Written by Brent Lacey on May 24, 2021. Posted in Early Career and Young Professionals, Podcast, Podcast Episodes, Practice Management.

Podcast Episode 60 – Medical Innovation for Entrepreneurs, Investors, and Especially the “Average Physician” – Dr. Lance Black (3ive Labs)

Lance Black 3ive labs medical innovation

Episode 60 – My guest on the podcast today is Lance Black. He’s the outgoing Associate Director for Innovation of the Texas Medical Center, now Senior Medical Director for 3ive Labs. This conversation really took me by surprise. He’s a world-class expert on medical innovation, but what I found surprising was how many facets of medical innovation are open to the average physician, whether that’s through developing a medical device, coming up with a non-medical innovation that helps your administrative costs and clinical efficiency, or investing in medical innovation startups.

No kidding, I really think you’re going to enjoy this. I learned a ton, and the conversation really helped me see through some different aspects of medical innovation that I’m actually excited to get into. I hope this conversation inspires you to go out and set the world on fire (metaphorically speaking). What idea do you have that is just waiting to be unleashed?

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Check out the additional free resources available at The Scope of Practice!

Meet Dr. Lance Black (3ive Labs)

As an engineer, physician, and innovator, Dr. Black speaks a multitude of technical languages and serves as an intermediary and catalyst in the ever-demanding path of medical device development. His experiences prior to joining 3ive Labs includes serving as a Family and Flight Medicine physician in the United States Air Force in which he deployed twice leading the rapid response team for F-22 pilots in Okinawa, Japan and serving as Chief of the Medical Staff at Manas Transit Air Base in Kyrgyzstan; Medical Affairs Manager for a medtech development firm (gcmiatl.com) where he participated in the build-out and testing of over 25 medical devices with contribution on more than 30 patents; and, most recently Associate Director of Texas Medical Center’s TMC Innovation (tmc.edu/innovation) focused on building and launching novel medical device and digital health companies. During his tenure at TMC Innovation, Dr. Black had the opportunity to review and screen over 2000 healthcare startups for entry into the well-known accelerator, TMCx; advise over 100 medical device and digital health companies who have collectively raised more than $2.5B; and aided in the launch of 10 healthcare startups as advisor to TMC Biodesign who have now raised >$30M. Dr. Black is dedicated to supporting the development of novel technologies that will bring value to patients.

Connect to Dr. Lance Black and 3ive Labs

3ive Labs website – https://3ivelabs.com/
TMC Innovation website – https://www.tmc.edu/innovation/
LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/lance-black-md-mbid-511ba147
Twitter – @lancemblack

Join the Business and Personal Finance for Physicians and Dentists Facebook Group!

Most physicians and dentists come out of training programs with a huge amount of personal debt and little to no idea of how to actually run a clinical practice. This Facebook community is for anyone who wants to learn more about how to manage their business more successfully and master their personal finances.

Check out the Doctor Podcast Network!

The Doctor Podcast Network is a group of physician and physician family podcasters with incredible messages to share with physicians. I’m incredibly excited to be a founding member of the organization. We are a large and growing network with incredible outreach.

We podcast about any and all topics that are important to physicians and their families including:

Financial wellness
Business mastery and leadership
Marriage and family support
Real estate
and much more!

Click here and come check out the great podcasts that are a part of the network. If you’re thinking about starting a podcast, we’d love to have you join us! Help us reach out to physicians all over the world!

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If you need a little more individualized help figuring out:

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Show times

00:00 – Introduction to the episode
01:32 – Subscribe to the podcast, and please share it with someone!
02:30 – This week’s sponsor is Physician Financial Services.
03:10 – Introduction to Dr Lance Black.
04:14 – Let’s meet Dr. Lance Black, senior medical director for 3ive Labs.
05:32 – What does 3ive Labs do, and what does medical innovation look like in 2021?
06:56 – Medical innovation doesn’t just include medical devices and new pharmaceuticals. Dr. Lance Black and 3ive Labs look at pain points for medical offices too, like scheduling patients and reducing patient no-show rates.
09:14 – The possibilities for medical innovation are limitless, says Dr. Lance Black.
10:54 – Medical innovation is driven out of us in medical training. 3ive Labs and other innovative companies are trying to give that back to physicians.
11:39 – What was it that kept Dr. Lance Black focused on medical innovation?
14:11 – Is the tendency toward conformity driving the physician burnout epidemic?
16:49 – Does medical innovation start with trying to solve a problem for someone? Dr. Lance Black and the team at 3ive Labs think so, but that may look different for different people.
19:34 – Where do we start with trying to solve a problem for someone? Do we start by just searching on the internet?
21:54 – Use your network!!
25:14 – What opportunities are out there for someone who isn’t a designer or innovator but still wants to be involved in medical innovation?
27:54 – Physicians have expertise that engineers, innovators, and developers value and seek.
30:32 – Let’s talk about the investment side of medical innovation! How do you pick a good deal? How do you know which project is going to succeed?
36:54 – Angel investing could be an opportunity to get involved in medical innovation when you don’t have a lot of money yet.
38:31 – As an innovator, how would I try to get money to help me get started? What strategies do Dr. Lance Black and 3ive Labs recommend?
41:34 – How do I take my minimum viable product and get it into the hands of consumers?
46:22 – What is Dr. Lance Black doing now with his new project at 3ive Labs?
48:44 – Anyone interested in medical innovation should connect with Dr. Lance Black and 3ive Labs to get started.
50:10 – Summary of the episode
50:48 – This week’s free resource is a guide called “Creating a One-Liner that Will Kickstart Your Business’ Growth.”
52:04 – Signing off!

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