The Pitch: Physiotherapist shakes up traditional approach to men’s health
IN Business Daily’s ongoing series on entrepreneurs, we discover a novel approach to getting men to open up about their health issues.
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WHEN his father died suddenly at 62, physiotherapist Alex Drew reflected on what may have been done differently.
Mr Drew said his father, who was working in Hong Kong, was reasonably healthy, walking regularly and enjoying a glass or two of red most nights. “He was a pretty standard guy,” he said.
Given this, his fatal heart attack in April 2013 left the family reeling.
“I am a physio and I am obviously interested in health so we had a look at his medical records,” he said.
Mr Drew said his father had been to the doctor for high blood pressure and received medication.
He also had been to the doctor for issues with sleeping and had received medication.
“To me, these were all Band-Aid treatments. He should have been treated holistically. They might have found that he had angina because he was stressed about retiring and the future.”
His father’s untimely death made Alex reflect on attitudes towards men’s health. He felt men often fell through the gaps.
Figures suggest 60 per cent of visits to general practitioners are by women and 40 per cent by men. But men accounted for 75 per cent of suicides.
“I’m passionate about men’s health, physical and mental health, and believe that too many young blokes are losing their fathers and partners losing their soulmates at an early age from highly preventable issues,” Mr Drew said.
He decided to shake up the traditional approach with a concept called Mr GP Clinic.
With the help of some fellow health professionals, the aim is to roll out doctor’s clinics for men.
“I believe that blokes need a doctor who they can relate to,” he said.
Mr Drew said he became concerned about “five-minute medicine” where patients were in and out.
The first clinic is slated to open in Richmond near the Melbourne Clinic in Bromham Pl, off Church St.
The clinic he has proposed will offer general practitioner and pyschology services.
The usual doctor sitting behind a desk will be replaced by the doctor sitting at a bar.
The idea is that this will be a more relaxed, less intimidating way for men to see a doctor and open up. Also, the appointments will be longer than the standard visit.
But the plan for Mr GP hinges on a successful Pozible crowdfunding campaign. With less than a week to go, the campaign is a bit below where it should be. As of yesterday it is at nearly $7000 of its $25,000 target.
Crowdfunding campaigns traditionally, with the help of regular social media and marketing pushes, tend to get a lot of supporters towards the end.
Mr Drew said while a video outlining the proposal was well shared, they probably left their request for funding a bit too late in the video.
The clinic will offer one drink of alcohol to some patients.
“Not for the first appointment, as the doctor will take a full medical history in that session. For subsequent appointments, if the doctor hasn’t flagged any issues, then they will,” Mr Drew said.
“We believe a drink can actually be a productive catalyst in finding out the root cause of problems, administered in the right way.”
Mr Drew said alternative drinks would be offered.
“Mr GP is the antithesis of the in-and-out sterile doctors’ clinic, whose screaming kids and disinterested reception staff are not conducive to allowing men to relax and open up about their health issues,” he said.
Mr Drew said he felt the campaign, even if unsuccessful, had opened up a lot of networks and contacts, that may see it established in another form.
JOHN DOWNES - MEDIUM-SIZED BUSINESS, ACORRO GROUP
LAUNCHING a bespoke men’s health clinic that really listens to (or pries out the issues from us) fellas is a courageous pursuit.
With late presentation with major illnesses and high suicide success rates, it is clearly a critical service.
I see two issues.
Firstly, how you are going to create demand? How will you lure these pesky poppets in denial to come through the door?
Is a coffee or beer at the bar sufficient to lure Larry the Laconic Lounge Lizard in to bare his soul?
The tough nut to crack is getting word of mouth and testimonials to go viral and encourage others out of their caves. Investment in social media and tapping the patients on the shoulder for help is vital.
The second is start-up cash flow.
Crowd funding may be a healthy start, but I suspect you will need to match fund that target by double in the initial year to make sure that there is adequate cover for appointments; maybe by partnering with a local GP practice that is keen to act as a locum service.
Consistency will be the key to getting that tightly defined customer experience delivered in the hands of the GP — a training feat in itself.
I wish you pleasure, fulfilment and to earn a just financial reward from your passion.
VIVIAN VO — MELBOURNE INNOVATION CENTRE
MR GP is an innovative initiative to raise awareness and support men’s health. It is also wonderful to know you’ve reached out to business incubators with the determination to initiate and launch your social enterprise.
As a social entrepreneur, storytelling will play an important role. The ultimate goal is to raise awareness while maximising impact. In this case, impact can be measured by the increase in males visiting Mr GP. It starts with the messages you convey. Do they resonate with people?
Video content does a great job in evoking emotions and you’ll want lots of videos to share Mr GP’s powerful message.
Consider the channels you’ll use to share your messages. Social media is an obvious platform, due to its targeting and reach potential. Other channels include email marketing.
An easy way to expand your database is to integrate a pop-up window on your landing page.
Other tactics include networking and reaching out to influencers.
The website’s survey is a great way to collect valuable data from customers. Not only is it useful for market research, the collective data can be used to further validate the impact the social enterprise will bring.
Finally, be patient and stay persistent.
BRUCE HALL — MENTOR, SMALL BUSINESS MENTORING SERVICE
ALEX has tapped into a real problem here of men not wanting to go to the doctor.
This can come at an enormous cost to them and the community. Part of it relates to mindset, but also they are looking for a different experience. The current model of patient churn is unlikely to encourage any meaningful change in behaviour.
Google data suggests there are reasonable search volumes of people seeking a “men’s doctor” or “men’s health clinic”, but I suspect this could include a significant proportion of females seeking a doctor for their reluctant partner or family member.
To “reach” the men, it may be necessary to initially target a female audience. This could best be achieved by articles and blog posts on the website (shared on social media) on topics related to men’s health. Build an audience through education!
While the website looks great, pages are not optimised for search. A lot more content is also needed. The best way of achieving this is by adding a blog.
Other tweaks needed include making the header “sticky” so it remains visible as you navigate the site; adding a contact number to the header; delaying the pop-up to give visitors time to read the page; and privacy and disclaimer sub-pages need to be added.
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