Monthly Archives: February 2016

Big Data in Healthcare

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Big Data is going to change the way we live. Wearable devices, Insurance claim information, Electronic Medical Records, Apps collecting data on phone etc are all good samaritans of Big Data.

What can we do with Big Data – Analysis, Predictions, Preventive Care, Best Practices etc are few of the aspects which we can derive from the Data.

There are various sources of data and the need of the hour is tools which can comprehend the details of this data to make it meaningful and usable.

If you look at the investment trends, Healthcare Investments have grown over 176% in 2015 and majority of the investments are in Data Analytics.

We have not yet scratched the tip of the iceberg and personally I feel the next decade will be focused on making meaningful use of the big data.

Do you have a pathbreaking algorithm which we can start with?

Consumer Education

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When you identify a problem and wish to solve it, the most important aspect is consumer education. Bringing out a product or designing a solution and leaving it for people to use does not work. As an entrepreneur, you should demonstrate the functioning of your product/service which falls under Consumer Education.

There are few path-breaking products which came out in the last few decades which needed no education, people just accepted them. On the contrary, there are few products which are awesome, but needed consumer awareness.

The iPod, iPhone and iPad needed no education, please just accepted them and with the gaining importance, they spent time in learning about them. But, products like a Diabetes testing machine, C arm etc, need consumer education as to how they can be effectively used.

When designing a product, as an innovator we need to first evaluate if it needs consumer education. If required, then the first step to the success is to ensure that the education is planned along with the product.

It is just not the idea, but the acceptance of it becomes very important.

To startup in Healthcare – Focus on Domain

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Healthcare is the hottest sector to startup in any part of the world. There is a complete paradigm shift in how Health is being delivered. It is no longer going to see a Doctor or visit a Hospital, Healthcare is beginning at home. Preventive and Proactive Care delivery is fast gaining acceptance.

Technology is indeed helping bridge large part of the ecosystem. Smartphone and apps are bringing care to our fingertips.

When you are thinking of starting up in Healthcare using technology it is very important to understand the domain.

Recently, the DCGI (Drugs Controller General of India) asked the state government’s to take action against ePharmacies which are selling drugs online. Why? There are definitely legal aspects which need to be take care. The prescription based drugs need supervision and it is not that difficult to get prescriptions. Also, the medicines need to be authenticated by a Pharmacist before they are consumed. Since duplicate drugs are prevalent in the market, Government wants to ensure there is a process which is set before medicines are sold remotely.

For building Healthcare related apps and technology, it is very important to understand the details of the law and how the workflows actually flow. There are quite a few details which need to be understood and applied to ensure the best is delivered.

Understanding Domain is just not understanding how the workflow is, but understanding how the care is delivered. There is a difference in the workflow and administering care. Workflow shows how a diagnosis is performed for the symptoms and administering care is to ensure that the ailment is cured and the client (patient) is completely recovered.

With the growing acceptance of Internet based care, I am sure India will have laws built around the same, but before that, if you are looking at starting up in Healthcare space, focus on understanding the Domain, Workflow, how tests are interrelated to the care, how medicines are administered and finally how the care is delivered. This is what will make your startup successful and accepted.

Focus on the Design – Startup Lessons

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When we have an idea, the next step for us to get it to the market at the earliest. Which is good, but not necessarily the wisest thing to do.

The key parameter in bringing any service/product to market is its present-ability, in other words Design.

Steve Jobs paid such attention to detail that even the smallest alphabet on the product is tested for appropriate printing. In a Mac, if you open up the system, you will find the list of names of all people who worked on developing the product behind the screen cover. No one opens and see’s what is inside, but that is the dedication they give for Design.

Design of the product/service should reflect the culture, vision and mission of the company. So, when you set out to bring out a new product, elucidate your core values, vision and mission statement and then begin the ideation for the design. Because, what people see is what they relate to about your company.

What is the cost of Failure?

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Seth Godin once said, the cost of failure is dwarfed by the huge cost of not trying.

This is absolutely very true. Most of the times we do not even take the next step because we are afraid as to what will happen next. We are in our comfort zone and we wish to be there.

At work or even when starting up, the moment you start trying to make something happen, you change yourself and also make a difference in what you believe in and do.

So, instead of spending time on planning the execution or writing a fool-proof plan, just try. It will give you success else a beautiful learning.

Experience

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A very good friend of mine and I once walked into Audi showroom in Bangalore. We just wanted to inquire about their Q3 offering. We initially planned that we would go there, inquire and be back in 30 minutes. After we entered, we were greeted by a receptionist and she then put us to the Executive who was in-charge for Q3. Since the time he introduced himself and till the time we left the showroom after more than 2 hours, the complete experience was just impeccable. He ensured we test drove each of the cars available and during each of the drives he explained in detail as to how you would feel the difference and what should we look out for to understand what the car has to offer. Even after more than a year of visiting the showroom, I remember each detail he spoke and what we did each minute while we were in the showroom. If any day, I can afford a Audi, am sure going back to the very same showroom.

