Doctor Link – Empowering Patients and Changing Primary Care Provision

 53 Degree North interviewed Andrew Gardner, CEO of Doctor Link in their new office in Covent Garden, London.

Today, we have a massive shortage of doctors, and the strain on healthcare systems is rising exponentially, driven by an ageing population and increasing costs of healthcare provision. Doctor Link is one of the companies tackling this problem on the frontline.

Reduce Demand on Primary Care

By utilising algorithms originally produced in the Mayo Clinic and leveraging these with the latest developments in technology, Doctorlink aims to reduce demand on GP services by  10-20%.

Instead of going straight to an appointment with a physician, Doctorlink digitally assesses the patient (a hybrid of triage/diagnosis) and directs them to the most appropriate treatment pathway for their unique case. The system empowers patients to make their own care decisions, whilst still making primary healthcare provision more efficient.

A Journey of Reinvention

Andrew Gardner, who was a former Siemens Executive before he became an Entrepreneur, founded DoctorLink. One year after starting DoctorLink they acquired the provider of valuable IP (namely the algorithms produced by the Mayo Clinic) and the combined business is now one of the foremost players in the health tech space in the UK, vying for position with the likes of Babylon.

Being an Entrepreneur is Fun

Andrew clearly loves the life of an entrepreneur, especially since the future looks bright for Doctor Link, riding on the wave of increasing digitalisation in the healthcare space. He does however admit that since they have received their last round of funding the pressure has increased significantly. “Finding the right balance of spending the money is crucial” in his opinion “many start-ups spend their money way too quickly”.

And he has an interesting message for aspiring entrepreneurs: “All in all it is fun and I would advise becoming an entrepreneur as early as possible. For INSEAD MBA students now is the best time, as it will only get more challenging when you also have to worry about your mortgage.”

And finally, our two wacky questions…

…If Doctor Link was an animal what would it be? “A Lion”

…And if you can hire anyone in the world for Doctor Link who would it be?

“Someone with reputational clout, like a Joe Wicks (famous British fitness coach) of the healthcare space”