How to Make Healthcare Work for Doctors

This week, our co-founder Dr. Graham Walker got to chat with Dr. Craig Joseph, a physician who’s had an incredible career – first as a private practice pediatrician, then as a physician informaticist at Epic, then as CMIO for numerous hospitals, and now as CMO at Nordic.

🔥 It’s truly one of the most unique and insightful perspectives we’ve featured yet on How I Doctor. They covered:

👉 What most people get wrong about EHRs and system design
👉 Why some of healthcare’s most frustrating problems have little to do with tech itself
👉 The messy realities of health system design
👉 The real job of a CMIO — and why more physicians need to lead health innovation
👉 How to think clearly about AI in healthcare (hint: it’s not magic)

As Craig shared on social media: “I finally spill the beans about #EHRs, how to deal with those doctor people, and the secrets to irritating most of your colleagues just enough to do your #CMIO job effectively.”

If you’ve ever wondered what it takes to fix healthcare from the inside, this episode is a must listen. And if you like what you hear, Dr. Joseph also has a new book out called “Designing for Health: The Human Centered Approach” which you can purchase here.

Listen to the full episode →

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Physician Builder Spotlight: Lara Zibners

After the incredible response we received to our post about why more physicians should start companies, we’re shining a light on MD-entrepreneurs. Each week, we’ll feature a doctor who’s building a cool product or company that you definitely want to know about. This week, meet Dr. Lara Zibners, a UK-based physician who’s the Co-Founder of Calla Lily Clinical Care. Connect with Lara on LinkedIn and learn more about her company here.

1. Lara, what inspired you to become a physician entrepreneur? I jokingly say that I am an “accidental entrepreneur,” but I don’t think that is entirely correct. I knew a problem and discovered the solution and felt that I was uniquely positioned to help drive it forward. One of the things I am most proud of in my career up to this point is that I created an online trauma training course that is up and running at the Royal College of Surgeons-England. I had to mow through a number of people to make that happen and it’s now thriving with the broad support of the College. I suppose that shows that I’ve got the entrepreneurial spirit somewhere inside of me.

2. What does your company do and what problem are you trying to solve? Calla Lily Clinical Care is a British B-corp women’s healthcare company that has developed a leak-free vaginal drug delivery platform. Most people don’t realize there are as many, if not more, drugs that should be given vaginally than there are nasal ones. But vaginal formulations often cause significant leakage. Some therapeutics ask women to lie down for extended periods of time with each dosage or doctors jump to systemic (oral or injected) formulations which can have significant side effects or — in the case of injected medicines — be very painful. If we can find a way to get the right dose to the right place with a minimum of side-effects, why wouldn’t we?

3. What's your advice for someone thinking about pursuing entrepreneurship or a nontraditional career in medicine? Do it. When I was a little doctor (young, not short), I thought physicians who never practiced clinically were ignoring the privilege of being a doctor. As I’ve aged and my career has transitioned from clinical medicine to medical education and now to women’s health innovation, I no longer believe that. There are so many ways in which medical training can translate into larger roles within the entire system that benefit more patients than one might be able to treat hands-on. I would encourage everyone who is considering a nontraditional pathway to put in the time. You’ll know when it’s the right time to branch out.

4. Since building your company, what’s one lesson you’ve learned about entrepreneurship that wasn't obvious to you before? You CANNOT do this alone. My co-founder is an ex-Goldman Sachs investment banker. Our chief product officer is a mastermind and a dedicated manager of people. Our scientific team is astounding: 7 PhDs on staff. I would also say prepare to be humbled. There are no superstars in a start-up. Everyone takes out the trash, loads the dishwasher. When you’ve got a PhD also working as the office barista, well that should tell you something.

This Q&A was shortened for the newsletter, but you can read the full-length version here.

Know someone else who should be featured? Reply or tag them and their company in the comments!

3 Things to Read This Week

The Complete History & Strategy of Epic Systems (Acquired)
The inside story of the most important company in U.S. healthcare.

How ‘The Pitt’ Isn’t Just Another ER Drama (Sanjay Gupta Podcast)
An interview with executive producer John Wells.

How Doctors Can Still Thrive Today (KevinMD)
Dr. Neil Baum offers four ways physicians can compensate for declining reimbursements.

From Our Partners: Win Cash Prizes at the XPC Games!

Alongside Canvas Medical, we’re proud to sponsor the latest edition of the XPC Games: Battle of the Prompts! X = Primary Care is hosting this hand-on event on May 9-11 to discover the brightest minds at the intersections of healthcare and AI. Featuring keynote speaker Dr. Alex Dummett, here’s what you can expect:

- Free crash course in prompt engineering
- Access to high-fidelity EMR data for practice
- Cash prizes

Physicians, residents, NPs, PAs, pharmacists, and students should apply. Learn more from Dr. Paulius Mui and get in touch here.

Highlights From Our Community

Each week, we celebrate career milestones, launches, & other goings-on in the physician community. Have something to promote? Reply and we’ll feature you.

📒 Book tour alert, Tiffany Moon
Dr. Tiffany Moon has a red-hot new book out called, “Joy Prescriptions” and she’s currently touring the country! In San Francisco? Come by her event next week and get your copy of the book here.

👋 Send him a DM! Glenn Loomis
Dr. Glenn Loomis is seeking physicians willing to beta test a new clinical agent into your practice (via his company Query Health). Get in touch here.

🚀 Well deserved, Morgan Cheatham
Morgan Cheatham has joined Breyer Capital as Partner and Head of Healthcare and Life Sciences. Huge congrats and learn more here.

👍 Thanks for sharing, Kolleen Dougherty
Dr. Kolleen Dougherty shared upsetting stats about the persistent misogyny women face in medicine. Read more here.

👏 Well done, Emeka Anyanwu
Dr. Emeka Anyanwu was featured in a Penn Medicine video for his work designing a technology solution to speed the processing of faxes and reduce burden on staff. Watch it here.

💬 Talk upcoming, Graham Walker
Next week, Graham will give a talk on predictive AI in emergency medicine at the New York American College of Emergency Physicians at The New York Academy of Medicine. Learn more here.

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