Our founder, Dr. Manju Dawkins, recently met with Sabrina Runbeck of Provider's Edge to discuss the importance of bringing solutions that address a true healthcare need or problem. Listen above or review the transcript below.
00:00:00 Sabrina: Did you know that 82% of products fail because people just don't want it? You don't have a product market fit. And what that also translates into, you have to have professional clinicians who actually know the market. So build the features that people actually want. Today, here two providers introduce their solution on how she's able to turn a practical solution into a $2 million revenue.
00:00:41 Sabrina: Welcome to Provider's Edge, the podcast that helps healthcare entrepreneurs and innovators break down barriers and control their business, life, and future with valuable action steps. With me, your host, Sabrina Runbeck, a recovered clinician and a business deal catalyst. Let's rewrite the rules and create a positive social impact while increasing your profitability.
00:01:08 Sabrina: As we continue this mini-series from the past few episodes, we have been focusing on interviewing some of the novel practical solutions that we have at Health and ViVE. Today, we have two amazing clinicians who became founders. First up is Dr. Manju Dawkins, where she realized when she become a mom and taking her child to the clinic to get that seeing and discover how anxiety toward needles has been affecting 63% of public.
00:01:48 Sabrina: And this is actually breaking the trust between clinicians and patients that helped her to really push forward and launch simple a plant-based patch where she now able to connect with pain management and blood donation centers across the country.
00:02:10 Sabrina: Hi, this is Sabrina Runbeck with Caregiving Worldwide Network. And we're here at ViVE with Manju Dawkins. And we're so excited for you to really share with us what's the company mission and how did the company been founded and truly to help us to solve a problem in the healthcare space?
00:02:31 Manju: Yes, Thimble was founded to help alleviate needle pain and anxiety. And so it started for me, actually, I'm a physician. So I'm a board certified dermatologist and I was injecting people all day long. But when I had my first daughter and I had to take her in for her first set of vaccines, I was kind of mortified by the look that she gave me, which was just like one of like, how could you let that happen to me? And you don't think a four week old is capable of such things, but it was just really impactful.
00:02:55 Manju: And I felt like, what was that? Like, what did I do? And it was this first moment of broken trust between mother and child, but it was also the first moment of broken trust between physician and patient and really made me think about what I'm doing to people every day and then realize the problem of needle phobia is huge. Needle phobia affects 63% of people now. And there really aren't a lot of solutions accessible. So that's our mission is how do we provide accessible solutions to alleviate the pain and fear of needles?
00:03:21 Sabrina: Wow, it definitely is. I remember my rotations. It was pediatric. And where the two nurse have to hold the kids down, where I'm like... Okay, sorry, baby. And doom. And it's definitely detrimental because they're crying, they're so agitated. And some adults the same way, right? And plenty of people have really tiny veins. And when we're putting IVs, it's terrible. And the longer they stay in the hospital, the more IVs they have to get replaced. Love that inspirational story from really truly from a family perspective. And now that you've been running with this. What have been some exciting moments and big wins you guys have achieved so far?
00:04:06 Manju: Oh, there's been so many. Well, first of all, we won the American Academy of Pain Medicine Innovation Challenge in 2023. So that was really exciting. You know, as a dermatologist doing a pain medicine space was amazing. And also for them to recognize the problem of acute needle pain being an issue was just unexpected and really amazing.
00:04:25 Manju: We've also soft launched our first product. So our recover patch, which I'm wearing right now actually. So this is the plant based patch that you put on after needle procedures to alleviate the bruising and soreness. So that's out in the world. It's available direct to consumer and we're going to be launching on Amazon soon, too. And then another big recent win was that we just announced our first distribution deal. And so we're going to be helping with the blood donation, you know, the blood supply shortage. So we're in the middle of an emergency shortage right now.
00:04:53 Manju: And blood donations have been dropping over the past 20 years. We're at the lowest point and what's been rising is needle phobia. And so when you look at why people aren't donating, it's really those things. It's needle pain. It's the pain afterwards and it's the fear. And so that's exactly what we're trying to help with.
00:05:08 Sabrina: That's so exciting to be able to connect with these larger organizations of getting the stamp approval and help you guys go forward. So that being said, what are some of the best go to market strategy you guys have seen? I hate this is working really well for us and we're actually getting them to the right people that truly need them.
00:05:26 Manju: You know, that is a great question. Like a big part of our mission is we want everyone to have access to our solutions. That's why we make everything available without a prescription. And we are also HSA, FSA eligible. So we're trying all of those things, but you bring up a good point. Your go-to-market strategy is really important to think about. And I'm not gonna be able to necessarily get it out to everyone who needs it right now, right away.
