about

Hi. I'm Roi. I build things, mostly from a horizontal position, usually with a laptop balanced on my knees and one eye on how my heart is behaving today.

I have POTS (postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome) and dysautonomia. My autonomic nervous system missed a memo about how blood pressure and heart rate are supposed to work. Standing up is a negotiation. Sitting for long stretches is a gamble. But I've got a bed, a laptop, and a lot of ideas — so here we are.

what I actually do

I'm a patient expert and advocate. I've written seven books on healthcare communication and chronic illness. I was the first Patient-in-Residence at Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Digital Health and at Sheba Medical Center.

I'm also a builder. I founded Spooniversity — a real university for patients, because patients deserve education, not pamphlets. I'm building Bedcoders — a coding school for people who code differently. And I've got a graveyard of half-finished projects that I'm deeply proud of anyway.

why this site

roishternin.com is the professional version of me. It's accurate, but it's curated. It's me on a good day, standing up straight, making eye contact.

This is me on a regular day. Horizontal. Thinking out loud. Sharing music. Writing things that won't fit in a Substack but need to exist somewhere.

I grew up with MySpace and early blogging. I miss the internet when it felt personal — when people had weird little corners with too many fonts and a "currently listening to" widget. That's what this is.

things i love

• My daughter (she's the reason I write the letter book)
• Vienna at night, from a window
• Music that makes you feel understood
• Constraints that force clarity
• Building things that matter to people who feel invisible
• The exact moment a feature actually works
• Pizza (genuinely, deeply, without apology)
• Noodle soups of every cultural origin

things i believe

• Language shapes what's possible. Naming something creates the conditions to change it.
• Constraints aren't disqualifying — they're clarifying.
• Patients are experts. Full stop.
• The personal and the professional aren't opposites.
• You can build real things from a bed.

say hi

Sign the guestbook. I read every entry. Or find me at roishternin.com if you're here for something more formal.

Based in Vienna, Austria  ·  building since always  ·  stubbornly alive