How It’s Med

Med Tech Talks Ep.62: Dr. Amol Deshpande Pt. 1

What do 🎙️ Podcasting, 💊 pain medicine, and… 🏦 Venture Capital have in common?
The answer? @Dr. Amol Deshpande.
What goes into making a multitalented physician into a health-tech venture capitalist? @Geoffrey Ching learned about that this week with @Dr. Amol Deshpande, the host of @Reboot Health. With 15 years of experience as a physician, an MBA, and quite a string of involvement with and health tech consulting and startups Amol, the co-chair of @HaloHealth, is putting his skills and experience to the test as the Senior Director of the Health-Tech Ecosystem at @Mars Discovery District.
 
1:38-6:22 - From chronic pain to a Senior Director at MaRS Discovery District - how did Amol start the journey that led him to where he is today?
6:52-9:33 - Healthtech? What’s an MBA got to do with that? Amol lays this conundrum bare for us to ponder.
10:09 -14:54 - Can innovation be taught? Should it be taught in medical education? Amol gives his two cents.
15:35-20:03 - Practicing medicine for almost 15 years helped him to learn the most valuable lesson which is to learn to align treatment and approach based on a person-to-person’s particular medical condition.
20:42-23:31 - From podcasting to venture capital to managing a health-tech ecosystem at Canada’s leading innovation center - now that’s range. Amol talks about how each of these roles fascinated him in their own unique ways.
23:51 - 26:30 - Why support founders and learners instead of starting a company of his own? Amol lays his rationale out for us to hear.
26:57-29:49 - HaloHealth? AiOT? How do these organizaitons support investment in Canadian medical innovation?

Med Tech Talks Ep. 61: Dr. Zain Kassam Pt. 2

What would you brave to solve your gut problems? Colonoscopy? 🔭 A pill? 💊
This week, rejoin our conversation with Dr. Zain Kassam, co-founder of Finch Therapeutics, a Massachussetts based unicorn focusing microbiome therapeutics. Learn more about his exhillarating journey from high school, to studying gastroenterology, to his foray into the world of startups.
 
02:10 - 9:22 - How did OpenBiome transplant microbiota transplants from a boutique service into a democratized solution for patients in need? Zain shares his perspective on how this revolutionary organization reshaped the playing field for this therapy.
9:43 - 13:37 - Why Finch? Why pursue a for-profit, instead of continuing the non-profit route with OpenBiome? Between the multitude of barriers to widespread adoption of microbiome therapies and the adoption of new tech alongside Takeda, Zain explored all the intricacies of this hard-to-answer question.
14:04 - 16:27 - How did the FDA help or hinder Zain’s work? The path to approval for microbiome therapy was unclear, but what the FDA did to support Zain may surprise you.
17:22 - 20:29 - Partnerships as a part of Finch’s journey - what’s to it, and what separates a partnership from a one-off relationship? Zain shares his perspective on the building blocks and importance of partnerships.
21:07 - 23:24 - Intellectual Property in biotech is an important, but often underexplored topic. Zain explains his take on conflict and miscommunication about IP.
24:20 - 28:33 - Why continue researching despite the different priorities in the industry as opposed to in academia? Apparently, carrots differ, and Zain talks shop about what fuels his passions.
29:05 - 34:18 - What’s in Zain’s future? Medicine or public health impact? Zain shares what he values and what he wants to do with his time in Canada, as opposed to the United States going forward.

Med Tech Talks Ep. 61: Dr. Zain Kassam Pt. 1

💩 Fecal microbiota 🦠, the Queen 👑, and a unicorn 🦄 - what do they all have in common?
Geoffrey Ching chatted with Dr. Zain Kassam, co-founder of Finch Therapeutics - a Massachussetts based unicorn focused on microbiome therapeutics. Zain teased us with what he has accomplished, and talked about the rationale behind his unusual journey from gastroenterologist-in-training to unicorn co-founder.
To find more of our podcasts, you can go https://plnk.to/howitsmed
 
Time stamps:
1:20-3:27 - What’s in the box? Zain offers a teaser on his interest in microbiota transplants, microbiome sciences, and the systemic impacts of this whole new world.
3:58-6:51 - A flashback to 2004, Zain’s high school education and his interactions with influential people; Zain chats about the moments and people who made an impact on his career.
7:27-10:22 - “Think horses not zebras.” Zain explains why this phrase, alongside a family experience, led him to choose gastroenterology as his specialty of choice.
10:50-14:28 - Publications in industry? Disruption in how research impact is assessed? Zain discusses research as a tool for advancement in innovation - not just as a means to push the “publish or perish” mentality.
14:35-19:08 - What do the Queen of England and the Brown Cross have to do with Zain’s passion with microbiota transplants? We learn how an (apparent) doppelganger shifted Zain’s focus onto clinical trials as an academic gastroenterologist at Harvard and MIT.
19:40-22:55 - What was the impact of interacting with those who founded OpenBiome? Zain talks about how he settled on academic medicine as a platform to get involved in innovation where the KPIs are companies and patents more so than papers and posters.
23:03-25:55 How did a talk by Jim Kim, the previous head of the Head Bank who had a strong social justice tilt, shift Zain’s focus onto innovation and the private sector? Zain had to do some reframing about his relationships with industry before he began his work with Finch Therapeutics.

