Upskilling doctors to benefit patients

HEALTHCARE entrepreneur Dr Brandon Carp is involved in a clinical program led by doctors, for doctors, aimed at advancing innovation in healthcare for the benefit of patients across the country.

The Australian Clinical Entrepreneur Program (AUSCEP) is an Australian first, designed to develop the entrepreneurial skills and networks of Australia’s clinicians and allied health professionals.

Administered by the University of Melbourne and the University of Western Australia, and funded by the federal government, AUSCEP will be an enabler of innovation.

It aims to accelerate ideas that have the potential to change healthcare for the benefit of patients, staff and the broader health system in any area such as digital health, medical devices, service delivery improvements, new groundbreaking treatments or diagnostics.

“Clinicians are uniquely placed to identify problems, see opportunities and understand how best to navigate the health landscape to create solutions – but introducing solutions is difficult without first having the knowledge, networks and experience,” Carp said.

“That is where the program can have the most impact.

“AUSCEP will upskill clinicians through an eight pit-stop program that includes defining the problem, refining the solution, building a team and raising capital.”

By developing the commercial skills, knowledge and networks of clinicians not often taught in medical training, it is hoped the program will remove the barriers associated with developing and scaling innovation in Australia’s healthcare system.

Carp and a team of assessors will select 50 people from over 150 applications to be the first group to go through the program.

Jewish paediatric neurologist Dr Gabriel Dabscheck said he applied for AUSCEP because of the “unique opportunity to be mentored by experts in medical innovation to help me and my cofounder develop Drumm, a device to help children focus in the classroom”.

“Coming from a medical background, where our pathways for training are very clear, device development is very challenging. Having the chance to learn from this with experience starting and growing a business, is what motivated me to apply,” Dabscheck said.

Carp graduated with a medical degree in 1987 and worked as a clinician for over 20 years. He is an adviser to AfterPay, where he initiated their move into the health and wellness sector, and he is a director of digital health company HealthMatch, while continuing to operate a medical clinic in Melbourne. He is currently the board chair of the not-for-profit Victorian Clinical Genetics Service, and a director of the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute.