munity by doing for them what Dr. Wal- ters did for us,” Dr. Gueramy said. The incubator had 33 members as of
July. The Travis County Medical Society and TMA sponsored an inaugural event in June at the TMA building to introduce physicians interested in entrepreneur- ship to the incubator. “TMA’s support for innovation in med- icine is good for physicians. The asso- ciation has been a great partner for the incubator,” Dr. Haas said. The incubator’s participants meet on the fourth Tuesday of each month at the TMA building from 6 pm to 8 pm. Physicians interested in attending a meeting and learning more about the incubator can visit http://physicianin
cubator.org. Click on “Our Events” to ac- cess the meeting schedule, and click on
“Join Us” to express interest in becoming a member.
Incubator helps doctorpreneurs At the June launch event, Dr. Walters’ family made brief remarks about his pat- ent work and the incubator’s ability to help other physicians achieve their busi- ness goals. Four doctorpreneur members of the incubator showcased their inno- vations and talked about their business development experiences. Roger Moczygemba, MD, a San An- tonio occupational medicine physician, says the incubator inspired him to ex- pand his business, MyQuickDoc (www
.MyQuickDoc.com). “With any new venture, it can be a struggle to keep going. Entrepreneurs pull all the weight, so it’s nice to have a place to meet with like-minded people who are in different stages of the same process. We can encourage one another and can network to find funding resourc- es and other help to move forward with our ideas,” he said. Dr. Moczygemba says he got the idea for MyQuickDoc when he was trying to attract patients to his practice. “I thought if patients could schedule
an appointment with me online, then I’d promise to see them on time. After I ad- vertised the idea, I began to realize the value in what I was doing for employ- ers. When workers are injured, they’re on the clock when they visit the doctor,”
he said. “Employers are willing to pay a little extra to ensure their employees can be seen on time.”
Employers and individual patients can pay $20 to use MyQuickDoc to schedule an appointment. In exchange, the physician receives a portion of the $20 and promises to see the patient at the scheduled time — no waiting. Dr. Moczygemba launched MyQuickDoc .com in February and plans to offer the service to patients and physicians across the country. “To achieve my ultimate goal, what I need at this point is a little more funding and the right business relationships to expand,” Dr. Moczygemba said. Andy Joshi, MD, an Austin physical
medicine and rehabilitation physician, spoke at the incubator event about his Avatar-Based Training Programs. He began working on the concept in 2011 and tested the product on his practice employees. “We’ve been using the training pro- grams in the office for several months, and the staff members seem to really enjoy interacting with them. We have noticed improved confidence and staff productivity since implementing the training programs,” he said. Dr. Joshi developed Avatar-Based
Training Programs in response to a need for an employee training tool that was engaging and customizable. The pro- grams feature avatars that interact with users and educate them on HIPAA com- pliance and office procedures. Dr. Joshi says he’s currently in the beta testing phase and is seeking new users. For more information about Avatar-Based Training Programs, visit
www.paincare
physicians.com and click on “Contact Us.” “When I joined the Walters Physician Incubator, the members pointed me in the right direction and helped me estab- lish timelines for realizing my idea. I was also excited that other members want to use my product in their own practices,” he said.
Making valuable connections Dr. Haas says the incubator strives to link members with appropriate resources to help them succeed.
“We have speakers come in at the be- ginning of each meeting. Some represent angel networks or venture capital firms, for example. Those with experience rais- ing funds offer advice to new entrepre- neurs about how to go about it smartly,” she said. Larry Kravitz, MD, an ARC family physician and member of the incubator, started working on the Anderson Knee Brace Project in 2007 with the help of his son’s high school robotics class, which built three prototypes of the brace. “The students attended a series of lec-
tures that brought them up to speed on anatomy and physiology, built specific parts for the brace, and tested the proto- types on an artificial leg simulator over the course of two years,” Dr. Kravitz said. He told attendees of the incubator event in June that he got the idea to de- velop a knee brace after injuring his foot and wearing a boot while he healed. “The walking boot used for feet forms
a sling that holds the foot off the ground. It took so much of the pain away that I thought we needed a device that would do the same for the knee,” he said. The knee brace can be particularly helpful for patients suffering from joint pain due to osteoarthritis and can help runners and others continue in their ath- letic pursuits, Dr. Kravitz says. “It’s a daily frustration practicing med- icine and seeing how little we have to offer osteoarthritis patients,” he said. The Walters Physician Incubator con- nected Dr. Kravitz to corporate and pat- ent attorneys and has guided him along the path to realizing his goal: making the brace available to patients. “My hope is that the incubator con- nects me and other members to the peo- ple who can help us achieve our goals,” he said.
The incubator concept is popular among the physician community be- cause physicians need a forum for dis- cussing their ideas with other physicians, Dr. Childers says. “On any given day, a physician col- league expresses to me how great it would be to do things a different way or to have a new device to help patients. The incubator is a way for physicians to realize their brilliant ideas, and they feel
September 2013 TEXAS MEDICINE 49
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68