How to Build Healthcare Innovations With a Bottom-Up Business Case w/Ed Bukstel
It’s great to have a top down strategy, but there also has to be a bottom-up business case. -Ed Bukstel
There’s technological inertia and cultural inertia in healthcare innovation, and a lot of hard work is required for us to overcome it. What are some of the biggest challenges innovators are experiencing because of this? What would be a powerful pivot or pathway that would enable the successful commercialization of clinical blockchain? How do we break down the silo walls in healthcare? How can you connect with investors who will actually help drive adoption.
On this episode, Ed Bukstel, CEO at Clinical Blockchain, shares the inside story and lessons learned when he commercialized the first EHR system in 1993. Lessons he’s now applying in his latest company.
3 Things We Learned:
How Ed took a bottom-up approach for marketing his innovation
Doctors and clinicians are part of the equation, they should always be involved in the decision making loop. Instead of approaching the labs with his EHR software product, Ed Bukstel approached the people who really had use for his service and that was cardiologists, infectious disease physicians and other clinicians. He went directly to the end-user and created a demand up the chain which was a unique but effective strategy.
The reason for caution with strategic partner funding
You’re looking for money but you also have to pay attention to the kind of money you take. Most innovators aim for strategic partner money, but we have to be cautious. It can completely swallow up your culture and the pace of growth of your business.
Why healthcare data is so important right now
33 million people suffer from rare diseases, and every bit of medical data they can get is vital to their health. When you have people who are really involved in their healthcare, it becomes critical to supply them with that data and work collaboratively with them. If patients don’t get that, they will move to a provider who can.
Even with the explosion of innovation taking place in healthcare, innovators are still struggling — whether it’s with their reimbursement models, competing for the attention of CIOs, or raising capital.
A huge part of what drives that struggle is the inertia which has set in from the legacy of the old model. The culture of that inertia will always trump any piece of technology or innovation, so it is critical for us to break down those walls, address the fear of the unknown, and usher in a new age.
Guest Bio:
Ed Bukstel is founder and CEO at Clinical Blockchain. Go to http://www.clinicalblockchain.com for more information.