Episode 2 - Benjamin Heywood - How one of the world's largest online patient communities came to be

PatientsLikeMe, the limitations of reductionism in Western medicine and how sharing augments healing Welcome to the North of Patient podcast - conversations on health[beyond]care - where we paint an inspired landscape of healthcare's future through dialogues with creative and unconventional thinkers from around the world. For a summary of the episode, visit the blog post on North of Patient and subscribe to North of Patient on Substack. Today’s guest is Benjamin Heywood. Ben is General Partner in the early stage deep tech and digital health focused venture fund SkyRiver Ventures. He prides himself on being a tech geek, mentor, and investor. He is a recovering entrepreneur after co-founding PatientsLikeMe in 2004. He is a proud #GirlDad and hails from the Boston area. In our conversation, we chat about what it was like to start and lead PatientsLikeMe in their 15 year journey, the power of sharing in the healing process, what he has learned about secrets of success in healthcare innovation, and of course, what he sees in store for the future. Outline: 02:17 The story behind "PatientsLikeMe" 09:58 What engineering and farming have in common 11:59 They said we were crazy 14:25 What medicine is missing today 17:11 Convergence of Western and Eastern medicine 20:50 Life after PatientsLikeMe 24:01 Exploring deep tech and optimism 25:38 Top areas of healthcare investment in Boston 30:30 Role of the hospital in care delivery 31:59 My recent run in with acute care and a shout out to SickKids Hospital 33:31 What it's like to get healthcare in Boston today 41:02 While traditional healthcare be able to go along for the ride as innovation accelerates 46:51 What does Ben think the healthcare system will look like in the next 3-5 years? 50:56 Role of patient care communities More about Ben: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjaminheywood/ https://twitter.com/bheywood