{"id":20217,"date":"2021-10-28T19:38:34","date_gmt":"2021-10-29T02:38:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/foundersnetwork.com\/?p=20217"},"modified":"2023-02-24T08:21:40","modified_gmt":"2023-02-24T16:21:40","slug":"why-healthcare-isnt-just-business-as-usual-with-midori-uehara","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/foundersnetwork.com\/why-healthcare-isnt-just-business-as-usual-with-midori-uehara\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Healthcare isn\u2019t Just Business as Usual with Midori Uehara"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n
\n

Healthcare is a fast-growing market, but entrepreneurs looking to enter the fray should <\/span>be aware that there is more to it than supply meeting demand, says Midori Uehara<\/a>, VP and Head of Business Development at Cedar, a <\/span>healthcare fintech platform<\/span>.<\/span><\/h2>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u201cHealthcare is not a typical good or service. Unlike in most businesses, the buyers are different from the decision makers, who are different from the people who are benefiting. Market forces are often distorted or not applicable at all,\u201d she says.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Uehara<\/span><\/a>, who will be delivering a <\/span>Founders Network<\/span><\/a> global keynote on November 17,\u00a0 co-founded <\/span>OODA Health<\/span><\/a>, which was <\/span>recently acquired<\/span><\/a> by <\/span>Cedar<\/span><\/a> for $425M. She provided insights on how entrepreneurs can succeed in the <\/span>healthcare<\/span><\/a> market.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

To learn more about insights on how entrepreneurs can succeed in the healthcare market,\u00a0see if you qualify for membership<\/a>\u00a0and check out the\u00a0<\/b>webinar<\/a><\/b> from November 17.<\/b><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Long passionate about the topic, Uehara <\/span>studied <\/span>public health policy and human biology at Stanford and then <\/span>ran strategic implementations at <\/span>Castlight Health<\/span><\/a>, following a few years in management consulting at Bain & Co. After <\/span>earning an <\/span>MBA and MPP from Harvard University, she co-founded OODA, which brings cutting-edge fintech to the healthcare industry.\u00a0 While she\u2019s a staunch believer that adequate medical care is a human right, she is also a realist, who is aware that change often follows financial incentive.<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cHealthcare is not a typical good or service. The buyers are different from the decision makers, who are different from the people who are benefiting. Market forces are often distorted or not applicable at all.\u201d - @CedarNY <\/a><\/span>Share on X<\/a><\/span>\n

Follow the money and mind the product-market fit<\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cIf you want to have an impact in healthcare, you have to follow the money. This means identifying where money is being spent (or wasted), and recognizing solutions must deliver financial value to get traction \u2013 you can’t appeal just to the goodwill of an organization,\u201d she explains. Uehara says that although they are often nonprofits, healthcare players are incentivized to maximize their bottom lines, so tech solutions must deliver financial value if they are to be widely adopted.<\/span><\/p>\n

For example, OODA\u2019s digital patient payment platform focused on tackling the disconnect between \u201cpayers,\u201d usually insurance companies, and the \u201cproviders\u201d who bill for services, ranging from hospitals to physician offices to labs processing samples. These two groups often battle over administrative and billing issues, leaving the patient caught in the middle. OODA\u2019s solution pioneered a ground-breaking business model and novel technology to bring the two sides together on behalf of the patient, partnering with multiple large payers and providers across the country.<\/span><\/p>\n

As OODA grew, however, it became clear that the new business model as designed wouldn\u2019t scale in the absence of broader policy or regulatory change. \u201cWhile OODA had achieved significant traction and strong relationships with innovative enterprise partners, our initial solution was too reliant on bringing payers and providers together at the same time,\u201d Uehara explains. \u201cWe needed a foundation of a scalable product with strong <\/span>product-market fit<\/span><\/a> as a springboard for the systems innovation we had demonstrated was possible.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cIf you want to have an impact in healthcare, you have to follow the money. This means identifying where money is being spent (or wasted), and recognizing solutions must deliver financial value to get traction.\u201d - @CedarNY <\/a><\/span>Share on X<\/a><\/span>\n

Enter Cedar, a later-stage startup that was already successfully addressing pain points in the patient financial experience for the provider market. When it acquired OODA, Cedar gained the ability to bring payer data and engagement into the patient billing process, as well as expand into addressing administrative pain points in the payer market \u2013 a win for both companies.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Uehara\u2019s own <\/span>journey<\/span><\/a> as a co-founder influences her advice to other entrepreneurs: \u201cWhen you’re trying to get to initial product-market fit, start narrow. Don’t try to do too much. Don’t spread yourself too thin across too many stakeholders in the enterprise healthcare ecosystem.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Raise enough money to withstand long sales cycles<\/b><\/p>\n

She adds that providers and payers are infamous for being hard to sell to, so entrepreneurs should raise enough money to withstand long sales cycles. That means getting plenty of investment in your company and a strong team in place, even before you have any customers.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYou need a bench that’s deep enough to support you when organizations are pushing on your capabilities and technical sophistication,\u201d she says.<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cWhen you're trying to get to the initial product-market fit, start narrow. Don't try to do too much. Don't spread yourself too thin across too many stakeholders in the enterprise healthcare ecosystem.\u201d - @CedarNY <\/a><\/span>Share on X<\/a><\/span>\n

Learn the policies that dictate healthcare tech\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

Even with adequate investment and a tight product-market fit, many well-meaning technologists fail when it comes to introducing new tech tools for the industry. According to Uehara, that\u2019s because they don\u2019t understand the underlying system incentives and policies that dictate the use of seemingly outdated tools.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cPure tech people come in and say some variation of: \u2018Wow, fax machines! It\u2019s obvious, all we need is an email system for healthcare. Why don\u2019t we have that?\u2019 But that fails to consider that the fax machine may be the optimal solution given the existing system,\u201d she says, adding that the \u201cgraveyard\u201d of tech solutions rejected by the industry include those created by Microsoft and Google. More viable solutions come from those who understand the underlying incentives of the industry and the policies that drive them.<\/span><\/p>\n

Uehara has devoted her career to this kind of in-depth knowledge, something she speaks about with noticeable passion. \u201cThere’s nothing more important than your health and the health of your loved ones. And when you don’t have it, nothing else really matters. I’m continuously struck by the significance of healthcare in our lives,\u201d she says.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

To learn more about insights on how entrepreneurs can succeed in the healthcare market,\u00a0see if you qualify for membership<\/a>\u00a0and check out the\u00a0<\/b>webinar<\/a><\/b> from November 17.<\/p>\n

\n<\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 Healthcare is a fast-growing market, but entrepreneurs looking to enter the fray should be aware that there is more to it than supply meeting demand, says Midori Uehara, VP … <\/p>\n

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