Medical Roles and Responsibilities in HealthTech

Ten years ago, starting my career as a physician, I couldn’t even imagine working anywhere other than in a hospital or outpatient clinic. Thanks to technological innovations and big data, HealthTech is now one of the fastest-growing industries. New companies are created daily, innovating in the delivery of health care and empowering patients to take a more active role in managing their own well-being.

These brands need medical professionals on their teams in order to create safe, credible, and accurate health products, and there are many areas within HealthTech where doctors can apply their medical education and skills.

New opportunities for doctors in HealthTech

Here are some examples of the roles that a doctor can take on in HealthTech.

Medical advisor

I work full-time as a member of Flo’s medical team, a group of specialists who review content to ensure that it is medically accurate and reflects the latest clinical evidence and guidelines. The job involves working with the content team to develop new content ideas and working with the product team to give feedback on new features for our app.

A medical advisor may also be involved in the creation of a market launch strategy and communicate with external stakeholders to build the company’s reputation within the medical community.

Some medical advisors at Flo work with developers because the app harnesses user data to make personalized health predictions. Doctors communicate their medical expertise to developers, who implement this knowledge into code so that the app’s algorithms are accurate and medically sound.

Clinical risk manager

Because safety is a priority in health care, a clinical risk manager is an important role for some HealthTech companies, especially those that work closely with patients. This person is someone who accesses and defines how to minimize health-related risks based on safety standards and regulations and promotes a culture of safety. Analytical and researching skills are essential here.

Clinical informaticist

Some companies might need a person who understands data analytics and knows how to use health informatics tools. This person designs, tests, and improves functionality, in addition to figuring out how to automate clinical information systems.

Epidemiologist

An Epidemiologist helps create and develop health-related features in the app using epidemiological or public health knowledge and expertise. They also analyze received data to improve medical algorithms for more precise health predictions.

Scientific researcher

Nowadays, scientific studies can be conducted outside of the lab in the HealthTech industry. Scientific researchers do exactly that — launch and conduct studies, analyze received data and share it with a wider audience. The results help us to understand population-level health patterns and provide new insights into health in general.

Medical director

Health companies need doctors in leadership roles to advise on high-level strategy and to make certain that the brand acts in a way that is beneficial to patients and doesn’t cause any harm. A medical director is responsible for planning marketing activities that improve the perception of a product’s medical credibility, navigate digital marketing metrics, define key metrics to measure success, and form collaborative relationships with medical societies and health experts.

Chief medical officer

Chief medical officer is a top manager who organizes the processes and responsibilities of the entire medical department. Their main roles are to develop the medical strategy and vision of the product, find innovative solutions for product development and insights into HealthTech, and analyze the latest high-tech trends in medicine. They’re also the company’s medical representative at local and international events.

Extra skills needed to work in HealthTech

Depending on the role, medical professionals may need to develop some additional skills to work at a HealthTech company.

1. User experience

As doctors, we’re used to communicating with patients individually and face-to-face, where we can observe their reactions and emotions. However, in HealthTech, we communicate with patients through technology, for example, by receiving user feedback and analyzing how people use the product. So it’s important to understand how they experience that technology and reflect on ways to make the experience as pleasant and seamless as possible. We also need to consider how to make that conversation more valuable in that specific environment, whether it’s on their phone screen or another device.

2. Writing

“Be focused, concise, and practical” could be our slogan. We are surrounded by millions of terabytes of information every day. We don’t have time to read long articles just for fun. We want to get the required information as soon as possible. This means that every piece of content should be thoroughly developed from the very beginning to determine what problem it should solve and for whom. At the same time, when you explain complicated health topics in HealthTech, it’s important to remember who the readers are. That means speaking the same language as your users and avoiding complicated medical terms. Having a good sense of humor and understanding how people think, feel, and behave is a valuable bonus.

3. Marketing

A solid understanding of marketing is essential for many roles in HealthTech. As medical advisors, we take part in the development and achievement of strategy, tactics, and operating plans to advance marketing in accordance with general strategy. In order to provide scientific support and expertise to the marketing team and other stakeholders for the creation of promotional materials, advertising, and educational programs, we should clearly understand how marketing works — what market we are playing in, our competitors, our “key attractive” features, and the needs of our target audience.

4. Data analytics and statistics

In our work, we use an evidence-based approach to deal with scientific data. This means that any scientific paper or clinical trials should be analyzed from different perspectives, including what statistical methods were used, whether or not the data was interpreted correctly, and if we can rely on the data. Moreover, in HealthTech, many decisions (e.g., what content to develop) are driven by user data, so basic knowledge of statistical data handling and analysis is very helpful. In a more data-centric role, a deeper knowledge of data collection, structuring, and analysis is required.

5. Machine learning

Machine learning (ML) is a new and mysterious term for the medical community. But it is evident that ML is creating a paradigm shift in medicine, from basic research to clinical applications. By using ML, we can improve patient care; however, it should be prudently adopted.

6. Critical thinking

Situations will arise that require you to put yourself in your users’ shoes to reflect on how the product can better meet their needs. Thinking critically facilitates developing new features, making improvements, and coming up with fresh content ideas.

How to utilize your speciality in HealthTech

HealthTech is changing quickly, and new roles are constantly being created. If you’re interested in working for a HealthTech company, you can start by expanding the details on your CV, regarding your experience and specialization, and adding in the technologies that are connected to your expertise.

For instance, a radiologist might consider a company using artificial intelligence to scan and diagnose health conditions, while an oncologist might work with a company that’s doing DNA sequencing.

General practitioners and therapists can take a closer look at companies that produce devices like smart pens and blood pressure and blood glucose monitors that transmit data via Bluetooth to the app and show results and practical tips. These types of projects need doctors to ensure that the data is correctly interpreted and everything is safe and accurate.

Cycle and ovulation tracking apps, as well as pregnancy trackers, are specifically interested in having gynecologists, fertility specialists, and general practitioners on board.

Dermatologists may be interested in collaborating with applications for patients with eczema and atopic dermatitis that assist with making a diagnosis by scanning skin lesions and their healing by using artificial intelligence.

There are a variety of ways to go about finding a job in HealthTech, like visiting networking events or conferences, reading health magazines to discover new products, looking at job boards, researching online, and using LinkedIn. I feel that one of the best strategies is to actually use the products. If you find a product that you like, don’t be afraid to reach out to the brand about the possibility of working together. You never know what type of specialized knowledge will be needed in two or three months, and you might be the person to start a new department!

Before I applied to Flo, I used the app for two years. I am an OB-GYN specializing in pregnancy, endometriosis, and contraception. Now I work for Flo full-time, advising on pregnancy and postpartum content.

At Flo, we are always looking to expand our medical expertise by bringing new people with diverse backgrounds in health care to our team. Reach out to us if you’re interested in joining!