55 - Where HealthTech Happens Talking HealthTech

This is a pretty special episode for us here at Talking HealthTech.  I don’t have with me here today a guest, it’s just me and you for the next little bit. That’s because I got news so noteworthy, I reckon it deserves it’s own episode.  So buckle in, and check it out.
Back in December 2018, so not even 2 years ago, this podcast started to fill a need in the Australian healthtech industry - to have more conversations, to promote collaboration for a more efficient healthcare system and a healthier nation.
We’ve had a number of guests on the show, ranging from entrepreneurs and startups, leading clinicians, investors, software engineers and decision makers, and even members of the Australian health department.  The positive response to the show has been beyond what I was expecting, and I’m super grateful for that.  
So now it’s time to kick it up a notch. 
Over the months we’ve had a lot of people ask us to help connect people in the industry, and that’s super rewarding, and we love that.  Rather than doing those on a transaction by transaction basis, we’ve thought long and hard on how to do it in a scalable way.
So we are super pumped to launch our new offering to the industry: 
Talking HealthTech is no longer just a podcast, it’s where healthtech happens. 
What is the big news?
Talking HealthTech is now a membership community and online directory of all the technical providers making healthtech solutions, healthcare providers using healthtech solutions, and supporting services who are helping make sure those solutions are created, implemented and utilised in an optimal way.
Think, like a “Glassdoor” or a “Trip Advisor”, or a “Compare the Market”, but for healthtech companies, and from the perspective of the Australian healthcare practitioner.
We now have a brand new website, still at talkinghealthtech.com, which features the largest, most comprehensive, and engaging, online directory of healthtech providers, solutions and resources who are servicing Australian healthcare practitioners.   
Doesn’t the industry already have healthtech directories?
Kind of.  I guess we kind of already had healthtech podcasts when I started this show as well...  But I looked for healthtech directories, and I just couldn’t find anything close to what I think we need in this industry today.  
Until now, we didn’t have anywhere for all the stakeholders in Australian HealthTech - so the software vendors, device manufacturers, biotech companies, telehealth providers, patient apps, consultants, IT Support companies ALL of these different players - to go to a place, other than those companies own websites, to get an informed view on how those companies stack up against their peers.  
Healthtech now has a home. A place to come back to.  A point of reference.
Generally, so many of our buying decisions on a day to day now factor in online reviews.  We trust online reviews so much more than messaging than the company's websites.  
So the new Talking HealthTech Directory is better than any other online healthtech directory you’ve seen.  It’s way more engaging.
But it’s not just about reviews and comparing either - it’s also been created as a lead generation tool for the companies who list themselves on the directory.  So, all of these doctors, physios, nurses, the end users of all these solutions; they are searching this directory looking for the right solution for their practice.  The site has been optimised to make it super easy for those end users to contact their preferred vendor for more information, or “get matched” to the right provider if they don’t know who they are looking for.  When they fill out a get matched form, the lead gets presented to those companies listed under that category.
Our website is really nice to navigate too. Stuff is laid out in a logical way, it’s easy to ger around - hopefully you’ll want to stay on there for a bit, explore the content, and