Spencer Jones: Innovation a significant health care driver
The importance of innovation in health care can’t be understated, according to Spencer Jones, founder and chief technology officer at Fayetteville’s Lineus Medical.
Jones knows of what he speaks. A former registered nurse, he would get frustrated when his patients’ IV lines were pulled out, either by accident or on purpose. He devised a solution — creating a controlled separation in an IV line so that the harmful forces couldn’t pull out the IV catheter — and launched a startup to deliver it to market.
Today, Lineus Medical is on the verge of doing just that with its line of intravenous products that guarantee a patient won’t need multiple sticks for things like blood draws. One stick and all necessary IVs and draws are ready to go. In 2017, it closed a Series A funding round of more than $1.3 million from two out-of-state venture capital firms.
For Jones, innovation is a never-ending process. Lineus Med’s products are designed to make things easier for both providers and patients.
“New diagnostic tools and devices provide endless opportunities for better treatments and more informed clinical decision making,” he says. “Thoughtful innovation ensures that these exceptionally complex systems function together in harmony. Our current health care system does many things well, but we are still a long way away from where we need to be. Entrepreneurs innovating alongside payors and providers is what will drive our health care system into the future.”
Jones believes health care remains “riddled” with inefficiencies, and it’ll take innovation to move the needle.
“I’ve believed for some time that direct patient-care innovations haven’t gotten the funding or attention they deserve, chiefly because the investment returns generated from pharma and digital health ventures are so much more attractive to investors,” he says. “New drugs and drug delivery innovations are definitely important, but so many of the inefficiencies in our system occur at the bedside during direct patient care. With almost 3 million nurses in the U.S., there will always be opportunities for innovators to get them the right tools to efficiently and effectively provide care.”