TECH TALK: Let's Build a Business: 1. Healthcare

From time to time, we get ideas. Ideas to build new businesses, new worlds. Ideas to create breakthrough technologies. Ideas to build tomorrow's blockbusters. In this week's Tech Talk, I will outline a few such ideas that I have been thinking with friends and colleagues, and where we'd like to see entrepreneurial-minded people step up and pick up the gauntlet to build these businesses.

For each of these ideas described, the seed capital to get the business started is available. What we are looking for are people to lead the venture and be part of the senior management team. We believe that each of these ventures has the ability to not only grow big in the years to come, but also transform India. So, if you are interested in any of these ventures, email me or fill out this feedback form with a brief profile of yourself, your thoughts on the ideas presented, and your thinking about the role that you'd like to play in the venture.

The ideas for the healthcare venture are from Dr. Aniruddha Malpani.

The healthcare industry is ailing.

The commonest complaints patients have today are:

· Doctors are too busy � they make me wait too long

· I don�t understand what they say � they don�t have time to explain their jargon

· They don�t share information or respect my preferences

· Care is fragmented amongst specialists

· Doctors are not transparent or accountable

· How do I know his advise is reliable and trustworthy ?

Doctors are unhappy too.

· They are stressed out, because of the large number of patients they need to see, and feel that patients expect too much from them.

· The feel that patients unfairly blame doctors for all bad outcomes.

· They also feel that many patients waste their valuable time by asking stupid and irrelevant questions; because they are too disorganized; and don�t bother to educate themselves or do their homework.

Today�s problems in healthcare are because:

· Everything is doctor-centric - the doctor is the center of the medical care system

· Healthcare is therefore fragmented and disorganised

· Too many specialists , most of whom have tunnel vision

We need to reform the healthcare ecosystem by putting patients at the center � � patients are the largest untapped healthcare resource � !

Patients ( or their relatives and friends) are intelligent and capable; and because they have a lot at stake , they are motivated to get good health care, and will be willing to invest time and energy if given the right tools to ensure a good outcome.

We need to provide the tools directly to patients !