I guess this is what Experience is all about. Never judge your potential consumer of anything. Provide the best experience for each and every client of yours. This is what people look for. They do not buy your service for any other reason other than experience.

I do go through wonderful experiences in my grocery shop and barber shop and probably that is the reason I go back to the same shops again and again for anything I want.

While offering your service, consider yourself to be recieving the similar service. Give the same exact experience of how you would like to receive and am sure that will make all the difference.

Remember, people remember you and your service not because of Quality or superiority, but because of the experience you provide.

Disruptive Innovation

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There is a little bit of Innovation in our lives each day. We consciously strive to do something new in whatever we do.

Disruptive Innovation is something we do unknowingly or many a times, we re-invent the innovation to make it easier considering the circumstances.

For instance, Telephone is an innovation and Mobile phone is disruptive innovation. Car is an innovation, sports car is disruptive innovation and the list goes on.

Is there a framework or formula for Disruptive Innovation? There are theories on this and various frameworks to define it. But, disruptive innovation mainly focuses on enhancing the innovation which currently exists.

Internet is innovation and what follows is Disruptive. In today’s world, what we mostly see are improvisations of Innovations and most of these are disruptive.

What should we do to be Disruptive? No particular formula, but the first thing we need to look at is understand the subject/domain completely even before thinking how you can ease a solution. For instance, to create the best of the eCommerce site, first you need to understand all the details of Internet and the eCommerce domain. When you understand the subject and then start looking at it objectively coupled with a futuristic view, then you can get disruptive.

Simple as it sounds.

The art of building relationships

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Let us accept it, in this world everything depends on how you build your relationships. Be it with your parents, friends, spouse, children, boss, co-workers, subordinates and your buddies, every relationship needs to be nurtured and built upon.

What happens most of the times is that our expectations in each of the relationships decides how much we get out of each of the relationship. The key here is our expectation.

Recently, Matthieu Ricard, a 69 year old Buddhist Monk is hailed to be the happiest person alive by scientists who have conducted a 12 year study on his brain. The thing what Matthieu Ricard says is that one should train their brain to be benevolent. Very simple, as it sounds.

In building relationships what we tend to do is that over periods of time we unknowingly start building our expectations and with this, the sense of insecurity and instability start creeping in. When insecurity and instability start to play a bigger role, the relationship gets hit.

We need to make conscious efforts to carefully examine our relationships from time to time and look at how they are impacting our lives. If you gain happiness with one of your acquaintances, ensure you nurture the relationship. If you feel strained about the person, understand why you feel strained and see if you can mend the relationship. If you cannot, then you must reconsider.

What is important to understand and accept is that not all relationships give you the best of the feelings. So, identify those which do and build on those relationships.

Few relationships are very important, family, spouse, boss and your client. Ensure you spend time periodically asking the tough questions to yourself and build on what you have been observing.

Each time you build a new relationship, keep evaluating on your expectation.

How to know if your idea is worth starting up?

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When you are ready to take your idea forward, the first thing you will need to work on is finding your true clients who buy into your idea.

How do you get real time data to see if you truly have a path breaking idea?

The first thing you do is set up a website (choose the best and the easiest domain name which represents your idea). Setting up a website these days does not cost much and you can register a domain and setup a landing page for not more than Rs.1,000 (~$20).

On this page, provide information of your idea and ask people to register for knowing more details. For this, simply use Google Forms.

Start spreading out the word about your startup. Add a link to your website in your email signature and keep posting on Social Media (Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter etc)

Monitor the signups. If you are not getting as many as you expected, then either the message is not reaching the right audience or people are not interested.

You will need to identify metrics to evaluate what the exact reason is. Once you have the right kind of data, then evaluate if your idea is worth taking it forward or not.

After people signup, send an email blast (use services like TinyLetter) to all your subscribers and share your idea at a high level and also ask questions about what they liked in the idea and how they are going to use your end solution. Based on the feedback, start working on your idea.

After all, what is more satisfying than having people buying your product/service without even seeing it?

Wearable Technology – Future of Healthcare

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Wearable Technology has been in existence for over last 5 years. However, in India, it is slowly gaining acceptance. People have started using Garmin, Apple Watch, Fitbit and now GoQii (Home grown Indian startup in wearable technology space). Garmin has predominantly been in use with sports persons (Running, Golf and Cycling) and Fitbit has also come to India few years ago.

Wearable technology can help motivate people to exercise, add friends and see how they are comparing with others. Also, these devices gather a load of data for personal monitoring. These days, these devices even gather your heart rate all through the day.

If you ask me today, this data is predominantly for personal use. But, this data can be used to consistently monitor your health and also your Doctor can see a live day-to-day analysis of how you are managing your health. Also, with apps like MyFitnessPal which help you in monitoring your food and water intake, this data becomes very valuable to your Doctor who can better judge your Health.

I have been using wearable technology for over 2 years and I have all the data with me, I am waiting for startups to focus on building interfaces with these wearable tech apps so that I can understand and decimate what the information is telling me.

This technology is at nascent stage and I am quite sure in the next decade, it will become mandatory.

This is the third Part of my future of Healthcare thoughts. Read Part 1 and Part 2