Med Tech Talks Ep. 60: Dr. Teresa Chan Pt.2

💊 Med tech 📟 or 💊 med teach 🧑‍🏫? What did Dr. Teresa Chan choose?
Let’s hear from Teresa Chan and Geoffrey Ching in part 2 of their conversation where they talk about the GridLockED team’s GALA 2021 award winning TriagED sequel game, Teresa’s choice to pursue academic medicine, and her other leading exploits in medical education - from AliEM to CanadiEM.

Med Tech Talks Ep. 60: Dr. Teresa Chan Pt. 1

🌶️Are kids better at managing an emergency department than physicians?🌶️ Dr. Teresa Chan surprised us with the answer to this question.
Developed by teachers and trainers at McMaster University, GridLockED is a simulation game that will take you through the intense world of managing multiple patients in the hectic world of emergency medicine.
This week, we had the privilege of talking to Dr. Teresa Chan, an Associate Dean at McMaster University. She worked extensively on the problems faced in Emergency Medicine, and wrote her masters thesis on the subject. Eventually her ideas were developed into the board game, which was featured in the Journal of Academic Medicine.
 
 

Ep. 59: Dr. Mohamed Alarakhia and the eHealth Centre for Excellence

“We have Bernie, the bot that burns out so that physicians don’t have to” - Dr. Mohamed Alarakhia, Managing Director of the eHealth Centre of Excellence.
This week, we had the privilege of talking to Dr. Mohamed Alarakhia, the Managing Director of eHealth Centre of Excellence, a company working to build tools and platforms for Virtual Healthcare. From his background in biochemistry and computer science to his motivation for studying medicine, to conversations about bots in medicine - we unravel the thoughts and processes behind simplifying consultations and referrals using technology.
To find more of our podcasts, you can go to howitsmed.com, https://plnk.to/howitsmed, or https://youtu.be/WqHhj2eGzw4
1:59-4:50 - From compsci to medicine - what was the link? Dr. Alarakhia discusses the origin of his passion for and career in tech in healthcare.
5:08-11:52 - Accurate? Convenient? Danger? Mohamed lays down his perspective on the sacrifices made by and boons offered by adoption of digital health.
12:22-20:19 - What’s the difference between the eHealth Centre of Excellence and a healthtech startup? Why did Mohamed choose the latter? He tells all.
20:42-26:20 - Healthtech startups and a battle with procurement - name a more iconic Canadian couple. From 3000 requirements to pizza as an analogy, Mohamed explains this process.
26:42-32:59 - Who are Cody, Bernie, and Sharon? Mohamed explains that they’re bots built by his group to help reduce burnout, not “to cause more burnout.”
33:16-38:28 - Do physicians have a role in medical procurement? Mohamed discusses his view on this process.

Ep. 58: Dr. Alexander Bilbily and 16Bit AI

Do you think you could bootstrap a solution to a pressing Canadian public health problem? Dr. Alex Bilbily and the 16Bit team have done exactly that.
This week, we had the pleasure of chatting with Dr. Alexander Bilbily about the rollercoaster journey he and his cofounder Dr. Mark Cicero have embarked on while founding and scaling a leading AI company which aims to detect osteoporosis opportunistically.
From blueberry muffins and chihuahuas to regulatory considerations, join us on this week’s episode of Med Tech Talks as we unravel the story of Dr. Bilbily, who is helping shape the future of how physicians will work with AI.
To find more of our podcasts, you can go to howitsmed.com, https://plnk.to/howitsmed, or our Youtube channel!
#medicine #medtech #healthtech #healthcare #AI #podcasts #videocasts #physician #founder #Canada
 
1:14 - 10:22 - Alex recalls why he chose medicine and specifically radiology - uniquely, his story was shaped by an early invention to track patients’ adherence to therapy, and a preference for the diagnostic over the therapeutic side of medicine
11:30 - 16:30 - A discussion on the current state of and this history of the interaction between medical practices and those backing the integration of novel computer science tools into radiology workflows.
17:21 - 30:28 - Alex and Mark’s path toward entrepreneurship in medicine through 16Bit - and the “rollercoaster” story of 16Bit
31:11 - 39:11 - To patent or not to patent? What is the level of validation you need to get an algorithm approved by the FDA? Alex answers the difficult questions associated with commercializing an algorithm in radiology. 
40:01 - 42:45 - No fundraising, no luck? Alex doesn’t think so - he describes why 16Bit hasn’t raised so far despite the significant amount of investment money looking for companies such as 16Bit.
43:28 - 50:30 - How Alex keeps himself grounded through clinical practice, and how his company stays grounded despite the presence of competitor AI-based radiology companies with significant edges in the amount of data available to them. 