00:05:47 Manju: And so we're thinking about other ways where people maybe who have more means are able to purchase themselves. And then we can then prove out how helpful the solutions are. And then all the corporations and insurers and hospital systems will see like, wow, this is something that we need to have for all of our people. And we're gonna show how we're gonna increase vaccination rates, how we're gonna get people to stay up to date with their lab draws, how we're gonna get more adherence to medications and things like that. So I'm excited about what's to come.
00:06:14 Sabrina: Yes, definitely growing a company is from that moment of inspiration, getting it out there, getting sample approval, all those exciting. And then it's like, okay, now where we go from here? And like, that's even more doors opening up. What would you do with that wand?
00:06:32 Manju: Hmm, that's a great question. Oh, there's so many things I want to do. I mean, really, it's just creating awareness. Because I think if people really knew the magnitude of the problem, and people knew that there were solutions available right now. I think it's a no-brainer patient being held down and what that did to you and how I felt with my daughter, but you as a physician, how you felt, it helps everyone along, every stakeholder sees benefit.
00:06:59 Manju: And then hospitals and clinics will see higher patient satisfaction scores, which means there's going to be higher reimbursements. And payers will actually see cost savings because when people are staying adherent to preventative care, getting all the vaccines they need and staying on their treatment plans.
00:07:16 Sabrina: That means less hospital costs. And both from that emotional and physical part, as well as getting into the people that who take care of us and you think you're going in for this purpose, and they're not purposely making you hurt or pain.
00:07:32 Manju: Exactly. Even though this is the position voice involved in the development of all of these solutions because every stakeholder matters, patients, caregivers, healthcare workforce, and so we're just another voice that we think is important. So it's been great, I've been able to meet a lot of other companies, hear what they're doing, and giving my perspective as a dermatologist, being more in the outpatient setting, and how the solutions could be integrated into workflows and things like that.
00:07:58 Manju: So that's been really fun, and I'm also excited to share about Thimble and it's been really great. I think people really are excited about having a tangible solution. Something to hold is just like you say, like just handing someone something that's gonna help them feel better. That in and of itself alleviates pain, right? Like the emotional and psychological safety that people feel, so...
00:08:19 Sabrina: Right, it's beautiful to be able to put clinicians on the front end, on the table, when we start innovation, as well as we always promote have the patient and caregivers at the table as well, because no matter what innovation we're doing, if they're not willing to receive and use it, then all the hard work, the sweat and the hours and the money put into it didn't actually truly create that impact.
00:08:45 Sabrina: So love it that you guys are in the forefront on making sure the clinicians' voice are being heard from all the amazing technology that's coming out of the pipeline and then sharing this information for our community of caregivers to really truly believe that you're also representing their voice, even though they are not physically at the table.
00:09:09 Manju: Yes, exactly that. That's one of our big goals is kind of to prepare the fractured relationship between patients and the healthcare workforce. Like we've got to bring it back together again.
00:09:18 Sabrina: Amazing. So how can people find out more about what you guys are doing and connect with you?
00:09:23 Manju: Our website is thimblehealth.com and our Instagram handle is at thimble.health. You can find me on LinkedIn and we're also talking about thimble on LinkedIn. So yes, please reach out team at thimblehealth.com is our email. Excited to hear from you.
00:09:38 Sabrina: Perfect. Thank you so much for sharing this with us.
00:09:40 Manju: Thank you. Thanks for the opportunity.
00:09:42 Sabrina: All right. So what did you like about our interview that we had just now? Did you ever when you were younger or even now ever don't want to get a vaccine or get your blood drawn because you're also afraid of needles. You know those moments when you go to the doctor's office, especially those of us who actually practiced in medicine. I remember even the days, especially when I was in pediatric clinics, rotating, how kids are truly screaming, flailing, have to have their parents hold them down before we can give them their vaccines.
00:10:23 Sabrina: And some even adults are fainting when they're seeing blood. So when we have such a big problem in anxiety caused by needles, that's where Dr. Manju is able to solve. And what's amazing is that their solution do not require a prescription and she has been winning awards and as well as starting up with some of the largest association for blood donation to be able to push forward and support the fear of needle. That means more people can get the vaccines, more people can donate blood and really overall improving our community.
