So now that biomedical and clinical innovation and entrepreneurship are on the lips of seemingly anyone who has anything to do with sick care, we are seeing lots of seminars, conferences and workshops on the subjects. The latest twist is to get clinicians, entrepreneurs, investors and techies in the same room in an effort to get them to play nice together.
While things are gradually changing, my observation is that when I attend conferences that are supposed to bring doctors, technologists and investor/entrepreneurs together, I'm one of the few docs there. Why do you suppose that is? Most of the time it's techies talking at other techies.
My top reasons why doctors are AWOL are:
1. They don't want to eat the real and opportunity costs to attend
2. They don't want to admit they don't know what they don't know
3. They don't want to be embarrassed in front of other peers
4. They don't see the value prop for doing it
5. They don't have the knowledge, skills, abilities and competencies to add value to digital health startups
6. Since it is an "entrepreneurship" conference instead of medical conference, they can't get someone else to cover the costs as an eduction expense
7. They don't get CME credit for attending
8. The price is too high
9. The conferences are too long , too big and cater to the big brand,anchor tenant sponsors paying the freight
10. They don't know what to do next when they get home from the conference.
Many of us have been , indeed, pushing for bioentrepreneurship education and training in med school and residency. IMHO, It will take a generation for it to get to be accepted practice. However, medical students, residents and practitioners should not hold their breath while waiting for the medical education establishment to teach then what they need to succeed in the entrepreneurship world. It is extremely difficulty to cure the craniorectal inversion syndrome. Instead, create your own future and the future of medicine on your own by getting education, resources, networks, mentors, experience and peer to peer support.
See you at the next conference and stop by to say hi. Loneliness is a public health hazard.
Arlen Meyers, MD, MBA is the President and CEO of the Society of Physician Entrepreneurs
Some doctors are too busy at work that's why they can't attend some conferences
Doctors don't want to be embarassed with their peers hence they are skipping conferences to "look good" in front of their patients.
Insightful
Good article
Perhaps the conferences are not that interesting, why bother going there ?
Arlen Meyers, MD, MBA is a professor emeritus of otolaryngology, dentistry, and engineering at the University of Colorado School of Medicine and the Colorado School of Public Health and President and CEO of the Society of Physician Entrepreneurs at www.sopenet.org. He has created several medical device and digital health companies. His primary research centers around biomedical and health innovation and entrepreneurship and life science technology commercialization. He consults for and speaks to companies, governments, colleges and universities around the world who need his expertise and contacts in the areas of bio entrepreneurship, bioscience, healthcare, healthcare IT, medical tourism -- nationally and internationally, new product development, product design, and financing new ventures. He is a former Harvard-Macy fellow and In 2010, he completed a Fulbright at Kings Business, the commercialization office of technology transfer at Kings College in London. He recently published "Building the Case for Biotechnology." "Optical Detection of Cancer", and " The Life Science Innovation Roadmap". He is also an associate editor of the Journal of Commercial Biotechnology and Technology Transfer and Entrepreneurship and Editor-in-Chief of Medscape. In addition, He is a faculty member at the University of Colorado Denver Graduate School where he teaches Biomedical Entrepreneurship and is an iCorps participant, trainer and industry mentor. He is the Chief Medical Officer at www.bridgehealth.com and www.cliexa.com and Chairman of the Board at GlobalMindED at www.globalminded.org, a non-profit at risk student success network. He is honored to be named by Modern Healthcare as one of the 50 Most Influential Physician Executives of 2011 and nominated in 2012 and Best Doctors 2013.
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