One of the most useful social media resources is Reddit. Its Ask Me Anything sessions offer readers the chance to glean some interesting insights from all manner of professions, including healthcare entrepreneurs.
Dr. Jay Parkinson, the co-founder of Sherpaa, took part in one of these sessions last month. He weighed in on wearables (they’re nonsense), video conferencing for telemedicine (people don’t like it) and shared one or two things he’s learned about running a healthcare startup. Here are some of the highlights, but here’s the link for the full session.
On video interaction
Behavioral Health, Interoperability and eConsent: Meeting the Demands of CMS Final Rule Compliance
In a webinar on April 16 at 1pm ET, Aneesh Chopra will moderate a discussion with executives from DocuSign, Velatura, and behavioral health providers on eConsent, health information exchange and compliance with the CMS Final Rule on interoperability.
Hi Jay, what do you think, could happen in 10 years that people will through webcam and mobile apps diagnosed and medication sent to patients through post and the compliance with an app controlled?
I don’t think people will ever use webcams in a significant way in healthcare. Healthcare is always at least 15 years, probably more, behind the times. I can’t think of one lovely consumer experience that involves webcams. People hate video chatting with strangers.
I said something about this a few years ago: In our first year at Hello Health where we met people in person for the first visit and then gave them the option to see us via email, video, or another in-person visit, we had about 900 email visits and 2 video visits. Video with strangers is only used in porn. If they were a good and wanted form of communication, don’t you think other industries would have adopted them long ago? It’s true, you can Facetime with Apple customer service, but that’s just weird. I don’t want to see what those people look like. This stuff is only found in healthcare because there’s a small amount of people innovating within healthcare and they’ve all jumped on the bandwagon.
Sherpaa inside tips
I’m starting with a Sherpaa-covered company in a few weeks. Any tips or advice?
We’re launching this new feature in a week or so that suggests questions you can ask Sherpaa. We’ve had a challenge in the past…when you’re invited to Sherpaa, most people don’t have an immediate need. They’re not sick or hurt or feeling depressed or what have you. But…the best way to understand how to use Sherpaa is to ask a question and experience it. So we came up with about 100 questions you can ask us when you’re not in immediate need of medical expertise. They’re interesting, quirky, and helpful! So fire away when you get the invite!
Healthcare startup insights
A Deep-dive Into Specialty Pharma
A specialty drug is a class of prescription medications used to treat complex, chronic or rare medical conditions. Although this classification was originally intended to define the treatment of rare, also termed “orphan” diseases, affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the US, more recently, specialty drugs have emerged as the cornerstone of treatment for chronic and complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS.
Hi Jay! This is great, thank you for doing the AMA!
What’s something you wish you’d known when you were first starting Sherpaa? Any words of advice for first-time founders?
There is a fascinating balancing act you have to do as a founder. First, nobody is going to buy a crappy product or service. So you have to build a wonderful product/service first and understand when it’s great enough to unleash to users. Then, that service isn’t going to sell itself. But, the builders have to be the sellers to understand market fit and the service’s challenges. But, then you have to time it just right so that you can admit to yourself that you’ve done your job as a founding partner by building a beautiful service, initially selling it and then finding the right sales leader to take what you’ve done and professionally sell it. Bringing in the right sales team at the right time is quite possibly the most important decision you’ll make in a company. There’s no magic bullet, it’s just good to be cognizant of this issue.
On medical students
What do you think is missing from medical education in its current state? any tips for current med students?
jayparkinson
I wish medical education was less hierarchical and militaristic. I wish it was more creative like a Montessori school.My advice to med students is never be afraid to be different, always challenge the status quo, and have a creative outlet. Good luck!
Sherpaa expansion plans
shittywinston
What are some of the challenges in expanding into other cities? I saw that SF is next. Any thoughts on what cities come after that?My grandpa’s name is Winston! Grandpa, is that you?
After SF, it’s LA, Chicago, Miami, Atlanta, DC, Dallas, Houston. The challenge is building up the group of specialists to whom our doctors will refer for the 30% of situations where you actually need to be seen in person. We have someone starting on May 12th to build and manage this network and I can’t wait for her to start. We need about 200 doctors in these cities. We don’t need a ton, we just need those special, wonderfully trained, highly personable doctors that get the importance of the patient experience and that people immediately love. They’re rare, but those are the kinds of doctors we work with. Stay tuned, these are exciting times!
nmet
Any plans on expanding Sherpaa (or a similar model) into Canada and other countries? If so, (how) does the model need to be modified given the different payment systems?jayparkinson[S]
There’s been some London talk. But it’s really about a business model. What entity in another country would be willing to front the cost of a different healthcare delivery model? In America, it’s companies. In another country, it’s either companies or the government. Working with governments is a long, painful process. As a startup, we try to stay far away from long, painful processes. Building Sherpaa in the US is challenging enough!
On wearables
dripppe76
Thoughts on wearables? just a pointless fad or potentially useful technology that can lead to better health?Wearables are nonsense. We already have our phones on us. Why would we need another device?
Wearables engage the already healthy data geeks and there are about 20,000 of them in all the world. Such a small niche, not enough to build an entire company out of them.
Also, better health isn’t about technology. It’s about desire. Something happens to someone that convinces them they have a problem with their health, and they look for tools to help them fix their problems. Technology is one option for a tool. But…say there was this huge influx of companies trying to design a better hammer, do you think the world would go searching for more pictures to hang?
