Before You Say Yes to the Startup Pitching Your Group
Young health technology companies court physician groups for pilots, data, and credibility. A careful evaluation of the business, not just the product, protects your patients and your name.
The email arrives from a founder with an impressive background and a polished deck. Their product uses AI to solve a problem your group definitely has. They are offering a free pilot, early access, and perhaps an advisory role with equity. All they need is your participation, your feedback, and access to some data.
Partnering with an early stage company can be genuinely valuable. Physicians shape better products, and groups gain tools before competitors do. But a startup pitch is also a request for things that have real value, including your patients' information, your staff's time, and your group's reputation. Evaluate it the way you would any significant business relationship.
Look past the demo to the company
Product quality matters, but so does the likelihood that the company will exist in two years. A tool your workflow depends on is a risk if the vendor runs out of funding or is acquired and discontinued. Ask direct questions about funding, runway, customers, and what happens to your data and service if the company closes or is sold.
- How many practices like yours are using the product in routine work, not just pilots?
- Can you speak with a current customer without the company on the call?
- What would it take to remove the product from your workflow if it failed?
Read the data terms line by line
The most important part of any pitch is often in the contract rather than the deck. Understand exactly what data the company will receive, whether it will be de identified, whether it can be used to train models or build products sold to others, and whether you can require deletion when the relationship ends. A business associate agreement is necessary but not sufficient. Have counsel review the full terms.
If the pilot is free, ask what you are paying with instead.
Handle equity and advisory roles with care
Advisory positions and equity offers can create conflicts of interest, particularly if you influence purchasing decisions for your group or a hospital. Disclose any personal financial relationship to your partners and follow your organization's conflict of interest policies. If you hold equity, recuse yourself from decisions about whether the group adopts the product.
Finally, structure any pilot so it can end. A good pilot has defined goals, a fixed timeline, a clear success measure, and an exit. Decide in advance what result would lead you to continue, what would lead you to stop, and who makes that call. Protect staff time by limiting the number of simultaneous pilots. Every new tool competes for the same finite attention.
Keep a short intake form for every technology pitch your group receives. Record the problem it claims to solve, the data it needs, the business terms, and who reviewed it. Over time, that record becomes a practical filter, and it helps you say no quickly to pitches that do not fit.
Dr. Whitfield is a family physician and practice owner who writes about independent medicine and physician leadership.
This article is for professional education and does not replace clinical judgment. Treatment decisions should be based on the individual patient and current guidelines.
