Healthcare Huddle Rewind 2023

I write this to you at around 4:30 AM on 12/28. It’s my “night off” from my two-week block of nights in the hospital, and my sleep schedule is so backwards my brain wouldn’t let me sleep.

I’m in NYC. It’s raining. I have my French Cafe Mix playing. I just finished my espresso shot.

What better time to reflect on 2023 than now?

Stats and Reflection

Below I share some stats and reflections:

1) I published 51 Healthcare Huddle articles, and today’s newsletter is number 52.

At this point, writing the weekly Healthcare Huddle newsletter is so embedded in my weekly routine it’s like brushing my teeth. Often times I’m energized to write, other times I’m dreading to write—but it always gets done. ‘Learning’ is my primary motivator to write content. There’s no better way to learn than following where your curiosity takes you and distilling what you learn into a succinctly written piece. ‘Joy’ is my secondary motivator. I receive such joy out of simplifying complex topics for my Huddle audience, and the feedback I get from it makes it all more worthwhile.

2) My most read articles included:

• Private Equity in Healthcare: the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (link)

• Dollars and Doctors: The Double-Edged Sword of Corporate Healthcare (link)

• Are Digital Health Solutions Actually Solutions? (link)

My most read and engaging articles were also the most challenging ones to write. They’re complex, nuanced, and emotionally charged (especially the one on private equity). At one point, I stressed about taking on complex topics like the ones above. But I’ve learned to let my curiosity drive my content—writing becomes less stressful and more fun when I take this approach.

3) I relaunched Huddle’s Referral Program, averaging 3 referrals per subscriber with at least one referral (tbh I didn’t expect this rate, I thought it’d be closer to 1). Read more about the referral program here.

The referral program was something I threw together within a week or so. It’s technically a “revamp” of the original referral program I launched back in 2020, however, there are more useful rewards this time (e.g., ‘Healthcare Starter Pack’, ‘My Healthcare Huddle Writing Process’, ‘Inefficiency Insights’) that aren’t tangible but rather educational. The referral program is meant to benefit you and me: you refer someone, you get rewarded for it, and my audience grows. However, there’s an additional insight I’ve gained from this referral program.

• First, the referral program has helped me identify my “True Huddlers.” These are folks who are outstandingly engaged (defined by an open rate >74%, click rate >10%, or referral >0). Out of the ~30,000 of you in the audience, ~13,000 meet this criteria, which bewilders me. It reinforces that I should probably raise the criteria even more to identify the “Truest Huddlers.”

• Second, word-of-mouth endorsement is immensely valuable. The segment of referred Huddlers is some of my most engaged audience, with an average open rate of 65% and an average click rate of 10%. These numbers might not mean much for those not writing newsletters—but know that they’re quite remarkable!

2024 and beyond

As we head into 2024, I have one goal for Healthcare Huddle: launch a paid membership channel called Huddle+.

The additional features will include another weekly newsletter called Inefficiency Insights (also a referral reward right now), a twice-per-quarter Healthcare Trends deep dive, and an educational community. These are features I believe will bring great value to those in my audience who are:

1. …actively trying to improve the healthcare system but want more insights into the system’s problems at all levels (patient, physician, administration).

2. …wanting to break into healthcare but want more resources to learn more about the nuances and trends.

I plan to start teasing some of the features in the first quarter of 2024, with the goal to launch in the second quarter to the first 50 Huddlers on the Huddle+ waitlist.

If you’re interested in joining Huddle+, save your spot below.

My final note

I appreciate your readership and encourage you to reply back to this email with any thoughts you may have about Healthcare Huddle specifically, or the healthcare system in general. I would love to know what you’re looking forward to in 2024!