Aswin Chandrakantan, MD, just lately joined Aidoc as President and Chief Industrial Officer, bringing with him a wealth of medical and management expertise. On this dialog, Aswin shares what impressed him to affix Aidoc, key classes from his profession that form his method to management and his imaginative and prescient for the way forward for the corporate. He additionally supplies private insights that replicate his dedication to bettering affected person outcomes and supporting healthcare professionals globally.
What impressed you to affix this group, and what excites you most about its mission?
Elad, (our CEO) flew to Dallas to satisfy me throughout our candidacy course of. Throughout one prolonged dialogue about ardour and objective, he gave me his typical wry smile and handed me his cellphone, as if to say “right here’s the proof that we do wonderful issues.”
On the display screen, in plain black and white textual content, was a quote from a outstanding doctor.
“This affected person would’ve died final evening if it wasn’t for Aidoc. We’d have learn this scan with a pulmonary embolism hours too late.”
As a skilled clinician, I particularly sought a corporation pushed by a better objective: bettering affected person outcomes and elevating the standard of care folks obtain world wide. Whereas many firms purpose for this, few possess the know-how and infrastructure to really make it a actuality. Aidoc is making it a actuality day by day. My skilled expertise, mixed with a deep ardour for enhancing the lives of each sufferers and clinicians, made Aidoc the perfect match for me.
Are you able to share a pivotal profession second that formed your management model?
Early in my profession, I had a senior consumer that had extraordinarily sturdy political beliefs. Throughout an after hours occasion, he requested me to disrespect a photograph of the sitting United States President. I refused to take action, not due to any private affinity for that specific President, however as a result of I imagine within the significance of respecting the workplace itself. It got here with extraordinarily damaging penalties for me and my consulting profession. I’ve zero remorse for my alternative.
In enterprise, purchasers, offers and alternatives can get well with effort and time, however private integrity is fragile—as soon as compromised, it’s exhausting to rebuild.
Swami Vivekananda captures this sentiment effectively: “If the entire world stands towards you, sword in hand, would you continue to dare to do what you assume is correct?”
What’s one thing about you that folks may be shocked to be taught?
I examine Hinduism vociferously and apply a lot of its ideas to assist me face challenges. I take advantage of these teachings to construct sturdy groups and set excessive requirements for my very own conduct. With knowledge that spans over 10,000 years, from the Vedas to ithihasa, it guides me day by day.
What recommendation would you give to your youthful self beginning out within the healthcare trade?
As my spouse, Vidhya has taught me, “Be constant. Be Variety. Be persistently variety. To everybody round you however particularly to your self.”
What’s your imaginative and prescient for the way forward for this firm, and the way do you see your function in driving that imaginative and prescient?
My imaginative and prescient for Aidoc is to revolutionize healthcare by considerably decreasing the worldwide burden of illness—measured not simply in numbers, however in lives saved and improved. I foresee that Aidoc’s options have the potential to scale back one billion Incapacity Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) yearly, remodeling the best way we diagnose, deal with and in the end forestall sickness.
My function is to appreciate this impression by driving training and adoption of our know-how—ensuring each hospital, clinician and most significantly each affected person advantages from the facility of our options and platform. We’re already redefining what’s attainable in healthcare and I see we’re effectively on our approach in direction of this aim.
As you look again in your profession up to now – what are you most happy with?
I used to be staffed on a challenge to eradicate polio in Nigeria that concerned working with Invoice Gates and the president of Nigeria, Goodluck Jonathan, that used new methods and digital know-how to drive coordination and efficient vaccination campaigns. After implementing these methods persistently for a few years, Nigeria was declared wild polio free in 2020. Whereas it took the dedication of hundreds to attain this milestone, I’m proud to have performed my half in contributing to such a transformative international well being victory.