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Comment by rmorrison | Hacker News Reader

I would recommend trying, especially if you have medical training and know the space. While it is difficult, with the appropriate go-to-market strategy and determination you can get a foothold and grow from there.

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I recommend not trying - not for profit anyway - unless you directly influence (did they come to your birthday party?) multiple people at the C-Level at 2 or 3 major hospital prospective customers, ideally academic research centers, depending on your idea

The medical supply area is one that is -really- ripe for disruption, to the point of basically cartel-like behavior brazenly being exhibited:

* http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Experts-warn-of-medical-i... * http://www.huffingtonpost.com/martha-burk/congress-should-pu...

This is one where, if you had the contacts, you could at least try to do a lot of good, for everyone - but definitely one where you should expect to receive staunch, and ugly, opposition.

thanks! i will try, at least for a little while. honestly, at this point, i think a true disruption can only happen if diagnostic tests are put into the consumer's hands instead of being held hostage at the hospital, and we just aren't there yet.

Hi - As a fellow med student I'm interested in what you mean here.. Are you suggesting that patients should be able to order their own tests?

hey robbie, don't know what year you are in, but basically yeah. a physician in a hospital basically looks at data on a patient to assess the state and then make decisions on management to affect the state. the problem is that these tests are hard to find off-the-shelf and often costs an obscene amount of money as well. i would look into the efforts of companies like scanadu, alivecor, cellscope. once we can get data to the consumers, then us developers can immediately start creating knowledge based systems that utilize the data to give the patient a clearer picture of their internal state.

Hi lucidrains, I'd be curious too what kind of thoughts you have about the health startup field. If you'd like to email me, I would love to chat.

Im just entering my final year.

Like you I think there's plenty of room for disruption, not just on the medical devices side but also in terms of efficiencies.

So the three companies you reference are basically disrupting devices that cost thousands of dollars (ECG and otoscopes/dermatoscopes) - great for bringing down the costs of clinics or solo practitioners. A lot of these devices I think are probably being angled at the home user as well (particularly ECG) but the clinical relevance of giving a patient their own rhythm is pretty minimal... I mean if they have a dicky heart they likely have a pacemaker or ICD which will record suspect rhythms themselves.

I'd be fascinated to talk more to you and see where you are taking this because I think you are really saying is that if we give patients their results or order their own (bloods, EUC, any ELIZA etc studies) then we will be empowering them to make better health decisions. I have my own opinions on this based on what i've seen and if you're interested in discussing further my email is in my profile - although seems like you have a lot that would like to talk to you!

This is going to be quite challenging as long as things are under government control. In fact, the best solution may be some sort of rapid transport that allows people to leave the government's jurisdiction fast enough to be treated and return rapidly. I'm still waiting to hear about Musk's hyperloop, but if it's for real, it could make a difference in this industry (among many, many others).

Medical credential will help, but not a whole lot.

There is some strong interest in the market to keep things as they are, even if they are less efficient. Incentives are not aligned at all.

yeah, i've realized this as well. you certainly don't need any medical training to recognize the inefficiencies in the hospital.

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