From Healthcare to Health Tech

Why, after nearly 15 years of delivering healthcare, I changed to delivering technology solutions.

The future is truly bright when a company like VALD Health shares the same passion I – and many others I know in the industry – have for the Physiotherapy and MSK healthcare industry. That is the reason I recently took the leap from my corporate management role after nearly 15 years of delivering healthcare and joined the VALD team to work in Health Technology solutions.  

VALD is uniquely placed to help the industry overcome the challenges it faces and enable practitioners to deliver better, more scalable care, and to spend more time doing what they do best – helping patients. The most exciting part is that many of our clients are already changing the way health care is delivered.  

VALD is committed to investing in research, technologies and people to help make a difference. My challenge to you (healthcare providers) is to do the same. 

VALD don’t have all the answers, though, and that’s the point. I joined not just because our passions aligned, but also – since I first met Laurie Malone, Matthew Roodveldt, Chris Rowe and Mark Opar  – they were always humble enough to acknowledge that they have a significant journey ahead of them in healthcare.  

Now that I have joined VALD I can say that they do, however, have the right vision and a team capable of delivering it, having earnt a reputation for consistently delivering practical, accessible technology solutions to market. They have a passion to work collaboratively with the healthcare industry to raise the bar and ultimately deliver better healthcare to the community and make a demonstrable difference to patients’ lives. 

VALD is committed to investing in research, technologies and people to help make a difference. My challenge to you – the health professionals, business owners, corporate managers, hospital heads of departments, researchers and lecturers – is to do the same. I know many of you are busy, short-staffed, feel overworked and underappreciated, but that’s also the best reason to take the first step – engage with us and help us help you augment your practice with technology. Ultimately, it is an investment in your people. 

My journey as a physiotherapist  

I have spent all of my working life in the healthcare industry. As a treating physiotherapist, then a business owner, then corporate manager, I’ve witnessed firsthand the value that front line allied health workers bring to their patients and the healthcare system. 

My journey began as a student physiotherapist (and part-time receptionist) at Allsports Indooroopilly after my mother unashamedly introduced me to Lisa Roach (co-founder of Allsports Physiotherapy at the local primary school fete. I might’ve been embarrassed, but I was offered a job on the spot (thanks mum!).   

Lisa ended up giving me much more than a job, though, providing me guidance, support and mentorship as I first found my feet as a graduate physiotherapist, then later in business as we spent nearly a decade running a clinic together alongside our original business partners Rob Ceccato, Adam Walker, Amy Papinniemi, Stephanie McMurdy (who is also now part of the VALD team), Kristy Walker, and Nicole Haynes.   

Over that decade we were joined by a number of other exceptional physiotherapists and business partners (Kylie Brown, Alice Hyslop and Sean O’Neill). Together, we grew our physiotherapy clinic into the large multi-disciplinary allied health clinic that Allsports Indooroopilly is today and experienced all the pain, joys and learnings that came along with the journey. Many physiotherapists would know exactly what I mean – particularly in Australia, where working for yourself is often not so much a choice, but often one of few viable options. 

Many physiotherapists would know exactly what I mean – particularly in Australia, where working for yourself is often not so much a choice, but often one of few viable options. 

Then, in late 2018 I was fortunate enough to be included on a different journey – initially as Operations Manager and then later General Manager of the Physiotherapy & Allied Health Discipline – as Lisa and Tony Ganter (physiotherapist and co-founder of Allsports) navigated our group of physiotherapy clinics to a public listing on the ASX and the formation of Healthia. Healthia is now one of the leading diversified allied healthcare providers across Australia and New Zealand.   

This experience was like no other. For nearly 5 years I was lucky enough to work with some exceptional people – from clinic owners who chose to partner with Healthia to the behind-the-scenes team members in our corporate office.   

… from 37 clinics in late 2018 to over 140 clinics at the end of 2022. Not just that, but we managed this during a global pandemic! 

