flipMD from GoodRx is a digital platform that enables the physician gig economy while helping client organizations increase their bench with highly qualified physicians that go beyond their list of ‘usual suspects.’ Using flipMD, organizations can find, vet, connect with, and source practicing board-certified physicians from all specialties for contract, project-based, or full-time assignments. Co‑founder Lauren Hanson explains, “We complement our clients’ existing relationships with key opinion leaders and clinicians. We want flipMD to be on their team, and to help their team become broader and more inclusive of what the real world is like.”                      

The Problem

According to the recently published Medscape Physician Burnout & Depression Report 2022, 47% of responding physicians said they were experiencing burnout.  That’s a five-point increase in just the past year, and it may be one of the key reasons the U.S. is facing a projected shortage of between 37,800 – 124,000 physicians within the next 12 years, according to a recently released report from the Association of American Medical Colleges.

Given our societal and personal need for physicians, those statistics should concern everyone. Yet they also highlight a growing problem unique to pharmaceutical companies that depend on physicians not just for their prescription decisions as clinicians, but also for their roles as advisors, authors, reviewers, investigators, speakers, educators, market research participants, and even team members and colleagues. Pharma has a long history of relying on expert physicians to fulfill a growing list of needs and services – and now must identify solutions to this growing shortage.

The Connection

Lauren Hanson and her physician husband, Greg Hanson, MD MPH, experienced firsthand the stresses that doctors and their families endure once Greg entered his residency program. Like most young physician families, they were forced to cope with moving away from family and friends and the loss of support networks, coupled with Lauren having to put her career in publishing on hold. They also dealt with the demands of meeting their family’s financial needs on a resident’s meager salary, and the stress of looming student loan payments.

“There was a real need for physicians outside of the clinic, but there just wasn’t a good way for companies to connect with them, on a part time or contract basis. So, we created it.”

However, Lauren and Greg Hanson aren’t your average couple. Instead of simply accepting these burdens, the young couple saw opportunities in them. “We realized that there are many needs for physicians outside of clinical care,” added Lauren. “Companies needed advice about how to market their products, how to develop them, and how to increase the odds that physicians would accept and adopt them. There was a real need for physicians outside of the clinic, but there just wasn’t a good way for companies to connect with them, on a part time or contract basis. So, we created it.”

The Solution

Using Lauren’s technology and business skills and Greg’s medical training, the couple co-founded flipMD. flipMD is a digital platform that enables the physician gig economy, while helping clients increase their bench with highly qualified physicians that go beyond their list of ‘usual suspects.’ Using flipMD, organizations can find, vet, connect with, and source practicing board-certified physicians from a wide range of specialties for contract, project-based, or full-time assignments.

Whether a company is fielding a market research study, gathering physician input on a new product idea, clinical trial, or promotional campaign, or looking for a new team member, flipMD can help. “Part of our mission is to give physicians a new type of hybrid career in which they can do a range of activities and roles,” Lauren shared. “Through this new path they can reduce burnout while still bringing meaning and contribution to medicine without necessarily working more clinical hours.”

The Hansons knew they had created a unique marketplace in which they precisely match organizations with physician experts to solve important problems while improving efficiency, increasing speed, and providing new opportunities for doctors to use their skills. The success of flipMD was also noticed by leading consumer-focused digital healthcare platform, GoodRx. Impressed by the opportunity for flipMD to help their pharma customers address the growing need to connect with and engage physicians, GoodRx acquired flipMD in early 2022, integrating it into its Pharma Manufacturer Solutions business.

The Future

Lauren continues to lead flipMD as head of product within GoodRx, building on initial successes to develop new services and a broader scale across healthcare and other industries requiring physician expertise. “We complement our pharma clients’ existing relationships with key opinion leaders and clinicians,” Lauren explains. “We want flipMD to be on their team, and to help their team become broader and more inclusive of what the real world is like.”
                                
Andis Robeznieks, “Doctor Shortages Are Here—and They’ll Get Worse If We Don’t Act Fast,” American Medical Association, April 13, 2022. https://www.ama-assn.org/practice-management/sustainability/doctor-shortages-are-here-and-they-ll-get-worse-if-we-don-t-act
                                                                
Learn more about how flipMD partners practicing board-certified physicians to organizations with short or long-term staffing or project needs, and read the white paper on best practices to engage physicians.

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