We always work directly with providers for our provider-based product so we can quickly iterate and build exactly what will be most helpful for them. As our product is enabling advanced dermatology care, we also work closely with dermatologists to test any changes in advance of rolling out solutions.

Answering the question on feedback on solutions from the entrepreneur perspective, I think it is important to start by mapping out the patient life cycle from beginning to end, addressing where gaps in care may exist and who along the way can help.

First, identify a need, I work in stroke care using blood testing to identify cause in the 40% of patients that never have a cause determined called “cryptogenic stroke”. Related to this problem is that women have a 1 in 5 likelihood of experiences in a stroke and are often overlooked for atrial fibrillation that if undetected carries a 5 times risk of recurrent stroke. I hope this outlines a need.

Second, think about how the patient, hospital, clinician, post hospital care, and payer operate today and why the gap in care exists. When I was a Chaired Professor, I taught frameworks from a book called Business Model Generation: A Handbook for Visionaries, Game Changers, and Challengers. There are many frameworks and models available, but the point is to think about all users and how you can explain something easily. This takes practice and multiple attempts, so don’t get discouraged.

Third, some products are difficult to gain feedback on without a working model, so think about how you can be creative and find an analogy that you can point to. Since there were no blood tests for stroke prior to Ischemia Care, we had to find examples of devices in cardiology or blood testing in cancer to explain how things work. Point to your own experiences and back them up with data.

Forth, since this is a healthcare forum, think about how payers will ultimately look at your product. Think about all payers; private, CMS, Medicaid, uninsured, etc. This can help you with where your product fits in the care continuum and maybe unveil a very specific need.

Fifth, a great place to start is with accelerator programs. These programs offer a lot of great mentors and experienced professionals that share their time and talent. I have been a part of MedTech Innovator, Matter Health, Gener8tor, and Prime Health Care. Many of these programs offer great step by step approaches for any stage of idea.
https://medtechinnovator.org/
https://matter.health/
https://www.gener8tor.com/
https://www.primehealthco.com/challenge

Finally, go to people you don’t know for advice, it's easy to rely on your network and experience, but the best feedback will come from people you may not know now, but could become big supporters in the future. This is how I created a network of 20+ hospitals to gain valuable feedback and it was not always glowing, but it was supportive.

I hope you read this response in the spirit of there is not “one” path, just get started and see who joins you along the way. Before you know it, you will be on your way to success! Also keep in mind steps can be iterated, you will always be learning and changing how you view the market and may even become a subject matter expert on a panel.

One challenge is bringing awareness to women's health and the need for better innovation and advancements in treatment. AI, ML both offer new opportunities to expand therapeutic options and investigate where unmet needs may exist globally. Ensuring clinical trials and real world studies have diverse populations included are necessary to appropriately treat and address the unmet needs for women's health and other diseases.

I strongly believe that any developer, innovator, company etc. need to to include the patient perspective at every touchpoint within the product development cycle so that they can truly design with inclusion in mind. And for representation, we need to acknowledge that one women can not represent all women, and as such include women from different racial/ethnic, SES and age groups accordingly depending on the solution for the specific health problem at hand. Women's health innovation needs EMPATHY...and having an "empathy champion" included as an integral part of all product development discussions/processes can ensure the solution will be "kind" to the woman end user...for example Mammograms are not fun, speculums are not fun (who invented those- men) both are critical prevention and diagnostic tools...so as a innovators working in women's health we can aim to do better and develop "kind" health solutions through human centered design.

Sorry my links to the above statistics didn't attach in this post! Here they are:

http://genderedinnovations.stanford.edu/case-studies/crash.html#tabs-2 (re: 47% more likely to sustain injuries in car crashes)

https://bsd.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13293-020-00308-5
https://orwh.od.nih.gov/toolkit/recruitment/history
(re: underrepresentation in clinical trials)

To answer the last question, I think that in generalized healthcare situations, we need to make it mandatory to have equality at the table when doing research on drugs, devices and research that can effect both genders. I know this creates complications in inclusion and exclusion and can impact outcomes of trials - but this is the point! How will we understand how these products and our bodies are different if we dont do the research to understand it. We have to stop being afraid of the complexities and learn to navigate them in clinical research.

