The document provides an overview of Geoff Rutledge's career path from medicine to computer science and clinical informatics. It discusses his background in medicine, academia, and industry. Some key points: 1) Rutledge has a background in both medicine and computer science, obtaining degrees in both fields. He worked as a physician before pursuing a career in clinical informatics. 2) He discusses different career paths in biomedical informatics, including academic, health systems, corporate research, and starting his own companies. 3) Rutledge shares lessons from his time in academia and industry, emphasizing the importance of choosing research topics that match your next career goal and maintaining perspective when working at a startup.

1. Reflections on Medicine, Computer Science,
and Clinical Informatics
Geoff Rutledge, MD, PhD
Cofounder and CMIO

2. 16,000 Physicians. No waiting room.

3. Medicine, Computer Science, and Clinical
Informatics
Intro and background
What is Biomedical Informatics?
Career paths in Biomedical Informatics
Lessons from Academia and Industry
HealthTap University
Slide 3

4. My Path to Academic Informatics
Undergrad and Med School
- math physics computer science, then biology,
biochemistry and medicine
- A med school with a strong clinical tradition (McGill)
Clinical medicine
- Internal Medicine residency, practice of Emergency
Medicine at community hospitals
- Clinical faculty at UCSD and Stanford
Informatics
- Stanford program in Medical Information Sciences
- Faculty at Harvard Medical School
Slide 4

5. What is Biomedical Informatics?
Components of NLM Informatics Training Programs:
•Bioinformatics and/or computational biology
•Translational informatics and clinical research
•Structural informatics (imaging)
•Clinical informatics
•Public health informatics
Slide 5

6. Biomedical Informatics
Biomedical Informatics Methods, Techniques,
Basic Research and Theories
Imaging Clinical Public Health
Bioinformatics Informatics Informatics Informatics
Applied Research
Molecular and
Cellular Tissues and Individuals Populations
Processes Organs (Patients) And Society
Slide 6 From E.H. Shortliffe

7. Biomedical Informatics Research Areas
Biomedical Biomedical
Knowledge Data
Biomedical
Research
Machine learning Planning & Real-time acquisition
Knowledge Data
Text interpretation Data Analysis Imaging
Acquisition Acquisition
Knowledge engineering Speech/language/text
Specialized input devices
Knowledge Inferencing Data
Base System Base
Information Treatment Human Image
Model Diagnosis Teaching
Retrieval Planning Interface Generation
Dev.

8. <domain name> Informatics
The practice of informatics, most generally, requires
the presence of two components:
(1) A set of skills and methodologic tools derived from
knowledge of the basic informational and computing
sciences; and
(2) Knowledge, experience, and activity in one or more
application domains. The coexistence of, and interactions
between, these key components gives meaning and
significance to informatics as a field
(Friedman, ACMI)
Slide 8

9. Clinical Informatics
My motivation:
- Improve processes and outcomes of clinical care, using
automation
There are many paths and career options to
accomplish this
Slide 9

10. Career Paths in Biomedical Informatics
Academic
- Research, teaching, administration
Health-system operational roles
- EG CIO, CMIO, or director for information technology
- Digital library management
Corporate research and development
- For profit and non profit organizations
Business opportunities
- From startups to mid size to mega corporations
• Biotechnology/pharmaceutical companies
• Medical/hospital information system companies
• Online/mobile
- Interactive Health
Slide 10

11. What I Learned in Academia
Creating a credible research agenda while in a full time clinical
faculty role is “challenging”
- A research career requires dedicated time for gestation
• Spend that time with a very smart group of researchers
- The right mentor can make all the difference
Research opportunities/awards come easily to those who
have all their ducks lined up
- Right training
- Right institution
- Right mentors/advisors
- Right preliminary/foundational research
Your measure of success is publications
- Having high impact is good
- But productivity is measured by quantity
- Closely linked to future success in funding
Slide 11

12. What I wish I had figured out sooner
How to pick your research topic
- First, pick your ideal next job
• Where is it?
• Who will interview you for that job?
• Who will be in the audience at your job talk?
- Make sure your job talk will be compelling for the people
in that audience
• If the results of your research are not interesting to your
next employer, then you picked the wrong employer (or the
wrong research)
Slide 12

13. My Path to Industry:
Internet Startups
- The potential of the Internet for health was obvious 20 years ago
- Healtheon was an early entrant in Internet health
- Wellsphere pursued a model of wellness, and consumer health
information for the healthy
HealthTap
- Now 2 years old, has led the new era in Interactive
Health
- The power of mobile
Slide 13

14. Moving From Academia to Industry
A well capitalized small company is an incredible
opportunity
• An early phase company will change it’s business plan and
objectives with some regularity
• You can redefine yourself regularly (you have to adapt)
• Seize opportunities as they arise
Starting your own company is hard
- Requires a team effort, and knowledge of the hurdles
- It’s best to be either naïve or brilliant
- Success often depends on timing
What I wish I had learned sooner
- Business is business, retain your perspective
- Diversify
• Your personal stake in the business is already huge, maintain
perspective (diversify)
Slide 14

15. Observations On Working in Industry
Take time to figure out how the business works
Trust and respect are earned
- It is lethal to expect special treatment based on your credentials or prior
accomplishments
Be kind, respectful, and helpful to your colleagues
Put the company’s needs first
- Position everything you do as essential to the pursuit of company goals
Don’t ignore corporate politics
- Make yourself helpful/indispensible to others
- Figure out who is threatened by you – make them your advocate (and be aware
you could be blindsided)
Be flexible: Consider opportunities that involve work outside your areas of
expertise/experience
- Especially if there is no one better equipped to figure it out than you, and even
more so if it is important to the future of the business
Slide 15

16. Mission
Measurably prolong the life expectancy
of humankind and improve people’s quality
of life by enabling immediate access to the
best health experts and their knowledge
anytime, anywhere

17. Get in touch with
your health

18. What Patients Do
consumers go online
health searches/month
(Google)
fastest growing mobile category

19. But it’s Not Helpful

20. What’s missing?

22. Physicians
Specialties
States

23. of doctor visits are questions and answers

24. The 1st Mobile Health Platform

26. Publications

28. HealthTap’s Consumer Health Ontology
Interprets what people ask
• Best answers
• Relevant specialists
• Related publications
• Similar topics

29. Consumer Health Vocabulary
A few of the observed spellings of “hemorrhoid”
hemorrhoid hemoriod hemorrhoids
hemeroid hemmroids hemorroid
hemeroids hemorhoids hemorroides
hemmerhoids hemoride hemorroids
hemmoroid hemoroid hemroIds
hemmoroids hemoroids hemroids
hemmorroids hemorrhoid hemrroId
hemmroid hemorrhoidal hemorrhoidopexy

30. How It Works

31. HealthTap
University
Interact with and help real
patients
Discover what patients mean
when they ask questions
Learn from highly experienced,
expert clinicians

32. What HTU Students Say

33. HealthTap
University
To sign up to HealthTap
University, send an email to:
geoff@healthtap.com

34. HealthTap

35. The Future Is Finally Here
but not evenly distributed
Imagine a world in which most doctors are
available and accessible online
And every interaction that is more efficient when
done electronically is available online

36. Have Fun!