I’m so excited to share with you my latest docinthemachine podcast with Jeff Cohen — serial entrepreneur and current CEO of Halt Medical (a gyn fibroid treatment statup), Voyage Air Guitar (the world’s best foldable guitar),  and Nashville publishers Savannah Music Group just recorded live at the 38th Global Congress of Minimally Invasive Gynecolog in Orlando Florida.

You might recognize Jeff who was recently featured on ABC’s Shark Tank where he turned down the shark’s offer of $500,000 for his guitar idea.  In the podcast we discussed the unique opportunities and challenges of medical device development- and innovation in general.

I was immediately struck by Jeff’s unique perspective and vision when I met him.  He has innovated in so many different areas and has successfully partnered with physician inventors for blockbuster devices.

Topics We Cover in the Podcast:

• What’s unique about medical device development and how the potential returns differ from other industries
• Advice for the physician/inventor where to go with your idea–pitfalls, how to protect your intellectual property and how to partner and start a company
• Is your idea good enough to form a company?
• The dangers of big companies and the opportunities of start-ups
• All you need is a fantastic idea and where to go from there
• What to look for in a business partner
• What’s similar between innovation in any industry-medical,  music publishing, and internet?
• What is the unique opportunity in today economic climate?

Hope you enjoy and get inspired…  All you need is a great idea– and as Jeff says- I believe everyone has one.

You can listen to the podcast below or download it in 3 versions — a single file or split into part 1 and 2.

 

 DITM Podcast Jeff Cohen CEO-complete interview [26:09m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 DITM Podcast Jeff Cohen CEO-interview part 1.mp3 [12:32m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 DITM Podcast Jeff Cohen CEO-interview part 2.mp3 [13:37m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

The AAGL Global Society for Gynecologic Minimally Invasive Surgery Launches Center of Excellence in Minimally Invasive Gynecologic Surgery Program at Annual Meeting November 16-20, 2009 in Orlando, Florida —dedicated to establish and verify standards at surgical facilities and hospitals.

(click green play arrow to hear presentation audio and automatically advance slides)

The primary objective of the AAGL and its professional interest partner the Council of Gynecologic Endoscopy (CGE) is to promote the adoption of minimally invasive gynecologic surgery with its reduced morbidity, shorter post-operative recovery time, less invasiveness, and reduced costs.

Our Analysis of patient and provider needs worldwide showed that there are widely divergent qualities of practice and that patients and providers have difficulty in identifying excellence.  There is a lack of national standards to improve outcomes.  While payors seek to control costs/outcomes patients lack access to the educational resources to direct them to the appropriate center to meet their needs in many cases.  As I stated in my address:

We recognize in the modern era of health care we have a unique opportunity as well as an obligation to use our educational resources and multidisciplinary expertise to help promote those systems and procedure which can improve patient outcomes in women’s health while reducing costs to both patient, payor, and society as a whole.

The CGE has therefore launched two new programs to address these needs.

First is an individual registry of physicians based upon peer review of operative experience and complications. The CGE, founded in 1996 has over 1100 individual gyn surgeons who have meet its standards.  The new program integrates an evaluation based on today’s complexity of procedures in minimally invasive surgery.  It is a tiered system with 3 levels of practice (based on procedure complexity) and 4 areas of proactive experience and specialization (General Gynecology Procedures, Fertility Enhancement Surgery Procedures, Repair of Pelvic Floor Defects & Urogynecology Procedures, Gynecologic Oncology Procedures)

Second is a Center of Excellence Program In Minimally Invasive Gyn Surgery.  This is in recognition  of the modern notion that to achieve best-in classs surgical outcomes requires not only an expert surgeon, but an integrated multidisciplinary surgical facility with systems and procedures in place to maximize quality cost effective safe outcomes for patients.

9 Requirements: Areas of Review To Qualify as a COEMIG:

1. Institutional Commitment to MIGS
2. Director of Division
3. Medical Staff Physician Qualifications
   -Dedicated Educational Program
   -Formalized Credentialing Guidelines & Systems to Introduce New Procedures
   -Procedures for Minimizing Complications
4. Sufficient Experience with Procedures
5. A Full Complement of required Non-Surgeon Consultative Staff
6. Ancillary Staff
   -Dedicated Team-Based Concept
   -Dedicated non-physician Educational Program
7. Equipment Guidelines
   -Availability & maintenance
8. Treatment pathways
   -Linked to Peer reviewed Practice Guidelines
9. HIPAA Compliant prospective Outcomes Data Tracking

In my presentation launching this program at the AAGL annual meeting I shared

The AAGL is extremely excited and totally committed to the concept of Gynecologic Minimally Invasive Surgery Centers of Excellence.  It represents a unified vision for women’s health that integrates our entire educational mission and expertise over the past 38 years.

First Ever Global Opportunity for Standards of Excellence:I was equally excited to present the concept to the Affiliated Societies of the AAGL which is made of representatives of National Minimally Invasive Gyn Societies from around the World.  Our dedication to this concept and recognition of its value was shared by representatives of Partner Societies from South America, Europe, and Asia.  We agreed to work together collaboratively to establish a shared Global Standard and to establish a shared program to advance Women’s health under the AAGL CGE COEMIGS program in cooperation with each Nation’s Society.

I will share further details of the program with you here as they are released!

Details of the society are are on the website of the AAGL

Information on the CGE

Information and Applications for the COEMIG Program

 

 AAGL CGE COEMIGS Program Launch Information [10:57m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

In a docinthemachine exclusive first I am excited to share with you a new endometriosis scoring staging system that is the first ever to predict a patients chance of getting pregnant without IVF.

The EFI or endometriosis fertility index was just presented by Dr David Adamson, a fertility specialist at the 38th annual Global Congress on Gynecologic Minimally Invasive Surgery– the annual meeting of the AAGL in Florida.  As a fertility specialist and surgeon myself it was starred on my agenda not to miss as a highlight of the entire congress.  Here’s all the details of his presentation and the scoring system.

Here’s my podcast interview with the lead author Dr Adamson just after he gave his talk at the 38th AAGL Global congress in Orlando

 

 Dr David Adamson Endometriosis Fertility Index Podcast with Docinthemachine.com [17:12m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

I have been getting great feedback on my DITM medical technology podcast which starts the podcast series I’ll be doing regularly.  Several people wrote to ask if I could post a version with just the interview since they loved it so much and wanted to share that segment.  The original podcast starts with FDA approvals then has an interview with Sony Exec Bob Ott on the future of video technology in entertainment and medicine that we did a the NAB broadcast meeting in Vegas.

Here’s an edit version with just the interview enjoy and share with your friends!

 

 Standard Podcast [15:35m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download