By Tsahia Hobson, MHA
This year I spent an enormous amount of time reflecting on health equity and racial justice following the protests against police brutality this summer. I looked at the parallels and how it related to the digital health and venture capital (VC) ecosystems. Naturally, I spoke to colleagues and reflected on the lack of Black representation in digital health: physicians, founders and stakeholders.
I reflected on times past, when friends would ask me, “Do you know any Black doctors?” They’d ask for my recommendations in specialties such as primary care, OB/GYN and dermatology. I realized a trend: it wasn’t easy to find Black doctors and it was more difficult to locate Black founders in the digital health ecosystem. Health plans and providers generally don’t list physicians by race. Digital health news and research outlets weren’t conducting extensive research on this issue.
This past summer was the turning point for me. I was tired of the excuses, but what could I do about it? First, I set out to find Black founders of digital health companies. I searched the internet diligently, scouring several popular digital health and tech websites, followed by accelerators, incubators, and finally requesting referrals from colleagues at Columbia University Venture Community, Columbia University Black Alumni Council and Black Venture Institute (BVI).
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