Stages of Building a Healthcare Startup | Todd Berner MD

Todd Berner
3 min readJan 12, 2023

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One of the most well-funded and expanding sectors in America is HealthTech. The digital health industry will increase in value from approximately $220 billion to over $550 billion by 2027. HealthTech funding is also on the rise. Nearly three-quarters of all capital will continue to be directed at seed and early-stage firms.

Despite this, starting a business in the medical sector is one of the riskiest ventures. Most firms ready to provide new goods and services find it challenging to enter the market because of high-security requirements, rigorous regulatory regulations, and the intricacy of establishing healthcare connections. Understanding how to launch a successful healthcare firm in the industry’s present environment is imperative.

It requires careful due diligence before committing to new healthcare solutions. The first step is to ensure a market for your idea and examine the link between digital technology and the sector you wish to join. Large medical organizations don’t necessarily want the most up-to-date solutions. In the healthcare world, healthcare professionals, patients, and nurses prefer simplicity above all else. Therefore, healthcare professionals will be reluctant to accept innovation. The learning curve creates anxiety and worries about new solutions complicating already complex processes. As a result, most healthcare professionals still gravitate toward tedious, paper-based methods for patient data and accounting processes. To convince healthcare teams of its value, digital technology must prove that it raises the standard of medical treatment. The sector anticipates that entrepreneurs will support their ideas with data-driven analysis.

Medical businesses have to manage hundreds of federal and local regulations. The principal US healthcare rules include rights governed by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Since medical data could potentially be used against a person, HIPAA maintains the privacy of medical data. Penalties for HIPAA violations can be up to $1.5 million. The Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic (FD&C) Act governs medical devices. To conduct any wellness, health, or remote diagnoses, your hardware or software solution must first be certified. The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard safeguards financial data. You must abide by its rules to handle or trade patient bank and credit card information.

Young businesses are hard to trust in a sector as traditional as healthcare. It would be best if you established connections with bigger hospital chains, insurance providers, and health technology firms to advance. For instance, a business plan with a roadmap will demonstrate that your firm has growth goals and won’t vanish with the initial money. Having recognized businesspeople and medical specialists on your board will also be beneficial. Don’t anticipate the healthcare sector to have rapid growth. Other than wearables, no digital items have been wildly popular in the last ten years. The industry is also rife with red tape, which makes the sales cycle longer.

Originally published at https://toddberner.com on January 12, 2023.

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Todd Berner

Todd Berner is a pharmaceutical expert with a focus on improving outcomes through patient advocacy, particularly when it comes to rare diseases.