INNOBLOG

Yesterday Steve Case (of AOL fame) announced the launch of a new healthcare web portal, revolutionhealth.com, that will, in his words, "transform a broken industry by putting health care back into the hands of the consumer.

The offering aims to bring web 2.0 features to healthcare ratings, smart search, discussion boards, social networking, shopping tools for health insurance and health products, and so on. "Isn't it crazy that we have ratings to help us pick movies, restaurants and hotels, Case wrote in an introductory letter quoted by CNN.com, "but no comparable tools to help evaluate doctors, hospitals and treatments?

The main site will be free and ad supported, primed to take advantage of lucrative targeted advertising opportunities in the health and wellness vertical (initial front page content on the site references new kinds of sunscreen, yoga, links to product-laden tips and advice, and a free e-newsletter that will essentially be a targeted direct-to-consumer lead generation vehicle).

Unsurprisingly, WebMD, the leading online health info portal, is hot on its heels. It immediately announced a site revamp that will incorporate many of the same web 2.0 features as Revolution. The Wall Street Journal sums it up like this: "Mr. Case faces not only the challenge of changing an industry that is both highly fragmented and deeply entrenched, but he also faces heightened competition right off the bat from the most-successful health site on the Internet.

Sound like fun?

Luckily for Mr. Case and his backers who in this venture include Colin Powell, Carly Fiorina (HP), and Jim Barksdale (Netscape) the success of the site will not rest on web 2.0 healthcare content alone, but on a much bigger and more interesting bet. In addition to its health info portal, Revolution plans to offer a remote, subscription-based, quasi-concierge service for healthcare needs. For under $100 a year, subscribers will be able to access customer service agents to help unsnarl health insurance claims, get doctor and treatment recommendations from healthcare consultants, and store and manage electronic medical records online (these premium services will be offered free for one year in an initial promotion).

Messaging on the site emphasizes the value proposition "When youre sickthe last thing you need is another healthcare hassle. What with the rise of consumer driven healthcare and spiraling costs throughout the system, many Americans are finding it increasingly difficult to navigate more and more complex relationships in the quest for affordable and effective healthcare. There is certainly a very large, very important, and frequently frustrated Job to be Done in simplifying healthcare for the average consumer, and Case is betting that a concierge service combined with web 2.0 ratings, reviews, and networking will be the way to do it.

The Journal points out that web-based subscription efforts have rarely worked in the past, since consumers dont seem to like to fork over cash for content when they can find similar stuff elsewhere on the net for free. But this critique may be missing the point: if positioned correctly, this service will not be competing against free online information, but rather against the frustrating experience of attempting to self-manage labyrinthine records, infuriating customer service calls to insurance companies, and devastatingly important treatment decisions. Private Banks tend to provide such concierge services to their ultra high net worth clients; for $100 a year Revolution is offering a similar low-end service to the masses.

Of course, Revolution will have to deliver. Its customer service agents, consultants, and medical records software will have to make things markedly easier and less stressful for consumers. If it does work, revolutionhealth.com figures to join Cases burgeoning retail health venture, RediClinic, as an effective compensatory solution targeted at easing the frustrations of the healthcare system.

See:

"AOL co-founder unveils Web health service. CNNMoney.com; January 23, 2007.
"The Doctor's Office Gets Crowded on the Web. The Wall Street Journal. January 22, 2007; Page B1