2022: A Year in Review by Katie
Hello Dear Friends,
Is it Christmas already? I spent the first 15 minutes of my desk time today addressing a few holiday cards. Writing those cards gives me a moment to reflect upon our family happenings for the year and appreciate how far we’ve come. I think it’s a useful exercise professionally as well. I’m taking a moment to pour myself a virtual glass of champagne and appreciate my progress as well as look forward to 2023.
Clients and Output
I’m grateful every day that I get to work from home with amazing companies around the world. This wouldn’t be possible without the trust of my clients. Thank you to:
Collaborate Health
UNC
*to learn more about the work click here.
Keep reading to see what I am looking forward to working on next year! (And how to collaborate with me!)
Articles:
Thoughtful writing is one of the main ways that I serve my clients, through blog posts, case studies, white papers, articles, and more, but it is also a way that I explore my own curiosity and share ideas with the world. 2020 was filled with much more client writing than personal, but I did get a few long pieces out (and over 60 micro-blog posts on Instagram!)
Did you read any of these posts?
The Public Health Parenting Paradox: Raising Kids During a Pandemic
What do History, Public Health, and Technology Have In Common: Connecting the Dots of My Career
We’re Creating the First Guide to FemTech for Clinical Care: Casting the vision for the work that I’d take on for the rest of the year.
Why Crowdfund Research?: Considerations for a non-traditional avenue of scientific fundraising.
A Primer on Protecting Your Health Data in a Post-Roe World: Thoughts on women’s health technology + HIPAA + the Dobbs decision on abortion
Women’s Health Innovation Summit Recap: What I learned over 2 days in Boston
Breast Cancer Awareness Month: How Digital Health is improving breast cancer screening and care: A guest article for MDisrupt
Ideas
I’ve gone through a series of mantras since I started my business to keep myself close to my core values. “Do Less, Make it Mean More” and “Impact Over Hours” have helped me prioritize how I spend my work time, with a focus on producing instead of passive participation. Too often work is defined by desk (or Zoom) attendance instead of value add. I promise my clients that 100% of my contributions will be value add and very little overhead because of my focus and experience in healthcare.
Here’s a secret– when you work with me, you always get more than you asked for. My brain can’t help but look at your whole business and find additional areas where I can contribute. Did your CEO recently go to a conference? How about I put together a “reflections on the event” blog post for you? If I write a white paper, I throw in some social media graphics for sharing it with the world. Launch a new feature on your app? How about we put together a little user survey for feedback? This is one of the ways that I delight my clients.
This year I’ve been thinking about “Do more of what you love.” When entrepreneurs start a business there is a feeling of scarcity– you worry about not getting enough work, so you may take on things that aren’t a perfect fit to get paid. Time has also shown me that my satisfaction + value add + productivity are much higher when I’m doing what I love.
So what do I love? Working with smart, mission-driven people who care about innovative science-backed healthcare products.
I like to help companies shout from the rooftops their expertise, wins, ideas, and contributions to the world through written collateral.
I like to research the evidence behind digital health tools and share that knowledge with consumers and healthcare providers alike.
I like educating people with information that can improve their lives.
I like to figure out product-market fit
I like working with women-led companies
In 2023 I am focusing my energy on more of the work that I love. One of the best things about consulting is not being pigeon-holed into the same kind of job every day. You can be multi-passionate and spread your value around like confetti.
Focus and Looking Forward
In 2023 I am planning to continue researching and writing about the evidence-base surrounding digital health products for women’s health needs. I know there is a large knowledge gap for consumers (that’s all of us) and healthcare providers (that’s some of you) on what health technology products work and can be trusted. God bless people who write systematic reviews (because I often look for them) but we need better ways of bridging scientific knowledge and healthcare practice. Don’t worry- I’m on it - with a bunch of other smarties too :)
I’m also putting together a few educational offerings with my friend Donald Murry related to our decade of hard earned experience in the digital health and healthcare world. Stay tuned!
If you’d like to work together in 2023– just reply to this email and we can set up a time to chat. As a small women-owned business, I always appreciate being considered for work or suggested to friends.
For more casual updates, find me on the socials. If you don’t follow me already, here are the links to all of my accounts:
Instagram | Twitter (Katie D. McMillan) (Well Made Health, LLC) | LinkedIn (Katie D. McMillan) (Well Made Health, LLC)