00:11:07 Sabrina: Now next up we have Manuv Shivji, Chief Growth Officer at Care Predictor, a platform that has been born from frontline behavioral health practitioners. After three years of intensive research with neuroscientists, his team truly cracked the code of how to bridge the gap in building the true relationship with patients who have mental health diseases. They identified 10 critical key points that are improving the delivery of mental health and retention that patients will keep coming back for their treatment.
00:11:51 Sabrina: Hi, this is Sabrina Runbeck with Caregiving Worldwide Network. We're here at ViVE and today we have Manoj Shivji and here for Care Predictor. We're so excited to introduce to you guys.
00:12:03 Manoj: Essentially in mental health and behavioral health, we found that there was something missing in the way a therapist, a psychiatrist, a peer counselor would create and provide a great care experience. And so Care Predictor looks at this and can view, can make a prediction on the quality of care for any individual in a mental or behavioral health capacity. And ultimately, we are here to elevate care in the behavioral health space.
00:12:31 Sabrina: That's amazing. And what was the story behind why you guys created this company?
00:12:35 Manoj: Well, that's a great story because we were born out of a treatment center. Our parent company, Alter Health Group, we were kind of stuck about three years ago in how could we truly understand how we can make sure the right care was happening at the right time. And so we partnered up with a neuroscientist and we did about three years of research on what is the magic of that therapeutic alliance, that kind of that bond, that rapport that someone might have with a caregiver and their patient, right, or their client.
00:13:10 Manoj: And ultimately after three years of research, we found out that there are 10 leading indicators. 10 kind of predictive things about someone, attributes, that could really lead to a great experience or a strong therapeutic bond or trust level between any type of peer counselor, therapist, and their client.
00:13:31 Manoj: And so essentially about a year ago, we thought, oh my goodness, like this has already started working in our parent company. And we saw a reduction in AMAs. We saw a reduction in turnover. We saw less missed appointments on our teletherapy platform. And we started to think about, geez, we should really share this to elevate care within the industry. And so Care Predictor was born out of that, that hey, we could, a lot of treatment centers, a lot of behavioral health could use what we have.
00:14:02 Sabrina: Ray, it's truly about finding out the gap that you guys are already experiencing and be able to fill that and test it out to say, actually, it's not just an idea. People need this and you see positive improvements and let them blow this up. And so the right people can actually get to it. So that really lead me to how have you guys been going to the market so the right solutions can be getting to the right people so they can benefit.
00:14:28 Manoj: You know, primarily right now, we've started out with our own kind of home base, right? We look at treatment centers, addiction centers, substance abuse, just these critical points of care when people are not at their best. And we think tackling that first is probably some of the best good we can do, right? Part of our mission.
00:14:49 Manoj: On the forefront, you know, we've done some work now at Evolution of Psychology and some other areas. And we think we can help independent therapists, independent psychologists, private practices in just elevating their own care by knowing themselves better. So Care Predictor, it's available for you as an independent, it's available for you as a student, and you could be a large treatment center or hospital system and still engage with Care Predictor from our website.
00:15:16 Manoj: Our goal is really, step one is to get insights about yourself. What is your care profile? What is it? What is your style? What is your approach to actually doing this? And then from there, if you know that or your clinical supervisor understands that about you, then it's coaching around that. It's actually understanding that. It's the clinical supervision that can be incorporated later. And we as a company, we're hoping to go there as well later this summer.
00:15:40 Sabrina: Yeah, that's nice. So you are focusing on more from the clinical perspective first and then go directly to the consumer. Does that seem like you are as you're expanding, you want to connect with larger organizations to adapt this, and what's that vision going forward?
00:15:58 Manoj: You know, the vision for us is in behavioral health. It's, you know, I think people will get certified, people will do their hours, and then there's not that much available to them to actually elevate their type of care or their style of care. So we want to be adopted by larger systems, larger treatment centers, because performance culture, a care mindset and actually giving you the visibility to evolve your care and make you better as time goes on, I think is an important factor that's been missing in behavioral health.
00:16:30 Manoj: So yeah, we want to be part of kind of the culture of a treatment center, of the behavioral health arm of a hospital system, right? People should be talking about like, hey, my Care Predictor index told me that I could demonstrate more empathy or build more trust with this case that I'm working on. Well, how could I do that and what could I do better in that front?
00:16:51 Sabrina: Exactly. To be able to have a different way. We all know communication is such a crucial thing. Most of the time it is not about what you say to the patient. It's how you say it, the delivery way. And whether they just want to get to the information fast or you actually need to slow down, you need to slowly digest doses of information for them to actually be involved so we can create better compliance, better delivery and better result with the patient.
