The intersection of healthcare and innovation, particularly in the femtech sector, has introduced many impactful solutions for women's health. However, a critical challenge threatens to impede the scalability of these innovations: a shortage of healthcare providers.
This issue is particularly pressing for startups and scaleups, which rely heavily on the availability and expertise of specialized providers to deliver their services effectively and expand their reach. Unsurprisingly this is especially true for many companies in the women’s health space.
The healthcare provider shortage is not a new problem. It has been a growing concern across various medical fields, exacerbated by factors such as an aging workforce, burnout, and the increasing demand for healthcare services.
In the femtech space, this shortage poses a significant risk to scaling plans. Companies aiming to revolutionize women's health—whether through fertility treatments, menopause care, or general women's health services—are increasingly finding that their growth is contingent on their ability to upskill and expand their provider base.
Compounding this challenge is the lack of focus on women's health in medical universities. This gap in medical education makes it especially difficult for femtech startups to find clinical talent with the necessary understanding of conditions specific to women's health.
For femtech companies, the provider shortage impacts their operations in several ways. First, the scarcity of trained professionals can limit the geographic expansion of services, restricting access for patients in underserved areas. Second, it can affect the quality of care, as overburdened providers may struggle to maintain high standards. Finally, it can hinder innovation, as the lack of skilled practitioners may slow down the adoption of new technologies and treatment methodologies.
To address these challenges head-on, a few women’s health scaleups are heavily investing in specialized training to ensure their providers can deliver the high-quality care their patients need.
Kindbody’s KindInstitute
Fertility care unicorn Kindbody has launched a Training Institute designed to enhance the skills of healthcare providers in fertility treatments. This initiative aims to increase access to fertility care for millions of individuals by equipping providers with advanced knowledge and techniques. The Kindbody Training Institute focuses on ensuring that patients receive high-quality care, addressing the current provider shortage, and preparing for future demand as the company scales its operations.
Midi Health’s Midi University
Midi Health has made significant strides in providing specialized care for perimenopause and menopause, recently making headlines after raising a $60M Series B. Their robust training program, Midi University, aims to train nurse practitioners (NPs) in delivering high-quality, multidisciplinary menopause care.
Future Directions
Training healthcare providers to meet specialized needs is a demanding process that requires a well-structured and supportive training environment. The initiatives by Kindbody and Midi Health illustrate how comprehensive training programs can address provider shortages and support company growth.
As more femtech startups evolve into growth-stage companies, it is likely that many more will implement similar programs to train and upskill clinicians both within their organizations and the broader healthcare ecosystem.
By addressing provider shortages through targeted training programs, companies are paving the way for a more accessible and effective healthcare landscape for women, benefiting both the companies and the broader field of women's health.
And while these initiatives provide an effective workaround for the current lack of comprehensive women's health training in medical schools, the hope is that medical education will eventually evolve to cover these areas more thoroughly. This would ensure that future clinicians are already equipped with the necessary skills and knowledge, making such specialized training programs less necessary than they are today.
