Smart AI-driven innovations are keeping healthcare professionals more time for their patients. Because right now, that precious time is often consumed by manual administrative tasks. "It's time-consuming, error-prone and just plain annoying," said Michel Abdel Malek, during the master class "Entrepreneurship with data and AI in healthcare.
The time physicians spend on administrative tasks is significant. Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) survey. shows that healthcare professionals spend an average of 31 percent of their working time on administration.
Delphyr's AI assistant reduces doctors' administrative burden. It is basically an automated search engine that works within the electronic patient record (EHR) data finds and summaries.
"Manually searching for data within an EHR is difficult. It's a big shoebox full of notes where you have to find the right papers together every time. It's time-consuming, error-prone and just plain annoying," said Michel Abdel Malek, anesthesiologist and founder of Delphyr.
Also read: Successfully implementing AI-driven healthcare innovations: lessons from the UMCG
Four questions every healthcare entrepreneur must answer
According to Abdel Malek, there are four things you need to have on your mind as a healthcare entrepreneur before you start:
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- Waarom doe je het? Waarom moet het nu en kan het niet wachten tot morgen? En waarom ben jij de juiste persoon om die innovatie te dragen?
- Wat maak je precies? Er zijn duizend mogelijke dingen die je kunt oplossen in de zorg en er is veel concurrentie. Hoe ga jij je onderscheiden?
- Wat is je propositie? Welke waarde levert jouw innovatie op voor de zorgprofessional én de patiënt?
- Aan wie verkoop je het? Wie gaat jouw innovatie daadwerkelijk gebruiken of kopen?
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Why patience is crucial in MedTech
Successfully developing and implementing healthcare innovations is often a lengthy process. "It takes an entire village to make a decision in healthcare. It's a long agony with a lot of no's that have nothing to do with you. It helps that I come from healthcare, I understand the hierarchy."
Abdel Malek also emphasizes the harsh reality of doing business in healthcare. "Everything revolves around the patient, but it is and remains a business. On average, every euro invested yields only 1.5 to 2 euros."
Consequently, this relatively low return does not contribute to quick decision-making. "If you want to plunge into Medtech, you have to be damn sure of your business."
Also read: Role of health insurers in innovations: 'We shouldn't put on too big a pants'
Healthcare innovation requires data security
Another important concern is the security of your healthcare innovation. For example, think carefully about the data you use and where it might end up. Medical data can leaks to third parties.
This is why Delphyr operates entirely through European hosts and servers. "The U.S. government will not be interested in Ms. Janssen's patient records, but technically it is possible that data could leak."
In short: think about what happens to the data you use. You need an answer to that. "With that, you make your product better and create a culture of quality and reliability."
No successful AI innovation without confidence
Finally, the success of a healthcare innovation hinges on trust among all involved and good relationships. As an anesthesiologist, Abdel Malek knows the hospital like no other. "Perhaps that gives confidence as a colleague and that is good for the initial phase of your innovation."
Long-term impact requires a good understanding from all parties, from doctors to CFOs. "You have to think per person: what is important to that person?" said Abdel Malek, tailoring his approach accordingly. The important thing in this is to stay in constant conversation. "The trick is to keep up with the development your client is going through. Do you walk away when things get difficult? Try to win on trust."