Together, our rockstar team Lisa Roach, Katherine Baker, Tony Ganter, Kerrie Evans,  Tess Catlow (now at VALD, too), Sue Barnwell, Craig Page, Emma Taylor, Ben Corso, Van Tran, Michael Burke, Rob Ceccato, Casey Boston, Andrew King and many others were able to grow the physiotherapy discipline of the business from 37 clinics in late 2018 to over 140 clinics at the end of 2022. Not just that, but we managed this during a global pandemic!  

What I learnt about myself 

Needless to say, through this journey I learnt a lot. I learnt a lot about the industry and a lot about the people in it. So much so, in fact, I thought it best to dedicate a separate article to those learnings (stay tuned).  

Health professionals have a profound positive impact on the quality of life of so many people. They listen, they care, they spend time, they build relationships, and they deliver meaningful interventions to change their patients’ health for the better. 

More than anything, it became clear to me that my passion runs deep for healthcare providers. I have always admired the value that front line allied health workers like physiotherapists, exercise physiologists, occupational therapists and podiatrists provide to their patients, as well as the broader healthcare system.  

These health professionals have a profound positive impact on the quality of life of so many people. They listen, they care, they spend time, they build relationships, and they deliver meaningful interventions to change their patients’ health for the better. 

(Owner-operated physiotherapy businesses) are tough and unglamourous, and often come with significant risk ….yet, they do it because they, too, are passionate about making a difference to people’s lives and providing a platform to do so.  

That passion runs even deeper for the business owners in this industry who take the leap and risk their own financial well being, their family homes and often their livelihoods to build organisations that support allied health professionals and provide the opportunity to deliver healthcare to the community. 

These brave individuals sign up to a significant commitment that requires them to become much more than simply a business manager – it can consume their lives. They wear every hat required in the business, all the while still often working as a treating clinician, providing care directly to their patients.    

They listen, they care, they spend time, they build relationships, and they deliver meaningful interventions to change their patients’ health for the better.

Their roles are tough and unglamourous, and often come with significant risk. Yet, these practitioners do it because they, too, are passionate about making a difference to people’s lives and providing a platform to do so.   

And they are making a difference! 

Our industry faces significant challenges 

These exceptional healthcare providers and business owners do all of this in a generally fragmented industry that requires a highly skilled workforce. Ask any private practice owner what their largest challenges are, and the answers will be similar.  

Even if you can overcome all of these challenges, you’ll still need to attract and retain patients – often the most difficult challenge of all.   

• Workforce attraction and retention;
• Staff burnout and attrition rates (we are seeing over 50% of the female workforce leaving the industry within 10 years);
• Low wages relative to qualifications (in Australia, typically a four- to six-year university degree), skill requirements and work volume;
• High administrative burden (it is very common to work well into the evening completing clinical notes and administrative work, because there is little time during business hours to do so)
• Limited career opportunities;
• Limited funding models;
• Tightening administrative red tape around existing funding models;
• Difficulties providing care to those that can’t physically access services (e.g. rural patients); and
• Difficulties providing care to those in most need (e.g. the aging population).

Even if you can overcome all of these challenges, you’ll still need to attract and retain patients – often the most difficult challenge of all.   

How can technology help us solve these challenges? 

The front line workers and business owners I’ve been talking about – small, medium and large providers alike – need a hand. They’re doing a tremendous job but they are restricted in their capacity on every level: time, funding, resources, staff and space. 

Given none of these factors can reliably scale by simply pouring more ‘fuel’ (read: money or people) on the fire, it becomes clear that technology is one of the keys to addressing these issues. However, identifying the solution is one thing, but implementing the solution is another entirely.   

It will require a combination of stakeholders with – and here’s the important part – aligned interests, committed to solving the biggest changes in our industry. 

Don’t get me wrong – there are a lot of practitioners, businesses and organisations already succeeding in implementing technology and reaping the benefits, but they can’t do it alone.  

Practitioners and thought leaders need a platform to get themselves to the starting line of implementing health tech – so they can build upon and innovate.  

The ultimate challenge is how to combine these technologies, applications, integrations, funding models and insights into treatment interventions for the optimal result, and one that won’t be overcome by one player alone. It will require a combination of stakeholders with – and here’s the important part –  aligned interests, committed to solving the biggest changes in our industry. 

