Sometimes the biggest breakthroughs come from asking the simplest questions. That’s what 15 years in pharmaceutical boardrooms taught Dr. Ana Catalina Duarte. While others chased complex solutions, she kept seeing the same pattern: the best ideas often got buried under unnecessary complexity. Now, as she builds science-based solutions for women’s health through Eusari Nutrition, she’s boiled down healthcare innovation to three straightforward principles. Her approach cuts through the usual corporate noise to focus on what actually works – and more importantly, what patients will actually use.
Three Things That Actually Matter
After years of watching healthcare companies overcomplicate things, Dr. Ana boiled it down to three basics. No fancy frameworks or corporate buzzwords – just stuff that works.
1. Find the Problems Nobody’s Fixing
The first step? Look where others aren’t looking. “Identify the unmet need,” Dr. Ana says. “What problem are you solving? Is there a gap in the solution, in the convenience, or adherence?” It sounds obvious, but plenty of companies skip this part. They’re so busy building solutions that they forget to check if anyone needs them. Dr. Ana saw this happen plenty of times in pharma – smart people building clever things that missed the real problems.
2. Don’t Get Carried Away with Tech
Here’s where a lot of companies mess up. They throw technology at problems that need simpler fixes. “Keep it simple, don’t over engineer,” Dr. Ana warns. She points to a company that got it right: “Abbot developed the continuous glucose monitor instead of trying to test all blood parameters in just one drop of blood.” That’s the trick – knowing when to stop. It’s not about building the fanciest thing possible. It’s about building something that works. “Focus on practical and scalable solutions,” she says. The best technology is the one people will actually use.
3. Talk to the People Who Matter
This might be the biggest one: “Collaborate across disciplines.” Dr. Ana’s seen too many solutions fail because nobody asked the patients what they thought. “Always include the patient perspective,” she says. “What seems perfect to us might not work for them.” Look at insulin pumps. Great idea on paper, but if you don’t understand how people actually live with diabetes, you might miss something important. The best ideas come from getting different people in the room – doctors, engineers, and especially patients.
These days, Dr. Ana puts these ideas to work at Eusari Nutrition. She’s done with complicated solutions that look good in PowerPoint presentations but fall apart in real life. “Impactful solutions are often simple,” she says. Her advice for anyone trying to fix healthcare problems? “Start small, measure your impact early, and show that your idea works.” No grand promises or fancy pitches – just steady progress that adds up. As she puts it, “Step by step progress moves us forward.”
Turns out sometimes the best way to solve big problems is to think smaller. Fix the little things that make a difference in people’s lives. That’s not just good medicine – it’s good business too. To learn more about Dr. Ana Catalina Duarte, check out her LinkedIn profile