I am a founder and investor in stroke and cardiovascular care. I believe these areas require equal representation. At Ischemia Care, we designed and ran a clinical trial representative of all populations presenting with stroke symptoms.

The key to appropriate representation is in the trial design and education of sites conducting the trial with appropriate evidence. We thought about this from the start and used materials like the following.

Attached is an American Heart Association about women and stroke, there are many great AHA resources available. These simple materials can help sites understand and recruit appropriately.

An overlooked answer to the representation in trials could be investors, sad to say. I have found there are investors that claim to invest in women's health, but the reality is if you look at their portfolio, they do not support women run companies or women's health. I find this frustrating for innovating in the space.

Stroke_Risk_in_Women_English_Infographic_2.pdf239.13 KB

I am a total fan girl of companies taking innovative approaches to data and sensors. Kegg and Lioness are paving huge pathways for collecting data using sensors in gyne that have never been collected before and are seeing data trends that change how we treat women!

Some of the companies I've been most impressed by are Bloomer Tech, a company incorporating clinical grade sensors into bras for better women's heart health management, and Elektra Health, managing menopause for women that's tech-enabled

This is an insanely complex question. I think it is routed in the way we teach our medical staff, to how we teach sex education in school, to the research that has been done in medicine to the cultures we grow up in. I think the first step in equity in the research we do, to making sure there is always a gender lens on how we look at all functional areas of medicine.

One of the best accomplishments was working with teams to expand the use of naloxone for opioid overdoses. I worked closely with multi-stakeholder groups on advocacy for expansion which has since saved millions of lives. This is one innovation that has make a signifiant impact on public health, innovation and the improvement of women's health. Read more: https://linktr.ee/docanitagupta

Taking the stance early on to go through FDA/Health Canada regulatory route versus a direct to consumer product. Yes, its more expensive and a longer pathway, but it really is what helps advance the research and create products we know are truly effective and safe for women.

One of my proudest accomplishments is innovating by integrating at UC San Diego Health. Using an evidence based integrative medicine approach of working as a team with allopathic physicians, acupuncturists, nutritionists, and massage to support the whole person and increase positive outcomes.

https://cih.ucsd.edu/medicine

My proudest accomplishment in healthcare is working on a great team and as an investor to innovate in the stroke care space with respect to women's health. Our team conducted a 1700 patient clinical trial called Biomarkers of Acute Stroke Etiology that resulted in the world's first blood test for cause of stroke. This is important because women are often overlooked for stroke and its cause. Attached is an American Heart Association infographic on women and stroke.

Data data data. We need more of it and we need more analysis and action around that data. Data is only as useful as the application and analysis of it, but if we dont collect it (making sure women are always at the table in clinical trials, in research and focus groups, etc.) then the foundational infrastructure to build proper solutions wont be there.

Let’s start at the beginning by bringing more women into the conversation of women’s health and normalizing the conversation around women’s health. There is a prevailing notion of “suffer in silence” among generations of women when it comes to their health. Take for instance, a 2016 British survey found that 57% of employed women have suffered menstrual to the extent that it has affected their ability to work. Of those women, only 27% have informed their employer. The rest either gave an alternate reason or decided that it was better to just bear through it. As we know, women’s health is more than just periods and reproductive health. Women’s health at every age and stage of life should be addressed openly, and with significant from women, by public health advocates and health innovators. This includes employers as it affects employee wellbeing and productivity.

https://yougov.co.uk/topics/politics/articles-reports/2017/07/31/most-w…

Here's a list of additional innovations from December 2021: https://pitchbook.com/blog/female-focused-health-startups-founded-by-wo…