Oxford, UK-based vTail Healthcare Telecommunications recently announced the formation of a brand new Clinical Advisory Board. The vTail app is the first of its kind, designed specifically to connect healthcare providers to medical device and pharmaceutical companies. The new Advisory Board comes just in time to support vTail’s upcoming ortho market launch.
“Orthopedics represents a key target market for us, as it is a high value specialty with many new entrants into the space and has a need for HIPAA compliant communications solutions supporting surgeons. We sought advisors with a variety of backgrounds and are thrilled with the group we assembled. Each is highly respected in the field, offering us critical insights regarding how to deliver a robust solution to this complex market,” stated Barry J. Wolfenson, Chief Executive Officer at vTail.
Through vTail’s innovative digital platform, healthcare professionals can communicate with representatives from medical tech, biotech, pharmaceutical, and medical diagnostics industry representatives in regard to products, sales, and support services. The company has initially focused on U.S. medical technologies, specifically dental and wound care markets. In 2022, vTail aims to move into the international market and a wider range of clinical areas.
The newly launched panel includes: Sharat K. Kusuma, M.D., Benjamin Schwartz, M.D., F.A.A.O.S., Jennifer Weiss, M.D., Anand Murthi, M.D., and Nirav Amin, M.D.
Dr. Kusuma is a board-certified and fellowship-trained orthopedic hip and knee surgeon and serves as the current Chief Medical Officer and Senior Vice President at global medical device company Exactech, Inc. Kusuma was formerly a leader in digital health product line development at Apple, Inc. as well as a Senior Engagement Manager at McKinsey and Company—where he led projects resulting in supply chain transformations that generated over $50 million in savings. Dr. Kusuma has experience as a lead surgeon in FDA IDE (investigational device exemption] studies and has extensive experience in medical technology in both the clinical and business sectors.
Dr. Schwartz is a board-certified, practicing orthopedic surgeon, Vice Chair of the Practice Management Committee of the American Association of Hip and Knee Surgeons, Editorial Board Member of the Journal of Arthroplasty, and serves on the Hip and Knee Content Committee for the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. He has acted as a consultant for various health and health tech startups and has a thriving private practice in Massachusetts.
Dr. Weiss trained in medicine at Mt. Sinai School of Medicine and Baylor College of Medicine and is a current pediatric orthopedics and sports medicine provider. She has served as director of the Pediatric Sports Medicine Program at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles-University of Southern California, on the board of directors for the Pediatric Orthopedic Society of North America, the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, and the Ruth Jackson Orthopaedic Society, and is a founding member of SpeakUpOrtho.
Dr. Murthi completed the prestigious fellowship in shoulder and elbow reconstruction at the New York Orthopedic Hospital-Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center, is current chief of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery at MedStar Union Memorial Hospital, is section editor for the Current Orthopaedic Practice journal, and is professor of Orthopedic Surgery Georgetown University School of Medicine. He is also a founding member and is a past president of the Association of Clinical Elbow and Shoulder Surgeons (ACESS) group.
Dr. Amin studied medicine at Drexel University and completed dual fellowships at Lenox Hill Hospital and Cleveland Clinic. He is an associate professor at Pomona Valley Hospital. He was recently appointed into the ASES society and is a leader and researcher on opioid sparing techniques for ortho surgery, with ongoing FDA study involvement.
“After successful launches into the Advanced Wound Care and Dental markets, we are excited to launch into our first surgical specialty—the Orthopedics market,” Wolfenson told OTW. “The launch will take place in Q1 of 2022, and our goal for the remainder of the year will be to sufficiently build both sides of the database—companies and surgeons—so that they gain clear value from engaging with one another and the various features on our platform. Towards the back end of 2022 we will look to take what we have learned from the three clinical specialties, build out our commercial infrastructure and expand broadly into many other areas.”
Communication between healthcare providers and medical company reps were problematic previously, but the COVID-19 era highlighted the rift further. vTail created the app to increase efficiency and access for providers, product manufacturers, researchers and medical equipment dealers alike, in an effort to satisfy all stakeholder needs in an increasingly digital climate. Learn more about the new app at www.vtail.co.
