Indie Doc: Building Health Tech Outside the Box
Welcome to my newsletter, where I share quick hits and candid thoughts about my journey.
Now, you might be wondering, "What the heck is an indie doctor?"
It's a term I've recently come across, and it resonates with me. It's a bit like the "indie hackers" movement in the tech world, but for healthcare. It's about doctors and other healthcare professionals who are stepping outside the traditional system, driven by a desire to innovate and find new ways to deliver care.
I'm one of those indie doctors. I'm passionate about using technology to solve real problems in healthcare, and I'm building a community of like-minded people who want to make a difference.
In this newsletter, you'll get a behind-the-scenes look at my work, my learnings, and the tools and resources I find most valuable. I'll be sharing app updates, productivity tips, stories from the trenches, and insights from the clinicians I'm connecting with.
So, if you're interested in the future of healthcare, the power of community, and the hustle of building something new, you're in the right place. Let's connect and learn together!
📲 Building the Dream: App Updates
I started out a silly and fun project around food with a buddy of mine. It's building up quickly but I wanna have a bit more of the core features locked in before the launch. Here's some teasers:
- Backend crunching: Build a parsing with multiple API connections for geolocation, its been fun fleshing this part out.
- Dark Mode Delight: I've built out this theme manager for fun, and its' pretty slick and speedy!
- Next Level: Gearing up to add some cool clustering and interactive zooming. JavaScript can be a headache, but it's the king of web/mobile for a reason.
- Full-Stack Power: Big shoutout to Google Cloud for providing the infrastructure for my full-stack deployment with SvelteKit and Python! I'm finding it a lovely developer experience.
🧠 The Productivity Puzzle: What Makes You Tick?
I am going through the 'Feel good productivity' by Ali Abdaal (ex-doc turned entrepreneur). He's one my heroes really, and if you are reading this Ali - I'd love to meet someday!
There is a full geek out section on the book about playing a character / knowing your character class for World of Warcraft. I used to be big on the Defense of the Ancients where there are various heroes that each have their own specialization.
Little did I know that there is actual science behind this. There is a system by Dr Stuart Brown, the author of the book Play: with 8 “play personalities”. So, it is not all just hogwash, trolls and hunting dragons eh? (Just a side comment here, Stuart looks like such a happy chap at his age).
- 📚 Collector: Love to rummage and gather
- 🏆 Competitor: Driven by games and winning
- 🌍 Explorer: Crave wonder and discovery
- 🎨 Creator: Can't stop making things
- 🎭 Storyteller: Fueled by imagination and entertainment
- 😂 Joker: Live to make people laugh
- 📊 Director: A natural planner and organizer
- 🏃 Kinesthetic: Always moving and grooving
If I were to choose one character 'class' from the above, I'd go with the explorer. I enjoy looking up new things and hate being 'boxed-in' to the same ol' same ol'. I think it parries up nicely with the creator because of making things after discovering them.
🤝 Chapter: The Power of Community
Surrounding myself with awesome people is essential. Connecting with others helps you get unstuck. I love that story about the musician who found their tribe and made incredible music together. That's the kind of community I want to build in the health tech space.
There are a few other interesting snippets (heh, stole this since Ali has dropped his Sunday Snippets series) that I would like to come back to in another post.
👩⚕️ Talking to the Experts: Clinician Outreach
My goal is to chat with 50 clinicians in my network about:
- Their biggest pain points in healthcare & How technology can help
- Whether they'd actually use these tech solutions (how skeptical are healthcare professionals on AI)
- Other sticking points: patient privacy, GDPR, consent and cybersecurity
I just got a recommendation for the book "The Mom Test" – I'm excited to dive in and might share some insights in a future post. I've already started talking to some amazing health folks outside the system, like a co-founder at Peerr.io and a cancer doctor running a consultancy service called Adopt-a-Doc.
🛠️ Cool Tool Alert!
This week's post is sponsored by AppSumo – I love AppSumo for finding lifetime deals on software. Never pay a subscription fee again! I am using a graphic design tool called Plasfy that is my canva replacement for all my banners. It's not on sale anymore but there are new AI powered tools coming up all the time.
Use the above link to support me: if you buy anything at all, I get a small kickback that will support my coffee addiction and blog writing.
🚀 Coming Next Week:
Stay tuned for a special feature post on the AI/LLM tool that's been brought to my attention.
