Monthly Archives: February 2016

3D Printing – Future of Healthcare

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This is the second post on this series of what I think will be the future of Healthcare. In the first post, I talked about Personalized Medicine.

Joint replacement, Prostrate legs etc are gaining acceptance worldwide. 3D Printing definitely brings down the cost and hence more and more people can afford them. However, this is just one piece to the puzzle. There are other components which are required for 3D printing to become more affordable and acceptable.

There are two companies which are working on pushing the need for Joint replacements. Stryker Corporation and Zimmer Biomet. They using 3D Printing along CT Bone Scans to develop personalized designs.

This is a long way to go, but organizations like these are changing the game.

Remember how Aravind Eye Care changed the game for Cataract operations by producing lens which cost $5? Aravind Eye Care played a crucial role in bringing down the costs of Cataract surgeries and making it affordable for many people.

2 Questions before you Startup

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I don’t even want to start with the list of question you would need to answer to family, friends and yourself before you startup.

In the long list of questions, there are 2 questions which stand out and answering these two questions with clarity will help answer all the remaining one’s in a breeze.

So, what are the 2 questions?

– What is the trend of the Industry you wish to startup for the next at least 5 Years.
– Proof of your demand.

The questions are self-explanatory.

Personalized Medicine – The future of Healthcare

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This is one common question which comes frequently in my conversations. What is the one big thing which will change the landscape of Healthcare in the next decade or so. With my experience, I personally feel it is going to be Personalized Medicine.

Recently, I met a founder who is working on this idea at a different level. Their idea is to combine various forms of medicine to personalize the treatment. For instance, if you have a backache (common in today’s world), just popping a pill might give you instance relief, but what is the long term treatment? In the long term, one should be sincere in developing a discipline to ensure this is proactively taken care. Doing Yoga and sitting in proper posture while working and sleeping are certain ways of dealing with this kind of a problem.

What I foresee is that the regular medication which you take also will be personalized based on your DNA and other vitals.

In summary, I might not be taking Vicks Action 500 for my cold and headache, but I might walk into the pharmacy, provide my vitals and other information required and I will get personalized medicine which will address the issue much better and also ensure I develop some kind of resistance to the ailment.

Why, What, How of Predictive Analysis in India 

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Enough is said about the Healthcare infrastructure in India. All what we have is problems. Doctor to Patient ratio is very less, Population to Hospital beds is less, Manpower is less. Everything is on a downward trend.

Healthcare startups are focusing on bridging various aspects in Healthcare – Delivering medicines, connecting Doctors, Virtual consultation, Telemedicine etc. However, there is one thing Startups are not focusing on – Preventive Care.

Why?

The answer is simple, for Preventive Care, we need data and in India, that is what we lack. We do not have historical data to predict the future. The other aspect which is worrysome is that, there are very few (countable on fingers) that are focusing on automating the care delivery. This can be attributed to not so strong Healthcare Management in India. 70% is private care and out of pocket expense and 30% is the Public model.

What?

I personally do not believe that Government has to do everything, but in the current context, Government has to focus on at least structuring the Healthcare laws and delivery model in the country. Startups should focus on data collection and developing algorithms for using this data to predict the future course of action.

How?

Hospitals are ready to work with Startups to provide the data. Initially, hospitals might not allow public sharing of the algorithms, but if the Quality of Care increases, more and more will be forced to adapt to the model.

What we need today is just one case study, which can use the existing data, utilize technology to design predictive analysis and then, the ball starts rolling.

Key ingredient for building a successful startup

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So, you have an idea and you believe this idea can change the world. You started your research and finalized on all aspects of the market viability. Congratulations.

Apart from believing in your idea and taking it to execution, there are quite a few ingredients which help with the success of your startup. The first one is Domain.

You might not know everything in running your startup and there are a lot of things which you would learn on the way. But, one thing you need to be very confident is the Domain in which your startup is going to function. Pick an idea in the domain you are comfortable and confident with. As a founder of a startup, you will need to understand all the dynamics involved in the details of your startup.

I specialize in technology and have been working in the Healthcare domain for over 12 years now. If I wish to startup, I would prefer to startup in the Healthcare domain rather than in Finance which I do not have a complete understanding.

Picking the right Domain is very important because this is where your idea is going to solve the problem and if you have a very good understanding of the domain, then the chances of success is very high.

So, which Domain are you starting up?

Personal Health Monitoring

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The hottest segment in Healthcare is proactive Health management. There are quite a few companies and startup’s focusing on providing required platform for us to begin.

Identify what you wish to track
It is very easy to be lost in identifying what you wish to track. Start with a complete Health check, identify what aspects you would need to monitor and start there. If you know you are in general Healthy, then start by monitoring your daily walking, calories burnt and exercise regime etc.

Start by setting goals – I will walk 10K steps a day or I will reduce my Carbohydrate in-take or reduce alcohol etc. Start with anything which can help you feel better and healthier.

Find the right applications/apps
Today, there are quite a few applications which can help you monitor your goals. Research on what practically suits your need and start recording using them. These motivate you and help you understand your lifestyle pattern.

