Katie’s Notebook: May 14, 2025
Hello friend,
I obsessively think about user experience. Our family recently needed to buy a new car which led to checking out five different models of 3-row midsized SUVs (and watching a lot of Car Mom videos.) During the entire experience I was looking at each product and evaluating if it met our core needs, and identifying friction points as well as delight features. All of these vehicles clearly meet the needs of many people or companies wouldn’t continue to make them, however, there were some friction points that irked me. I couldn’t help but wonder how many parents were interviewed during the development process. One vehicle required opening the side car doors to lift the third row sets up and down — a serious friction point IMO when you are trying to load a stroller or bunch of groceries into the trunk in a busy parking lot with wiggly kids. Every second counts and being able to accomplish that task quickly matters for child safety and efficiency. That alone ruled that car out for me!
Another popular model had second row captains chairs but there was a pretty sizable cupholder in the middle of them that was about 18 inches high, blocking the walkway to the third row. I asked the sales person if he’d ever been in a carpool line. Parents can’t get out of the car, go around to the side, lift up the second row latch to let the kids in the back get out! Another dealbreaker for me. The model we ended up buying really sold me on the delight features — well placed second row vents so the kids aren’t sweating in their car seats, accessible USB charging ports, second row cupholders that could fit a kid-sized water bottle instead of just a disposable option, a clear pathway between the second and third row, and the right mix of buttons and screen on the dash. (For whoever is listening that works in the auto industry, multiple millennial moms have said they still want buttons for AC adjustment!)
This experience made me think about developing health technology and the similarities in product development. You have to meet core needs, you need to talk to all kinds of users, you need to identify friction points and understand if they are edge cases or stumbling blocks for adoption, and add delight features to keep your users coming back for more.
Let’s jump into the five:
Female health: Elektra Health keeps crushing it with the menopause educational content. I really enjoyed this quick read on the most controversial medication to help women through perimenopause, Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT.) This study also highlighted how dire postpartum support is for women in the US. A staggering 77% of women feel there’s not enough focus on health care for mothers after pregnancy/birth. (Once more for the people in the back!) I personally was in shock that after I gave birth I wouldn’t see a healthcare provider for another 6 weeks, while my infant would be seen multiple times. Women’s healthcare needs don’t disappear after they give birth. I’d argue that they take an equal if not greater form while navigating sleep deprivation, physical healing, mental health, breastfeeding and more.
Funding: ARHQ has a variety of open digital health research funding opportunities!
Founders doing it right: The founders of Cakes Body, announced that starting May 1 they were going to cover 100% of childcare costs for their employees. THIS IS HUGE, especially for a company that has around 30 employees, most of them female. One of my soapbox issues is that childcare is an economic issue, not a family issue. I know so many teachers who have stopped working after having children because the cost of daycare is equivalent to their take-home salaries. I’ve seen my own ability to be productivity ebb and flow based upon my access to consistent childcare. In the employee announcement the founders mentioned that their company is able to be profitable because of all of the hardworking women on their team and that they wanted to be able to support them to continue to do work they love as they build the company. LOVE THIS SO MUCH.
Food or medicine?: I recently listened to the Second Option podcast episode with Sami Inkinen, CEO of Virta Health. Virta Health is focused on sustainable weight loss, behavior change, and reversing Type 2 diabetes through customized coaching. In the time of GLP-1s being touted as miracle drugs, it was pretty refreshing to hear Sami talk about healthy diet and exercise. Virta Health was one of the few companies highlighted by PHTI as offering an effective diabetes management tool and I enjoyed hearing more about how they serve patients (in all 50 states! covered by insurance!) I think the pendulum may have swung a little too far in the direction of GLP-1s as a first line option without there being a lot of evidence on long-term health impacts. I enjoyed hearing about a non-medicine approach that’s delivering great outcomes!
Future thinking: On May 12, 2025 OpenAI released an open-source benchmark designed to measure the performance and safety of large language models in healthcare. I asked ChatGPT to give me a summary of HealthBench that would make sense to a 15 year old and I thought this was useful:
🎯 What is OpenAI HealthBench?
It’s like a super smart quiz for AI models (like me!) to see how good we are at understanding health questions — like stuff about diseases, symptoms, treatments, etc.
🧪 Why did OpenAI make it?
Lots of people are starting to ask AI (like ChatGPT) for health advice. But here’s the thing:
Some AI models give good answers.
Some give wrong or even dangerous answers.
So OpenAI built HealthBench to test AI models the same way teachers test students — by giving them real medical questions and checking how accurate and helpful their answers are.
🔍 What kind of questions are on the test?
They tested AI on things like:
“What are the symptoms of diabetes?”
“How should a doctor treat asthma?”
“What’s the best way to lower blood pressure?”
They used real questions from medical exams and clinical cases, like ones doctors study.
💡 What makes it special?
It’s the most detailed test ever made to check how good AI is at answering real-world health questions.
It doesn’t just check if the answer is right — it also checks if it’s clear, safe, and matches expert medical knowledge.
💬 Why should you care?
If you ever use AI to ask something about your health, you want it to be safe and accurate. OpenAI is trying to make sure AI models are responsible and helpful, especially when it comes to your health.
What I’ve Been Writing:
How foreign nursing schools prepare for the US market, Digital Health Insights
Hydration sensor could improve health and performance of tactical athletes, Digital Health Insights
Fun Finds:
Sundress season is upon us, and with that comes bra struggles. I recently ponied up for some Cakes covers (yes this same company mentioned above) after seeing them constantly on my Instagram account. Their claim to fame is that they are grippy, not sticky, nipple covers that can be worn under bathing suits, workout tops, tight dresses etc. I’ve taken them for a spin a few times and I can say that they stay put better than other sticky bras I’ve worn with tricky-necklines. Can’t wait to try them out during swimsuit season and hopefully kiss those annoying removable pads that get all crunched up when you wash things goodbye.
It’s white sneaker season and I washed my Kiziks again with some spray Dawn and they are looking good as new! I am seriously obsessed with these easy-on, super comfy sneakers!
My favorite sunscreen brand is running their annual 20% off sale! My ride-or-die is the Unseen Sunscreen that just melts into your face. I have a few tubes in back stock, so yesterday I decided to order the mineral Matte Screen which is slightly tinted, and the Unseen Body, both of which are new to me. It’s a bit pricey but the best sunscreen is the one you will actually wear and I love Supergoop because it doesn’t feel thick, doesn’t leave any white residue, nor is it scented. As Tina Turner would say, it’s simply the best. Grab it while it’s on sale and the company is offering free shipping!
I recently read The Whalebone Theatre by Joanna Quinn. It’s a character driven historical fiction book that focuses on the lives of family members and their close friends immediately following WW1 and then later WW2, as each generation is shaped by their experiences. The whole time I was reading it I had no idea where the story was going, but then I realized that was kind of the point of the book — it wasn’t a comment on morality or society, but rather the global affairs were a backdrop for the development of each person and the challenges and opportunities they took. I’d give it 4.25/ 5 stars. I’ve read some good books lately, but my top recommendation from the year is still Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow.
That’s a wrap on this issue.
Be well,
Katie
Note: As a solopreneur I use affiliate links for some of the products I believe in as a means of diversifying my income. When you buy something I have linked to, I may receive a small commission from that company at no cost to you.
