I didn’t want to write this.
Not because I’m afraid—because I’m tired.
But I need to say it: I built a system that could’ve helped during COVID.
It worked. It was fast. It could’ve saved time, money, and maybe lives.
But I wasn’t allowed to use it.
Not because it failed compliance.
Because it wasn’t even allowed into the arena.
I Tried to Help
I spent years building a framework that could analyze, automate, and adapt—across hospitals, clinics, and public health systems.
Real-time feedback.
Outcome-based visibility.
Something better than reporting delays and spreadsheet death spirals.
But when I offered it, the answer was always the same:
“Is it certified?”
“Can we plug it into [name of broken EHR]?”
“Does it pass our legal team?”
No one asked if it worked.
No one asked what outcomes it improved.
Compliance Killed Innovation
In the end, it didn’t matter what the system could do.
It only mattered what box it fit into.
And when the boxes change every year—and the specs are 1,000 pages long—no solution can survive.
You can’t innovate inside a minefield of shifting mandates and undefined legal exposure.
COVID didn’t stop the system.
The system stopped us from fighting COVID better.
They Want the Code Too
And it doesn’t stop at red tape.
If you read the fine print in many government contracts, they claim ownership of the software you create while working on their projects.
Not just the code you write for the job—but the core IP you may have spent years building.
If you bring in your own system? They want rights to it.
Sometimes, even full ownership.
It’s a non-starter.
No founder with a brain signs that away.
So the best tech—the stuff that could actually fix things—never enters the ring.
The Wake-Up Call
If you’ve ever built something that could’ve made a difference—and were blocked—you know what this feels like.
It’s not just rejection.
It’s betrayal.
By the very institutions that are supposed to protect lives.
And what did they protect instead?
Liability.
Ownership.
Control.
So I Walked Away
Not because I wanted to.
Because I realized the system would rather collapse than be helped.
It would rather everyone lose than admit someone outside the gate had a better idea.
That’s why I’m building outside the gate now.
Outcomes over authority.
Data over delay.
Science over ceremony.
If you’re building outside the gate too—let’s talk.
Or read the first post that started this thread:
When Science Stops at the Hospital Door
#HealthTech #PandemicLessons #AI #Governance #COVID #OutcomesOverCompliance #DAO #SharpMethod