Spotlight On: Tim Doyle, Eucalyptus

Tim Doyle needs little introduction; you’ll likely be familiar with his work through Eucalyptus (and its brands such as Pilot, Kin, Juniper and Software) or Koala, or his voice through media and podcasts including our own Wild Hearts - “earn the right to exist”, anyone?

Read on to learn more about how the mission of Eucalyptus has evolved with time, why Tim believes in unlocking entrepreneurial talent from traditional industries like Law and Banking and why telehealth is in its first chapter.

Blackbird: Tell us a bit about your background and your work before you met your co-founders to build the idea for Eucalyptus.

Tim Doyle: I’ve briefly worked in consulting, most prominently on the ALP digital campaign in 2016, also worked in helping make restaurants more profitable, then at an online mattress company.

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Blackbird: We love Eucalyptus’ mission of creating higher touch, higher quality care to people around the world. What are some key lessons you learned from your 4 years since co-founding Euc? 

TD: I believe that making bets on people is hugely important. The success of the business ends up being the sum of the efforts of your first 30 hires and that rings true at Euc. Another valuable lesson has been taking the company through how we think and plan through milestones, focusing the business on achieving tangible progress rather than orienting around a lofty big vision. What we do are quarterly OKRs that the whole business gets behind and implement initiatives that we track frequently. Lastly, building a business in tightly regulated industries like healthcare is very much about the small steps rather than big leaps of progress. 

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Blackbird: The initial idea for Eucalyptus was to create a house of online healthcare brands under Eucalyptus. How has it evolved since then?

TD: Our ambition has risen. Covid, as well as the impact we’ve had on patients' lives has shifted our focus from transactional care into much more comprehensive and deep care around chronic disease. One of our women’s healthcare brands Juniper, provides a holistic program to people struggling with their weight globally, and has 20 touch points between patients and their care team (doctors, dietitians, health coaches, patient support) in the very first month. 

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Blackbird: There has been recent debates over telehealth and prescribing online being unsafe - how has Eucalyptus shown patient safety through its processes? 

TD: I think ultimately the fear around safety and telehealth comes from a lack of understanding about how these platforms actually operate. It seems that people are associating all telehealth with the quick script models that exist. The reality is much more nuanced than that.

Some examples of how we integrate patient safety at Eucalyptus throughout the process with some further reading in our blog article:

• We provide high continuity of care through a team of practitioners working with patients on a single platform which has lead to amazing results for patients
• We have a full clinical risk and safety team that audit 4000 consults a month 
• We’ve recently been certified by The Australian Council on Healthcare Standards (ACHS), an independent, not-for-profit organisation dedicated to improving quality in healthcare. Eucalyptus is the only telehealth company in Australia with EQulP6 certification from the ACHS. Achieving this certification requires independent assessment & validation of the safety, quality and continuous improvement of our clinical service delivery.

Blackbird: You’re currently calling for Australia’s peak regulatory bodies to come to the table on telehealth. Can you expand on the outcome you’re hoping to achieve?  

TD: We just need to ensure that there is a local regulatory framework that considers both the value that telehealth access and continuity can bring to patients while also ensuring that standards of safety are upheld. We’ve expanded on what we’re hoping to see here and also sharing with you our submission to the Medical Board of Australia to collaborate with us on this process. 

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Blackbird: Finally, what excites you about the future Eucalyptus is building?

TD: I think ultimately telehealth is still very much in its first chapter. We can see the impact that a medical team working with patients on a shared platform can have. I’m excited to see this extend to mental health, heart disease, sleep and more of the healthcare issues facing society around the world.

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Tim's Spotlight On: 

• A book that is worth reading: The Outsiders by Henry Thorndike
• A podcast you never miss or your favourite music album: I’ve been listening to this Essential Mix from Four Tet on repeat
• The last great article you read: What Is ChatGPT Doing … and Why Does It Work? by Stephen Wolfram. I needed this to get around the whole AI thing.
• Someone to follow on social media: @gbrl_dick seems funny.

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