/*Accordion Page Settings*/

Technology

,

94 - How Modern Fertility is Changing the Patient Journey, an interview with Afton Vechery

,

After her own experience with fertility testing, Afton Vechery set out to make the testing process easier for millions of women across the country looking for a better understanding of their reproductive health. From day one, Modern Fertility aimed to provide quality, peer-reviewed information to empower young women to have the knowledge they need to make more informed decisions about her fertility.

On this episode of Inside Reproductive Health, Afton shares the Modern Fertility story. She shares how she brought her vision to life, including how she has been able to raise funds from Venture Capital companies. Griffin and Afton also discuss how Modern Fertility hopes to work with fertility clinics to improve the patient experience across the board.

,

85 - Venture Capital and Its Interests in the Fertility Field, an interview with Dr. David Sable

,

Venture Capital has been slowly making its way into the field over the last several years. But just what is it looking to improve?

On this episode of Inside Reproductive Health, Griffin talks to Dr. David Sable, a retired REI and current serial investor in biotechnology and other companies that aim to make the field more efficient and accessible by the patients we aim to treat. They discuss what it is going to take to scale to a million cycles in the US and 15 million around the world. From lessons from oncology to bottlenecks holding us back, Dr. Sable shares his biggest hopes for the fertility field and what entrepreneurs need to do to get it to the next level.

Dr. David Sable co-founded and served as director of the Institute for Reproductive Medicine and Science at Saint Barnabas Medical Center in New Jersey, was founder of Assisted Reproductive Medical Technologies, and was co-founder of Reprogenetics. In addition to serving as a reproductive endocrinologist, Dr. Sable also sought to help the field as a whole by finding investors to create new technology to increase the amount of people served by the field. Today, Dr. Sable is a life sciences portfolio manager, an adjunct at Columbia University, and serves as director, advisor, and board member for a wide range of biotech and advocacy organizations.

Learn more about Dr. David Sable at www.dbsable.com or find him on Twitter @dbsable.

,

82 - The Business Case for Fertility Surgery, an interview with Dr. Matt Retzloff

,

On this episode of Inside Reproductive Health, Griffin talks to Dr. Matt Retzloff, a Reproductive Endocrinologist from the independently-owned Fertility Center of San Antonio. Dr. Retzloff is board certified in both RE and OB/GYN and has special interest in fertility-related surgery, focusing on minimally invasive surgeries.

Dr. Retzloff is a firm believer that surgery for infertility-related issues are best managed within a fertility practice, allowing for continuity, confidence, and best outcomes for the patient. But looking at it through the lens of business, those benefits don’t always align with business operations and finances.

Together, we dig into the pros and cons of keeping fertility surgery in the purview of the REI.

, ,

81 - Ethical Implications of Physician Investment in Fertility-Related Businesses, an interview with Dr. Kevin Doody

, ,

Despite busy schedules taking care of patients and often running clinics themselves, it’s not uncommon to see doctors getting involved in ventures outside of their clinic’s four walls. From investing in pharmacies to serving as medical directors for new ART companies to starting software companies, REIs can be found doing a lot. No matter what the venture is, there is always the potential for creating a conflict of interest. So how do doctors draw the line? How are they able to ensure they are keeping the patient’s best interest at heart, and not just making decisions that are beneficial to the physician?

On this episode of Inside Reproductive Health, Griffin talks to Dr. Kevin Doody. Dr. Doody founded Care Fertility in Fort Worth, Texas with his wife, Kathy, in 1989. He is also co-creator of Effortless IVF, which is a new ART technology treatment that uses INVOcells. He is also the Chief Scientist of Global Fertility and Genetics.

Together, Griffin and Dr. Doody talk about entrepreneurship in the fertility field and then, we dig into conflicts of interest in the field: what is acceptable and what isn’t.

,

80 - Up-selling Fertility Treatments: Beneficial or Exploitative? An interview with Dr. Mark Trolice

,

Reproductive endocrinologists and other professionals in our field all have the same main goal: helping people build their families. But we all know that treatment is expensive, and the resulting revenue is how clinic owners get paid. In some cases, treatments can involve ‘extra’ services, resulting in additional revenue, but it may not always mean a better chance of success for the patient.

So when do clinics start to toe the ethical line when presenting options to their patients?

On this episode of Inside Reproductive Health, Griffin talks to Dr. Mark Trolice of Fertility CARE: The IVF Center in Winter Park, Florida. From his perspective as a former patient and as a provider of care in a non-mandated state, we look at fertility treatment “up-sells” such as egg freezing and PGT and the ethical implications of REs owning their own labs.

, ,

64 - Consents in the Age of COVID-19: Using Digital Solutions to Protect Your Patients and You

, ,

“...this is an unprecedented time for everybody. We all have our expertise in different areas and our experience in different areas and now's the time to be talking about our approaches, what we're doing, sharing our ideas, and really, really working together to try to get through this and to put practices and patients in the best positions possible.”

It is business as unusual right now. Patients everywhere have been told that treatments have been put on hold and have been left in limbo. Thankfully, there has been a surge in interest in using digital technology to keep some semblance of normal for patients seeking treatment. Thanks to applications such as Zoom, clinics are able to conduct consults or relay testing results. And thanks to new innovations making consents available online, clinics are able to get patients ready for treatment, while remaining in good legal-standing.

On this special episode of Inside Reproductive Health, Griffin talks to Jeff Issner and Taylor Stein of EngagedMD, a company that has developed an application that not only provides digital consent forms, but also goes the extra mile in patient education. Dr. Steven Katz of REI Protect joins in the discussion, offering his perspective on risk mitigation and ensuring your practice reduces liability in any way it can during these unprecedented times.

This episode was recorded during a live webinar. In the coming weeks, we will continue to provide webinars with updated information on relevant topics. Learn more about our upcoming webinars at FertilityBridge.com.

Please note that all information included in this podcast is not legal advice and is simply to provide fertility clinics with information on the use of digital consents. Before using any advice in this podcast episode, please consult with your legal team.

Find Jeff Issner and Tayor Stein at Engaged MD by visiting Engaged-MD.com.Learn about Dr. Katz and his services at REI Protect at REIProtect.com.

Need help navigating marketing through this unprecedented time? Check out our COVID-19 Toolkit from Fertility Bridge.

,

Essential Tools For Remote Fertility Employees

,

The Coronavirus outbreak in the US has many businesses scrambling to maintain operations while keeping employees and customers safe. Having employees work remotely can be an effective solution for some businesses. But for fertility practices - and healthcare providers in general - a transition to working remotely is fraught with challenges: hard copy filing systems, outdated technology and HIPAA compliance to name a few.