Ep.56: Dr. Sam Gharbi

“It’s embarrassing. And it’s not just embarrassing..but it’s a disservice to our patients because we’re causing harm by not adopting tools for communication and better sharing of information.”
On this episode of How Its Med, we chat with Dr. Sam Gharbi, co-founder of Arya EHR. Fueled by his frustrations with the harm done by outdated communication and information tech in healthcare, Dr. Sam Gharbi and his co-founders, Dr. Richard Sztramko and Dr. Richard built this physician-first EHR without any coding experience.
You can find out more about Arya EHR at https://www.aryaehr.com/, and about Dr. Gharbi, the inimitable accomplished clinician, educator, and innovator, at https://www.samgharbi.com/.
To find more of our podcasts, you can go to howitsmed.com or https://plnk.to/howitsmed.
Full video on YouTube https://youtu.be/UOH2s5fyKg4 .
0:00 - 12:49 - Dr. Gharbi reflects on how his dreams of becoming a ghostbuster were destroyed, and his journey into the harrowing practice of internal medicine instead.
13:18 - 22:55 - The path less taken: how constant reflections on how his working environments could be improved turned into a foray into medical innovation - one full of struggles with culture and guidelines.
23:14 - 30:13 - Why is pushback against innovation so prevalent in medicine? Dr. Gharbi comments and reflects on his efforts to address this culture through his ceaseless efforts to innovate for the betterment of healthcare through Arya EHR.
30:42 - 37:44 - The making of Arya EHR - and Dr. Gharbi’s team’s struggles with building a leading electronic health record from wireframes to functional software without a technical co-founder.
37:57 - 44:38 - Dr. Gharbi’s core learnings from his experience with Arya EHR so far, and the skills he brought from his career in medicine to his foray into medical entrepreneurship.
45:38 - 52:40 - From bootstrapping to fundraising - Dr. Gharbi’s experience as an executive the needs of his company with learning to bootstrap vs. fundraising from angels and VCs.
53:00 - 58:53 - Dr. Gharbi looks to the future of digital information management in the healthcare sector

Physician Founded Ep. 12: Dr. Jeff Alfonsi

Seafood or see food?
Next time you take a picture of your delicious meal for the ‘gram, check out RxFood powered by Inner Analytics; the application turns these snapshots into a report on your nutrition for your physician to prevent and manage chronic disease.
This week, we had the pleasure of talking to Dr. Jeff Alfonsi, CMO of Inner Analytics, the company that makes this possible. From Toronto Notes to image processing to trading with Barclays, he shared his unique route to health innovation with us on this week’s episode of @Physician Founded.
Full video on YouTube https://youtu.be/WqHhj2eGzw4
 
2:33 – 8:15 - From applied science to Wall Street to med school, Dr. Alfonsi’s journey was never traditional.
8:37 – 13:28 - Dr. Alfonsi shares the rationale behind and his experience of his transition from Wall Street into medicine.
16:37 – 28:23 - From Toronto Notes to validating iPhone applications - Dr. Alfonsi’s myriad accomplishments during med school, and his journey into obesity medicine practice.
28:30 – 31:30 - What was the story behind Inner Analytics?
32:11 – 38:08 - Inner Analytics - the problem it solves and the solution it presents.
40:27 – 46:17 - The importance of, people, and story behind the design of Inner Analytics. How does Inner Analytics understand the importance of UI experience?
46:50 – 48:04 - Dr. Alfonsi gives some tips on how to approach challenges for physicians who want to build their startup but don’t have a network of engineers and advisors.
48:24 - 53:30 - Dr. Alfonsi highlights the challenges that Inner Analytics faces and his approach to solving these engineering and reimbursement challenges?

Ep.55: Dr. Daniel Schwartz

“One of the things that really saw us through was not accepting the common parlance of 'that cant be done.” On this episode, @Dr. Daniel Schwartz, previous CEO and Co-Founder of @QxMD, reflects on how his team developed tools to simplify the practice of evidence-based medicine for the benefit of millions of patients.
You can find out more about Dr. Schwartz at https://www.linkedin.com/in/drdanielschwartz/ or https://twitter.com/drdschwartzmd?lang=en.
To find more of our podcasts, you can go to howitsmed.com or https://plnk.to/howitsmed.
Full Video on YouTube https://youtu.be/dEICnT8LuDA .
Looking for our timestamps? Check them out below.
 
 
0:54 – 1:20 - What drove Dr. Schwartz’s interest in medicine?
1:30 – 4:02 - What does it mean to know just enough computer science to be dangerous in medtech?
4:23 – 6:59 - Interdisciplinary exposures? How do they impact a career in medtech?
7:38 – 9:54 – The fork in the road: traditional medicine and the path less travelled.
10:02 – 17:11 - What’s the story behind QxMD?
17:28 – 24:13 - Dr. Schwartz talks about the challenges that QxMD faced and how he would do things differently if he could them again.
26:03 – 27:22 - How is working with engineers different from working with doctors?
27:46 – 34:25 - The magic behind QxMD.
34:39 – 37:15 - Dr. Schwartz shares his opinion on the future of medical education.
38:01 – 44:03 - QxMD: Where are they now?
44:42 – 50:20 - Dr. Schwartz shares his passion for and insights into healthcare informatics.
50:44 - 52:11 - Dr. Schwartz’s take: Complex AI as a linchpin for personalized medicine