, and other stakeholders in the startup ecosystem. This network will provide valuable insights, deal flow, and mentorship throughout your investment journey.
• Align Investments with Values: Choose startups whose missions and goals resonate with your organization's vision for patient care and impact. This ensures a deeper engagement and maximizes the positive outcomes of your investments.

Conclusion: A Shared Journey Towards a Brighter Future

Advising and investing in healthcare startups presents a win-win-win opportunity for healthcare professionals, startups, and innovation-at-large alike. By fostering collaboration, sharing knowledge, and making strategic investments, we can collectively shape a brighter future for healthcare. Join Netra Health and The Doctor Group on this journey of innovation, and together, let us make a lasting impact on the lives of patients everywhere.

As we observe the ever-changing landscape of healthcare, this reflects Netra Health's ( Puneet Gupta and Manan Atit ) current understanding of the topic. We believe in fostering ongoing dialogue and welcome insights to refine our perspective in light of emerging developments.? Visit us at www.netrahealth.com to learn more about our mission to drive innovation by guiding and connecting startup companies with investors, advisors, and experts who share our passion for transformative impact.

Netra Health had the opportunity to co-author this article with Jason Adams and Steve Gutterman of The Doctor Group, who possess decades of collective experience investing in private companies and representing athletes, celebrities, and now healthcare professionals to help them extract the value they deserve . Visit them at https://thedoctorgroup.net.

#braintrust #netrahealth #thedoctorsgroup #healthcareinnovation #healthcareprofessionals #physicianpartnership #medtechinvestment #preIPOinvesting #empowerdoctors #impactinvesting #collectivestrength #doctors?#physician