In Parts 1 and 2 of this series, we introduced the concept of “Collaborative Investing”. In short, “Come VC with us” is tied to a very basic question posed to our physician and healthcare community:
If a low-minimum, low-expense vehicle existed, would you like to invest along side your medical peers within a 10 to 15 company venture portfolio that is vetted, chosen and managed democratically by the group and runs autonomously through low-cost software?
If the answer is “Yes”, please consider signing up for the first CI medical venture portfolio (CI MVP1). We have close to 50 people who have raised their hand informally. We will put 150 people on the first wait list. The vehicle will have room for 99. More details to follow.
We will manage the wait list inside our forum. Please register.
After the last edition of our newsletter was released, we fielded several questions and wrote several versions of what is copied below. One colleague known through LinkedIn wrote back and said, “I get it now…Put that in your newsletter!!”.
So, here it is.
We are not trying to recreate a support community like DocWorking that focuses on burnout and work-life balance. Others are doing amazing work! (Shout out to Merge Medical co-creator Dr. Jen Barna.)
Instead, we want to provide action items to get physicians more involved within healthcare innovation, the private capital markets and the business of medicine. The public thinks that we are all rich, but across the board, that’s just not true. A ton of pain exists within the provider community… loss of autonomy, loss of enjoyment of the job, year-over-year declining reimbursement and an alarmingly rate of suicide. #1 among all professions. Not a stat to be proud of.
Merge Medical takes a stance that it’s ok to focus on family and self while also supporting our patients. A happy doctor makes the best clinician and patient partner!!
The best way to achieve this is to be on sound financial footing. This allows us to say “No” to bad contracts, predatory buyout offers and bad employment situations. This also allows us to partner with and/or fund companies and initiatives that are positive for our profession.
….But how can this be accomplished? Our opinion is that this comes from strength in numbers and creation of an empowered community comprised of physicians and healthcare professionals.
So, what are the options for someone wanting to get involved?
There is an enormous amount of healthcare-related conversation on LinkedIn. This is initiated by hundreds/thousands of really, really smart physicians and healthcare professionals.
Unfortunately, there’s no “last mile” stuff….action items or a system to get physicians on the same team working together.
Doximity….Yes…there are helpful products for healthcare professionals, but they could do so much more. Perhaps Doximity will find ways to leverage their network to more directly benefit their members.
The Society of Physician Entrepreneurs (SoPE) has a very large, engaged online community with multiple chapters spread across the US and abroad. Many of these chapters have regular in-person meetings. Merge Medical is proud to be working with SoPE founder and CEO, Dr. Arlen Meyers, who is also a co-creator of Merge Medical. We look forward to working with SoPE on some of these “last mile” opportunities that move beyond talk…and into meaningful action as an empowered community.
Dana Corriel at Doctors on Social Media has gained considerable steam. She should be commended! When we were designing Merge Medical, her platform was still early. There’s definitely room for both. What I found looking at many of the blogs by her participants was that the financial piece was lacking. Perhaps we find ways to work together.
There are “Angel Investing” networks for healthtech/medtech, but these may benefit the managers or GP (general partner) more than the participants. Accredited healthcare professionals are potential clients, but this does not create an empowered community.
One exception to this is the Global Health Impact Network (and Fund). What Gary Goldman MD, DDS, MBA and others there have created is quite impressive. Perhaps we find ways to collaborate or partner.
Merge Medical has an open lane as it relates to positioning ourselves within the private capital markets and on the forefront of healthcare innovation. Through strength in numbers and our collective knowledge base, we are advantaged as a group and as individual investors. When it comes to deal access, in addition to communicating directly with founders, we can work with other formed networks, family offices, asset managers and VCs.
The co-creators at Merge Medical feel that we are just scratching the surface of what is possible. Merge Medical has an open lane as it relates to positioning ourselves within the private capital markets and on the forefront of healthcare innovation.
Do we move the needle for the entire market? Not likely. Do we move the needle for our profession, ourselves and our patients? Hell yes.
Partnerships and Collaboration
Because we don’t directly compete with many other formed communities, it’s our hope that we can partner and/or collaborate with numerous individuals, communities and companies that are pro-physician and pro-healthcare provider. To this point, many companies that we have spoken with love this message and totally get it. They support us…and see how we’re getting totally screwed by big pharma, E H R companies, health systems and the insurers.
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