Rakeysh Mehra, famed Bollywood Filmmaker will speak at TiEcon 2014

Rakeysh Mehra, highly acclaimed Bollywood Filmmaker & Screenwriter, will speak at TiEcon 2014.  Have you registered?  You can register as my guest through the link http://tinyurl.com/kr2hkcw and enter code “TiEvalue” to get $100 off.

The process of filmmaking begins with a great story and then the filmmaker or the producer needs to work with the screenwriter to develop the story or screenplay they have just purchased.  Rakeysh Mehra is an Indian filmmaker and screenwriter, known for writing and directing such films as Rang De Basanti (he won Best Director Filmfare Award for it in 2006) and directing blockbuster “Bhaag Milkha Bhaag”, starring Farhan Akhtar as Milkha Singh, India’s legendary runner (here’s link to my review  http://bit.ly/1cUwG4o).  “Bhaag Milkha Bhaag” acquired international fame and was nominated for 10 awards. Obtaining the right script and developing it into a good screenplay and then directing it into a successful film, is a highly challenging process, in the cut throat film world.  One needs to understand and develop the characters, ensure the dialogues are not lame, understand the story structure, identify the genre or the blend of genres and Mehra is brilliant, with each of the steps of filmmaking.

Delhi 6 Premiere (Photo credit: muckster)

Currently, India, the largest democracy in the world, is busy with the process of deciding its new leader.  Voting is in full swing, in India.  Mehra has been a critic of the vote bank politics and currently he is campaigning to introduce e-voting to facilitate voting by travelers.  Mehra is also deeply committed to children and the education system in India.  Regarding “Bhaag Milkha Baag”, Mehra said that to see the movie connect with children as young as six and eight, was the biggest part of his success with the movie that he is proud of.  He has criticized marks-driven, education system in India saying that it emphasizes test scores over actual learning and achievement.  Perhaps his next movie will address this issue?  The filmmaker was location hunting recently in Jodhpur, for his upcoming film.  Will there be announcements?  Mehra will give keynote address on the morning of day 2 of the conference.

See discount codes to register for TiEcon 2014, www.tiecon.org and for Health Technology Forum

www.tiecon.org – If you are a professional  in #healthIT, #digital health,  #internetofthings, #cloud, #bigdata or related, then this is the conference, you don’t want to miss – It offers a fabulous opportunity to network with 3000+ professionals and listen to top notch speakers and panelists.  Register for #TiEcon (May 16 & 17 at Santa ClaraConvention Center) as my guest, at link http://tinyurl.com/kr2hkcw  & enter promo code tievalue to get $100 discount.

Healthtechnology Forum conference http://www.healthtechnologyforum.com, focused on exploring pathways to sustainable health, is on May 20 in SF. Please register for the conference as my friend, with the discount code “HTF14-FriendOfOrganizer” and send me your first & last name at wd_darshana at hotmail dot com, to get $150 off the price of the ticket.  Also check out & participate in code-a-thon on patient engagement, for May 8.  Over 20K+ in prizes.

JOBS: are posted at the link http://bit.ly/1o85CTM

 

 

JPM 2014 – Dr. Delos M. “Toby” Cosgrove, CEO & President, Cleveland Clinic: on Challenges, Opportunities & Affordable Care Act

During the luncheon keynote, Cosgrove began by quoting Lenin, “there are decades when nothing happens, and then there are weeks when decades happen”.  Clearly there is tremendous activity and major and disruptive overhaul happening in the healthcare sector.  To meet increasing demands proactively, Cleveland Clinic has made some significant changes in how they operate.  These include, one year contracts for employees, eliminating tenure tracks, implementing annual performance reviews, offering high deductible insurance policies, and greater transparency throughout the system, said Cosgrove.  Many other businesses are also moving towards some of these reforms.   In the new healthcare environment, retail clinics like Walmart and CVS will play a significant role.  Over 813 branded clinics and hospitals and other providers are partnering with these retail clinics, in anticipation of the shortage of physicians that will hit the system.  Cost pressures will also intensify as providers are increasingly pressured to move from the volume based system of providing care to value based system, linked with outcomes, said Cosgrove.  Cost pressures are coupled with pay cuts in education for physicians and other practitioners and there less money coming from VC funding sources.

Among the challenges, are hidden opportunities that can help overhaul the system to make healthcare better.  For instance VC funding for Health IT has gone up, M&A continues at rapid pace, and some of the focus on behavior changes is yielding good outcomes, said Cosgrove.  Genomics and behavior modification represents some of the largest unmet challenges and they account for 70% of premature deaths in the US.  At CC, with a relentless focus on behavior modification, employees collectively lost 430,000 pounds.  Similarly, genomics has opened up a huge opportunity in healthcare.  Approximately, 4300 single gene diseases have been so far been identified, and the cost of sequencing of full genome is dropping rapidly.  Other huge opportunities are with respect to patient health records and management of big data in healthcare.  CC has given 1.8 million patients access to their electronic health records.  Quoting “IBM’s Watson Computer”, Cosgrove observed that artificial intelligence is opening huge opportunities in healthcare.