00:17:19 Sabrina: Now, building companies are like roller coasters, ups and downs. So if I gave you a magic wand, it will dissolve anything that you possibly in your way so you can truly push this thing forward. What would you use the wand for?
00:17:36 Manoj: Oh, a magic wand. That's got to love magic wands. You know, I would use that magic wand to just accelerate adoption. The more caregivers, the more therapists, the more mental health professionals that could just take Care Predictor, use it, see the insights. Just the act of taking it would show you, oh my goodness, this is, I had no idea about this or even a person just looking at the results will go, I already know how to fix it and elevate my care. We just want people to take it. Just use it. Even if you used it once and if I could do that by the hundreds of thousands, we would be happier for that.
00:18:15 Sabrina: Yes, it's all about creating something amazing and actually getting to the end use of their music because if they don't use it, we cannot see the actual impact. All this amazing technology you guys have built. Now we love events, even brings the energy, even brings all these that we can present to ourselves. So what is about ViVE that attract you guys to come and what are you really hoping to get out of it?
00:18:41 Manoj: Oh, well, Sabrina, I mean, ViVE is kind of this is my brethren, right? There's a lot of tech and there's some cool things going on. And how could you be here and not say something about AI and machine learning? But I like the innovation at ViVE. So if you think about it, we're we're constantly adjusting and learning from our customers, too. And so I've I've seen and met some folks that can do more with a therapeutic session, recording the voice and looking at nuances to measure if we're delivering care in the right way.
00:19:13 Manoj: We're seeing a lot of the best providers in the US and in the world come over here going, hey, we have a mental health epidemic in our society and in our facility. We're looking for ways to solve that. So the best part about ViVE is there are a bunch of people here looking for solutions and it's the place to be out there. And then even the solutions are looking for different ways to partner up and be a better solution for a provider.
00:19:37 Manoj: I've already met about five companies that I think we will probably start working with a little bit closer to see if we can get more comprehensive with the way we elevate mental health and mental wellness.
00:19:51 Sabrina: Correct. It's all about finding the people that are doing different angles, but the same result. So how to come together where you're actually filling each other's holes and collectively is much stronger product.
00:20:05 Manoj: Yes, absolutely. Yeah. Kind of drafting off each other, but kind of making it more comprehensive.
00:20:10 Sabrina: Now, we know people is gonna wanna check you guys out. How can they find you? What connect with you personally?
00:20:15 Manoj: Yeah. So number one, carepredictor.com, go there. You have options to assess yourself. You have options to introduce your company. You can connect with me on LinkedIn at Manoj Shivji, LinkedIn/Manoj Shivji. I'm the chief revenue officer, and we are here at ViVE for the next day and a half, and eager to come for people to come and say hello.
00:20:38 Sabrina: Thank you so much for sharing.
00:20:39 Manoj: Thank you, Sabrina.
00:20:41 Sabrina: So what have you heard from Manoj that has been intriguing for you? Do you have a mental health solution or is also working in some capacity that are affecting mental health patients? Now, their key discovery has been implemented with treatment centers and addiction facilities, seeing a significant retention, which means that's really cool. Fewer disappointments, better staff retention. Now we would love to hear from you guys. Have you been putting off a shower blood test because you were really afraid of needles? If you had a pain patch like Thimble, would you be more likely to get the right testing or treatment.
00:21:38 Sabrina: And injections is not even just vaccines. It's also people who have, let's say, diabetes, who does need to have injection for insulin, or people who has very severe blood thinner or warfarin, they do have to prick themselves often as well. And for other people who are practitioners, what would be some of the helpful tools that you have been using or wish you had to better connect with your patients to help them move along to actually do what you recommended?
00:22:13 Sabrina: Drop your thoughts below and post it on LinkedIn. Tag me, Sabrina Runbeck. I would love to continue to have this conversation. And for those of you who believe you have amazing health and wellness innovative solutions, that apply to be one of our speakers at theprovidersedge.com. And we look forward to spotlight your amazing work that are also positively changing the healthcare landscape.
00:22:47 Sabrina: Thank you for tuning in to Provider's Edge Podcast. We hope you enjoy our latest episode and found the insights and tips helpful. We'd love to hear your feedback on the show and learn what topics you'd like us to cover in the future. So please take a moment to leave us a review on your favorite podcast platform and let us know what you think. Your feedback is essential to help us improve the show and provide you with the content you need to take your healthcare business to the next level. Thank you for your support and we look forward to hearing from you soon.