Periodic evaluations of your recordings
What do you with all the recordings? At the moment, there are only few intelligent applications which integrate with your monitoring apps and help you suggest what you will need to do to achieve your goals. Also, they help you understand what you can do better.

Today, it is a stage of acceptance for the Health monitoring apps. All things you do (monitoring steps, calories burnt, food intake, workout regime etc) are mainly for you to understand how your life style has been. However, companies are partnering to share this data and Hospitals are just beginning to see your historical data to understand what your lifestyle has been.

The future of Healthcare will increasingly see more acceptance of personal Health monitoring and there by providing you guidance. Also, the day is not far when Healthcare Insurance will start using the data before they offer you better policies.

I recommend that you start today.

Is it better to start after competition?

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The early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese – Anonymous.

Whenever we have a path breaking idea, the first thing we would like to see is if anyone else has done it earlier and how the response has been. At times, it is good to let your competitor start and then you follow.

Let us go back into a little history. Remember the Apple iPod? Was it truly the Apple’s invention? Creative launched a portable MP3 player which failed in the market (I still own one of them). What Apple did was learned from its competition and with their superior quality and better user interface, they not only dominated the market, but set the standard.

Your launch strategy is very important, next to the ideation process. When you develop your idea into reality, you should be very aware of the surroundings.

Many people have the question, why did this idea become successful and why not the similar one? The biggest difference is the market adaption and how the startup has strategized their presence.

At times, it is better to let your competitor start before you do or build an idea on an existing idea with improvisations.

Value

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If you are entrepreneur or work for a company, the most important aspect of your efforts are showing the value of what is being delivered.

Earlier I was in a conversation with one of my mentors and during the course of our conversation he stressed upon two things we need to do as individuals – Present the story well and Quantify value in financial terms.

Presenting the Story
All of us have ideas. Quantifying ideas to demonstrate the value the idea brings to the end user is the most important aspect of getting the message across.

How do you present the story?
Any idea is related to real life, because it is solving an existing problem. Focus on finding the right situation which can depict what you are wanting to solve. Use this situation to create a story and then build your narrative.

When Tata tea was trying to win market share in different states; In the states of Orissa and Maharashtra, tea consumers preferred dust tea instead of the grains. But they needed the strong taste and flavor. So, they offered Tata Tea Premium dust tea in red color packaging. The color red denoted the strength and flavor of the tea. The red color is the story in this narration.

PS: I am using this case study only as an illustration, it is easier said than done ?

Understand the flavors of your idea and depict the story as close to reality as possible.

Providing Value
Value preposition is not just related to financial metrics. It relates to Quality, Maturity of the problem and the solution process – which is the Why? and they way it relates to the end user.

Remember the Jagore campaign which Tata did to bringing tea acceptance to the youth? The campaign had nothing to do with the tea, but what Tata was doing is making their brand penetrate. Today, whenever you say or hear the word Jagore, you immediately relate to Tata and the social consciousness it brings in you. This in tern will play on you when you go out to buy tea when you see various brands on the stands.

This is providing value. Value to yourself and your brand.

Utilizing Aadhar for Healthcare Delivery

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India launched the prestigious Unique Identification Project (Aadhar) on the 28th of January 2009. After 7 years, around 95,00,00,000 have Aadhar Card. Even though having Aadhar is not mandatory, Government has been increasingly launching initiatives which are linked to the Aadhar Card and hence the number of signup’s have been increasing.

How can we use Aadhar Card to improve Healthcare?

To begin with, tracking Health records. India’s Healthcare system is a three tier architecture – Primary Health Center (PHC), Secondary Care and Tertiary Care. The PHC is the first point of care for the Government and according to the design, there should be 1 PHC for every 5,000 population in the rural areas and 1 PHC for every 10,000 population in the urban center.

With the Aadhar number, personal health records can be created for every individual at the PHC level. In the urban areas, Aadhar number can be utilized to register individuals at Private hospitals/clinics or at the PHC. Alternatively, we can have a centralized website which can create Health records for Individuals and they can signup using their Aadhar Number.

When there is a birth, before issuing the Birth Certificate, a Medical record should be created and all the vaccination information should be pushed through electronically. Today, this is done manually through medical cards which carry important vaccination information for the child.

What are your thoughts?

Idea for Healthcare Startup – Mobile Diagnostic center

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Two weeks ago, unfortunately, my dad fell down at home and has a displaced hip bone. We got him admitted to an Orthopedic Hospital. They had to wait for three days to ensure all vitals are normal before they did the procedure to correct the hip bone. During these three days, the Doctor wanted to have a CT Scan done too. However, since they did not have the CT Scan equipment, we were asked to take dad to a Diagnostic lab.

During this time, it struck me as to why we do not have mobile diagnostic centers. It would have been a lot easier for us to call them and they come and get the test done at the client’s residence or any hospital. It would make life so easier for elders especially.

Can this be done? Any startup’s which are providing this kind of service?