All the disruptions in the healthcare should eventually enable society to “build a healthcare system that is humane, high quality, and sustainable”, said Cosgrove.  But this transformation will not be painless.  It will require a great shift in mindset for physicians and also in how people view healthcare, in society at large.  Roles of care providers are changing rapidly.  Only about 10 years ago, hospitals used to be epicenters of care.  Now increasingly care is delivered outside the hospitals and we need to develop systems that support and scale out of hospitals care delivery, said Cosgrove.  A few hospitals will need to be very high tech and to offset costs, they will need to share and partner with other care providers.  Cosgrove gave the example of CC’s high tech data center built at the cost of $170 million.  Cosgrove said, healthcare is the only industry that has not consolidated and it will need to consolidate in the coming years.

The only criticism Cosgrove offered with the implementation of affordable care was that it has not built in incentives for wellness.  Obesity is sharply rising in the US and it needs to be contained, in order to control costs, said Cosgrove.  Affordable care bill is not perfect and there will be unintended consequences, but they can be dealt with.  One of the shocking thing that Cosgrove opined upon was that US will one day have a single payer system, with basic healthcare provision for everyone, and optional choices in supplementary insurance on top of that.  This was an exciting keynote.  The whole bar in healthcare is being raised and Cleveland Clinic is clearly taking a leadership role in meeting the challenges head-on.

Angel View on Investing

Ms. Lee Rauch, founding member of HealthTech Capital, an angel investment group formed to mentor and fund early stage companies talked about Angel View on Investing, at http://www.bio2deviecegroup.org event. HealthTech Capital focuses on companies that apply innovative information technologies that can reduce healthcare costs and improve quality.

 

There are roughly 225K active angel investors in the US, about 12k participate in angel groups. Compared to VC firms, angels tend to make smaller investments.  Angel groups are geographically diverse, whereas many VCs are often clustered in specific geographical areas, primarily the West coast and the East coast.  Angel groups are also more flexible, consider early stage investments, and are also likely to be motivated to build communities and mentor young entrepreneurs.  Angels typically invest their own money.

 

HealthTech Capital looks at investing in companies standing at the intersection of healthcare, IT  & consumer products. It’s membership covers a broad range of expertise.  HealthTech Capital is somewhat newer Angel group on the block having started in mid 2010.  They stress high value added technologies that are end user product driven, look at solving problems, and require minimal or no FDA approval.  They also prefer companies that are not trying to go for new reimbursement codes from Medicare and Medicaid.  Some of the examples of companies funded by HealthTech Capital include, Cadence (has a device that can help in walking for people with severe mobility impairment), Pharma Science (provides code imprints on prescription drug packages that patient can look up to verify they are getting the right stuff), Care in Sync (has software product that physicians, case managers and nurses can use to coordinate care transition plans for hospital patients,  Wellness FX (provides tools for patients to help them collect, manage and interpret their own health data), and My Health Teams (social networking company for patients and caregivers to connect with others like them in order to share experiences and identify resources.

 

So what would make a company a good candidate?  To be funded by HealthTech, a company must be focused on solving a problem, with new, innovative, and high growth technology.  Ideally, it should be generating $20-50M in revenues and must have a significant earnings potential in the next 3-7 years, with potential for 10X-20X return for the investors.  It is preferred that they have completed some development, with a developed or at near completion prototype, with existing customers or potentially committed customers who may be willing advocates, and have a road map for likely liquidity within 3 to  7 years from the time of investment.  It is also desired that the founders and owners have their own cash and sweat equity investment, are flexible and willing to give up some amount of ownership and control in exchange for financing, and are open to advice from the investors.

 

Rauch explained the breakdown with specific numbers in various scenarios and then proceeded to explain the presentation process.  She recommended that companies do their homework, follow tips and guidelines posted on the website, and approach the Angels through their network.  They need to have clarity regarding their needs, milestones, and how the money will be used, and must acknowledge the gaps.  Typical process at HealthTech Capital begins with the partners commenting upon and rating candidate companies on their online rating system.  During their monthly pre-screening meetings, they select 4-5 companies, each month, which are invited to come and make a presentation.  About a total of 25 companies are selected annually to make more detailed presentation at the dinner meetings, followed by blind voting by the partners. Companies with high votes advance to due diligence.  About 80% of the companies advanced to due diligence are likely to get funded.  Their due diligence includes thorough and detailed information about the value proposition, the business model, the problem the company is seeking to solve, information regarding total and target markets, information on who the decision makers are, cost to establish the market presence, estimated sales cycles, technology, barriers to competitors, company’s secret sauce and what would keep the competitors from replicating it, potential acquirers, and a plan to address any regulation and reimbursement issues.

 

The presentation was followed by Q&A.