How I came to join VALD 

I didn’t make the decision overnight. I got to know Laurie (CEO) and the VALD team well over a number of years in my previous roles, since we first started adopting their technologies in the clinics that I managed. Having admittedly started as a sceptic, I was converted over time as I witnessed new, thought-provoking and truly innovative applications of how early adopters in our industry were applying VALD technologies.  

Having admittedly started as a sceptic, I was converted over time as I witnessed new, thought-provoking and truly innovative applications of how early adopters in our industry were applying VALD technologies. 

I can confidently say that VALD cares about our industry. I am now biased, admittedly, but I have held this opinion and an interest in VALD’s mission since well before I joined the team.  

This interest was piqued when I attended their inaugural ‘VALDCON’ event in September 2022 – an almost exclusively internal staff only event (I was lucky enough to be one of VALD’s few clients to receive an invitation) where I saw Laurie, Matt and others from VALD’s leadership team present their understanding of the challenges our industry faces, and what their team would be working towards to solve them in the coming years. I walked away thinking: VALD gets us. 

I can confidently say that VALD cares about our industry and is committed to being part of the future. 

They get the challenges of health professionals at the front line. They get the needs of patients. They are passionate and focused on tackling the challenges in MSK health and finding ways that their technologies can be part of the solution. These are passions that I share. 

We have a beautiful scenario where stakeholder passions align – my personal passion, the passion of our physiotherapists … the passion of business owners … and VALD’s passion for enabling them. 

VALD even took this so far as to build their own physiotherapy and exercise physiology clinic adjoining their headquarters in Brisbane. They did this not to compete with their own clients (in fact, they did it with one of their clients, entering into a partnership with nearby Queensland Sports Medicine Centre), but so they could observe the day-to-day workflows of clinicians, understand their pain points, and come up with new and innovative ways to resolve them. 

So, I took the leap. I believe that partnering with VALD can help drive innovation in the physiotherapy and allied health industry and contribute to the evolution of models of care, and I’m excited to say I’m now part of the team tasked with delivering on this.  

How is VALD going to do it? 

VALD is already an industry leader in human measurement technology.  

Their innovative approach to assessment and their commitment to creating tools that improve the accuracy and efficiency of data collection and other clinical workflows is exactly what our industry needs – we simply need more. More integration, more optimisation, more automation, more precision and more convenience, and I believe VALD has demonstrated that they’re more than capable of delivering. 

Their commitment to creating tools that improve the accuracy and efficiency of data collection and other clinical workflows is exactly what our industry needs 

From this leadership position, VALD has an opportunity to provide the platform of choice for musculoskeletal health professionals. They are unique in that they can act as facilitators for both bringing together and collating the voices of health professionals globally, and, even more importantly listening to and acting on their feedback. 

We simply need more. More integration, more optimisation, more automation, more precision and more convenience, and VALD has demonstrated that they’re more than capable of delivering. 

VALD are able to collate the frustrations, challenges, and ideas of the industry and use them to shape their product solutions to overcome these industry problems. They have a team of thought leaders, both from healthcare and a range of other disciplines, who are able to synthesise the collective intelligence of health professionals, executive managers, software engineers, marketing professionals, technology experts, data scientists, biomechanists, university and research professionals, educational specialists, and come up with novel solutions for the industry. 

(VALD) are unique in that they can act as facilitators for both bringing together and hearing the voices of health professionals globally, and collating and acting on their feedback. 

What do I need from you? 

I feel like I have joined VALD at an exciting point in both of our journeys. Our paths first intertwined years ago, but we have now reached an inflection point: for me, I am ready for this new challenge and excited to help our industry tackle challenges at their source with innovation, and for VALD, I truly believe they are ready to deliver the solutions we need to overcome these challenges. Like I said, though, VALD can’t do it alone. We want to hear from you, we want to understand your challenges better, we want to help you implement technology and move up the learning curve, and we want to develop better solutions for you. 

We need you – the practitioners, the business owners, the administrators, the insurers and the legislators – to speak up. 

If you share my passion on this topic, drop me a line. I’m looking forward to pushing our industry forward, together.