Read the Conversation
EF: From your perspective, how do you see 2024 and, why did you join the healthcare industry?
RS: In the past few years, I've been actively involved in practical healthcare management, specifically in the operational aspects of running hospitals. My focus has been on enhancing the efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and overall processes of day-to-day healthcare operations. Now, I've transitioned to the digital and startup domain, where we're spearheading a significant shift. We strongly believe that digital healthcare has the potential to revolutionize the entire healthcare landscape. In 2024, we anticipate a transformative change in how people, patients, and especially doctors perceive digital healthcare.
While I come from a technology background rather than a medical one, with a PhD in earth science. I'm genuinely excited about the positive impact of digital solutions. I've noticed that, historically, some doctors view these advancements as additional burdens, something new to learn and manage. However, with the evolving landscape, including the European health data space, increased data usage, digital tools, post-COVID experiences, and innovations like ChatGPT, there's a growing realization among physicians that embracing digital tools is inevitable. This shift is becoming more apparent day by day.
2024 will mark a significant shift in understanding the importance of digital change and tools in healthcare. In Europe, the European health data space will likely play a pivotal role, enabling easier exchange of healthcare data, akin to blood circulation in the body. This exchange will allow for improved patient treatment across borders. The digital revolution may not immediately see widespread adoption, but understanding its significance will grow. The increasing pressure on managing healthcare costs will be another focal point. Countries worldwide, from France to Poland, Sweden, the US, and beyond, grapple with rising healthcare expenses. People are starting to see how digital solutions can lead to cost-effective and superior healthcare, shaping a more affordable future.
In healthcare, organized and easily accessible data is becoming crucial for doctors. It's not about changing their artistry to engineering but making their art more responsible and practical. Additionally, exchanging patient data between countries can be lifesaving, especially for rare diseases or cancers with only a few cases per country. Collaboration and data exchange across borders becomes essential to properly treat patients and save lives.
EF: Could you elaborate on the journey that you have done with CliniNote and the gap you identified when you started in 2020?
RS: We started CliniNote with a clear goal—simplifying access to medical data. Imagine top-notch European medical professionals facing the same daily struggle, being told to wait months for data. As the CliniNote co-founders, we decided it was time for a change. Our initial focus was making physicians' collected data more accessible, readable, and organized. Delving into healthcare data science, we uncovered that about 90% of healthcare data is dark data—unstructured and challenging to analyze. This meant that traditional AI, trained on only 10% of available data, was limited.
We shifted our focus to structure this dark data, developing AI and NLP tools to aid doctors in reading patient histories, exchanging information, and being language, geography, and system agnostic. Our journey began with a simple need and evolved into concrete functionalities, like language and geography agnosticism. Now, in late 2023, CliniNote is more than just a data capture tool. We're moving closer to assisting doctors in providing expert information. Looking ahead, we anticipate significant changes in the next one or two years, with new functionalities and improvements on the horizon.
EF: Could you elaborate on the partnerships and how do you see the role of companies like yours and partnerships evolving into the future? And how can these partnerships add value to bigger and well-established organizations?
RS: Novartis is a well-renowned pharma company that is working with us, and we are working together with one of Poland's key oncology hospitals, Kopernik, to measure healthcare quality and true medical outcomes. They found that existing data couldn't truly showcase their quality to regulators, ministries, or patients. Most big initiatives within Novartis focus on core businesses like drug development, and hospitals primarily focus on patient care rather than innovation. This is where we step in. We focus on tweaking small things to create big changes.
CliniNote stepped in for Novartis and Kopernik, proposing a solution. We could structure Kopernik’s unstructured data, providing Novartis with a clear picture of healthcare quality. This collaboration seems straightforward for us, but for giants like Novartis and hospitals like Kopernik, startups like ours are the key to changing realities. Hospitals, not just in Poland, struggle with cost-cutting and limited resources. CliniNote, supported by Novartis, offers a solution where the hospital benefits from our tool, creating a win-win situation. Startups like ours are crucial for market change, as hospitals, constrained by responsibility for patient quality and limited budgets, can't easily innovate without external support.
EF: How do you see the willingness of hospitals to adopt technologies, and how can we change this?
RS: There are two sides to the story – the doctors clearly grasp the need for change in healthcare. They understand that digital healthcare is the future, but the challenge lies in making this adoption feasible. The primary hurdle for hospitals and physicians is the persistent lack of time. It's a trade-off of whether to invest more time in adopting new tools or focusing on daily patient care, which doesn't change their future. To tackle this, I believe initiatives like private-public partnerships, large programs, or startup challenges can play a vital role. They provide financing for extra resources needed for adoption, which is a critical step to break into the system.
Entering hospitals and gaining them as their first ambassadors is crucial, and proven solutions like CliniNote make this easier. The initial challenge is breaking down the barriers, but once in, proving the benefits becomes more manageable. I believe a systemic approach, whether at a country or European level, is needed to finance pilot programs, allowing people to try and fail. From these failures, we learn and pave the way for successes that can revolutionize healthcare. There's hesitancy in European healthcare systems, with concerns that many initiatives may fail. However, failure is a part of the learning process. The key is opening doors, and supporting startups, hospitals, and institutions to take the first step. Once this hurdle is crossed, the path forward becomes much smoother. I am hopeful that Novartis and Kopernik will serve as excellent examples of successful innovation in healthcare.
EF: Do you think the current framework allows companies to grow, evolve, and succeed?
RS: Stepping into healthcare, like all startups, we must recognize the necessity of regulation—especially when it concerns patients' lives. It's a highly regulated field, and there's no way around it. Experimentation is key, but it comes with its share of successes and failures at different stages. Currently, the regulatory framework often feels like it's more about blocking untested ideas. New laws like European Health Data Space may signal a shift toward a more innovative environment. It might not soften regulations but could allow for a gradual approach. Starting innovations requires flexibility, testing, and checking, but as collaborations deepen, more regulation becomes necessary. For instance, to be a medical device company, we'd need to adhere to stringent requirements. Navigating regulations is crucial. A good lawyer is a startup's ally, ensuring compliance with the law. It's paperwork-heavy, but it's the only way to go the distance. Regulation, despite its challenges, remains a critical part of driving change in healthcare.
EF: If you had to define three pillars of healthcare sustainability, what pillars would these be?
RS: Firstly, it's about investing in data, this means gathering as much data as we can. Secondly, there's a need for modern education, meaning introducing cutting-edge tech knowledge right from the start of a physician's journey. This education is pivotal in transforming our reality. Lastly, the need for sustainable financing—flexible funding that allows for testing and experimenting with innovative approaches. These pillars are crucial for building a sustainable healthcare system.
EF: Do you have any final message from CliniNote for our readers?
RS: Our main message is simple: we empower data-driven medicine. Data-driven medicine can save more lives than we realize. It's crucial to focus on the data we gather and share. There’s a need for paying attention to our data for a healthier future.
