Healthcare
Exploring Entrepreneurship in Healthcare
It is no surprise that in our modern world we are seeing incredible advancement and growth in all kinds of industries. However, after the unprecedented year we’ve faced, there’s one industry in particular with the spotlight: healthcare.
Now, I’m no doctor-despite my love for medical drama shows-but after careful research, it’s safe to say that the healthcare industry is under intense diagnosis. With the help of technology, healthcare has seen immense growth but there are still evident flaws with the digitization of records, accessibility to widespread coverage, and affordability of care for all. To help repair the healthcare industry for a brighter and more effective future, entrepreneurs are unifying now more than ever.
Healthcare Simplified
Healthcare is unequivocally the backbone of the world economy. As we’ve seen in this pandemic, millions of people lost their lives, jobs, and their healthcare benefits which in turn had halting effects on economies all over the world. The fact of the matter is that healthcare is a necessity that impacts the flow and freedom at which we live our lives. This global pandemic has called upon attention to better the 3 A’s of healthcare; improving availability, affordability, and accessibility.
Healthcare Trends for 2021
One of the key trends expected to solidify itself in 2021 is virtual care. This would mean a substantial improvement in achieving accessible healthcare. Virtual care would make virtual appointments the norm, offering doctors and patients ease of access to each other while ensuring less physical contact between the two. This now opens a door for quality healthcare access to be available for people in foreign countries. Less developed countries that lack medical infrastructure now have the chance to access vital healthcare in countries like the U.S. via telemedicine technology (read more here). Ultimately, virtual care done well can repair flaws in both accessibility and availability of coverage to both Americans and patients abroad but whether or not this will be as effective as in-person appointments is still a concern.
Secondly, artificial intelligence (AI) coupled with Big Data is transforming the healthcare industry. They are maximizing aspects of healthcare ranging from diagnosis and treatment to decision making and detection all while minimizing cost. Converting a significant outlook into real-time data, AI has contributed to detecting health concerns more effectively as well as more affordable treatment solutions. Big Data has also aided hospitals and clinics with ways to minimize costs through predictive analytics (read more here). For example, a comparative analysis of projections and data from all over the industry (including entry frequency of patients, times of high patronage, etc.) has allowed hospitals to better place personnel, manage equipment inventory, and such which in turn has saved money and encouraged a smarter use of funds.
Lastly, smart cities seem to be perhaps the most interesting trend. What smart cities entail is the investment into infrastructure and disruptive technologies for a cleaner and higher quality of life. Investing in technologies like automated data-driven decision making improves the quality of industries like healthcare. This would particularly help healthcare in heavily populated cities: areas where people are living near each other means a higher probability of transferring disease and bacteria. Countries like China and cities like LA and NY were all prime examples of cities where the pandemic was able to spread quickly. The creation of smart cities will focus on improving areas where healthcare can be more available by responding strategically to city-data. This data makes it possible for city services to act quickly towards urgent health manners and make better-analyzed decisions to sidestep potential unhealthy situations.
Dallas Healthcare Startups
Shifting our focus to one particular city, Dallas has been improving the accessibility, affordability, and availability of healthcare through its high-growth and vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem. Dallas’s healthcare industry is booming rapidly because its population continues to expand substantially, calling for increasing demand in healthcare quality and innovation. To address this need, startups like Catapult Health, which focuses on preventive checkups and patient engagement solutions for healthcare providers and corporations, have risen to the challenge. Their services range from nurse practitioner onsite visits to personal health report and consultation meetings with a primary care physician, maximizing accessibility to healthcare.
Another Dallas startup on the rise is Phynd. Founded in 2010, Phynd provides a unified platform for sharing provider information across healthcare organizations. It offers healthcare organizations the ability to manage, customize, and share imperative provider information through their IT systems that enhance clinical outcomes and financial results. Ultimately, proving that it is possible to make coverage not only easier but more affordable as well.
Last but not least, Access Physicians is another Dallas startup that develops physician virtual care solutions. Access Physicians developed telemedicine solutions that facilitate the link between specialists and virtual care. Ultimately enabling medical professionals to manage consultations and connect with their patients with ease making healthcare more available for patients with a range of needs.
VC Accelerating Healthcare Innovation
In addition to the countless number of healthcare startups that are making a name for themselves, venture firms nationally have targeted health tech and healthcare because they have linked quality healthcare to economic prosperity. Venture firms ranging from big names like Khosla Ventures, Founders Fund, Kleiner Perkins, and NEA are just a few to name.
The attraction of investing in health tech and healthcare startups is not slowing down either. According to Deloitte’s 2019 Global Healthcare Outlook report, they estimate a 5.4% annual increase for spending in global healthcare potentially causing spending to reach $10.06 trillion by the year 2022. VC’s here in Dallas have also had their eyes peeled for this opportunity. Green Park & Golf Ventures (GP&G) is a Dallas VC that chose to back startup Phynd. With 60 years of experience GP&G’s strategy focuses on healthcare startups that obtain fresh and disruptive ideas with compassionate and energetic management teams that are looking to advance the healthcare sector.
Pharos Capital Group is another VC actively seeking to invest in Dallas startups focused on improving healthcare. Pharos Capital Group is a private equity firm founded by physicians and headquartered in Dallas. Pharos Capitol’s strategy is simple, to invest in growing healthcare companies that lower the cost of care, improve patient outcomes, and expand access to care. Its mission is to reduce healthcare inequalities in the United States across underserved markets.
With healthcare startups continuing to pop-up and VC firms actively looking to invest in healthcare startups, the sky’s the limit. Here are a few things that almost every healthcare startup needs to be aware of before launching.
The most successful startups have clear domain expertise, an in-depth understanding of the industry, and a great network to scale their business. All this combined makes these startups ready to make a high impact and attract venture firms to make their investments. An already vastly growing market that is actively being pushed by entrepreneurs and VC firms signifies advancement in more ways than one. As a result, we are seeing development in the quality of healthcare, more opportunities for affordable coverage, and ultimately the tweaking of healthcare flaws that are allowing the sector to become more efficient.
Final thoughts
The way 2021 has begun is looking optimistic for the entrepreneurship and healthcare duo. Entrepreneurship continues to prove how vital it is for growth across all industries. And with the spotlight on healthcare, entrepreneurship is working diligently to improve the accessibility, availability, and affordability of healthcare for all.
Now if you’re like me but your love for medical drama shows has actually stemmed to any real talent, now is the time to create an impact on the healthcare industry. However, you don’t have to be a doctor to have an impact on healthcare. To solve some of the most pressing issues we face in this industry, we need people with diverse backgrounds to come together and collaborate. Now is the time to leverage the Dallas venture capital and startup scene to your advantage. I encourage all young and like-minded entrepreneurs to be aware of this growing ecosystem of entrepreneurship and healthcare because this sector depends on a diverse set of minds to amalgamate and continue threading the needle.
Speaking of a place that breeds diversity, The UT-Dallas’ E-club is a great place to look towards as they’re becoming a hub that nurtures healthcare innovation. UT- Dallas E-club helps host events like The Big Idea competition where renowned medical institutions like UT Southwestern Medical Center are invited and actively participate in. We have had the privilege to see some of the finest healthcare innovations and startups compete for funding (BIC). If you’re a student or just a curious reader looking to get involved, I highly encourage you to check out UT- Dallas’ E-club here for more resources. Furthermore, if you’d like to connect with the author of this article, you can do so here .