A practicing surgeon’s eye on what you’re building, buying, or backing.
Most clinical AI fails not in the model, but in the exam room. I help companies, health systems, and investors close the gap between what a technology can do and what a busy physician will actually use.
Start a conversationFour kinds of engagements
Clinical AI & digital health companies
Product and go-to-market input from the clinician seat: workflow fit, adoption barriers, physician trust, documentation and liability blind spots — and how your product will be judged by the people you’re selling to. From a single working session to a standing advisory role.
Health systems & physician groups
Independent evaluation before you sign. I’ve used or assessed 10+ ambient scribe and clinical AI platforms across thousands of patient encounters. I help technology committees put vendor demos through the four questions above — and see what the pitch leaves out.
Investors & diligence teams
Clinical reality checks on digital health and medtech theses. I evaluate whether a product’s claims survive contact with actual clinical practice, reimbursement, and medical-legal exposure — before your capital does.
Media, conferences & podcasts
Commentary, keynotes, panels, and grand rounds on clinical AI, ambient documentation, surgical robotics, and physician workflow. Download the speaker one-sheet.
Advice from inside the operating room
- Active clinical practice. I’m a board-certified orthopedic surgeon seeing patients and operating every week. My input reflects medicine as it’s practiced now, not as it’s imagined in a pitch deck.
- A year-plus of daily AI use. Ambient scribes, clinical reference AI, and workflow tools tested across thousands of real encounters — not demo environments.
- An audience of the exact users you need. SpeakMD reaches thousands of physicians worldwide who trust independent, evidence-first analysis.
- A public track record. Every verdict I’ve published is on the record at speakmd.com/video-reviews. You can audit my judgment before you hire it.
Reviews are not for sale.
Advisory work does not buy coverage.
- I do not accept payment, sponsorship, or honoraria in exchange for reviews — and I have declined honoraria from companies whose products I cover.
- Advisory engagements are contracted separately from all editorial content.
- If I hold an advisory relationship with a company whose product appears in SpeakMD content, that relationship is disclosed prominently in the content itself.
- I decline advisory engagements that would compromise my ability to review a product category credibly.
This policy protects my audience, and it protects my clients: my endorsement means nothing if it can be bought. — Ajay Balaram, MD, FAAOS
Three steps, no open-ended billing
Intro call
30 minutes, no charge. You describe the problem; I tell you honestly whether I’m the right person for it.
Scoped proposal
A short written scope: deliverables, timeline, and a flat or retainer fee — agreed before any work begins.
The work
Working sessions, written assessments, product walkthroughs, committee presentations, or standing advisory — whatever the scope defines.
Tell me what you’re working on
Include your organization, the problem you’re solving, and a rough timeline. I respond to serious inquiries within two business days.
contact@speakmd.comBusiness inquiries only — no medical advice or patient questions, please.