entrepreneurship in healthcare

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pgoyal

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hey guys,

originally posted this in the peds group but got no responses.

just curious, what are some interesting unmet needs in terms of medical devices and/or software in healthcare that you've flirted with. (excluding any consulting/administration type businesses)

theoretical ideas or real life startups appreciated. however more detail than just saying "EMR" or "heart valves" preferred.

cheers.
 
hey guys,

originally posted this in the peds group but got no responses.

just curious, what are some interesting unmet needs in terms of medical devices and/or software in healthcare that you've flirted with. (excluding any consulting/administration type businesses)

theoretical ideas or real life startups appreciated. however more detail than just saying "EMR" or "heart valves" preferred.

cheers.


Assuming you want to do entrepreneurship in the future, I think your question is too general.

What is the scope of "ideas or startups" are you thinking of? The next generation of da Vinci surgery? Virtual reality programs where you can teach medical students how to do surgery in 3D hyper-interactive holograms? Or do you want to make mammograms, X-ray and CT scans cheaper, safer in the long run, and more efficient? What are your interests? Or you just want to pursue whatever is in need?

Are you trying to think of ways to invent brand-new, ground-breaking entities that we have never seen before? Or are you thinking of ways to make existing softwares and devices cheaper, so that they can be applicable in rural areas, even developing countries?

It will be also helpful to know what type of audience to whom you are trying to sell. Is it for medical schools? Large hospitals? Rural hospitals? Small clinics? Nurses? PAs? Surgeons?

What are your objectives? Do you just want for-profit companies later on? Do you just want patents and published papers? Or do you want to target specific problems that are personal to you?


I am asking these questions, because we can talk about problems all day long; however, sometimes depending on how you define problems, even if they look the same at first, solutions might not be all about creating startups and etc, but maybe simply making a cheat sheet where you can remind yourself key questions or information that you tend to forget as a doctor.


For example, if you are interested in reducing some medical errors, I would start with this to show you what I meant:

http://www.hulu.com/watch/122111

Start from 23:23 if you are busy.
 
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thanks for all these useful points. let me get back on this one then.

i am slightly interested in Venture Capital down the road so I just wanted a general sense of the opportunities there and some ideas people might be working on to get a sense of the thought process.

Assuming you want to do entrepreneurship in the future, I think your question is too general.

What is the scope of "ideas or startups" are you thinking of? The next generation of da Vinci surgery? Virtual reality programs where you can teach medical students how to do surgery in 3D hyper-interactive holograms? Or do you want to make mammograms, X-ray and CT scans cheaper, safer in the long run, and more efficient? What are your interests? Or you just want to pursue whatever is in need?

Are you trying to think of ways to invent brand-new, ground-breaking entities that we have never seen before? Or are you thinking of ways to make existing softwares and devices cheaper, so that they can be applicable in rural areas, even developing countries?

It will be also helpful to know what type of audience to whom you are trying to sell. Is it for medical schools? Large hospitals? Rural hospitals? Small clinics? Nurses? PAs? Surgeons?

What are your objectives? Do you just want for-profit companies later on? Do you just want patents and published papers? Or do you want to target specific problems that are personal to you?


I am asking these questions, because we can talk about problems all day long; however, sometimes depending on how you define problems, even if they look the same at first, solutions might not be all about creating startups and etc, but maybe simply making a cheat sheet where you can remind yourself key questions or information that you tend to forget as a doctor.


For example, if you are interested in reducing some medical errors, I would start with this to show you what I meant:

http://www.hulu.com/watch/122111

Start from 23:23 if you are busy.
 
If I'm understanding this right, you are asking for good business ideas? Normally when someone comes up with a good business idea (meaning that it will be profitable), they pursue it.
 
My business idea is to start for-profit medical schools.
 
The healthcare industry is really hard to get into this type of stuff. You'll probably have to work your way up an existing company.

You basically have to create a device, system, method, or chemical, get it reviewed and approved by a couple government administrations (You'd probably even have to prove that it works with a few research publications), and find a market for it.

That's way to difficult for any normal person. I'm pretty sure that most people in this business take an already existing product, give reason for that product to be used over the existing product, and sell that.

There's also a lot of bs with insurance companies. No doctor will use your product if their main insurance companies don't cover it.
 
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