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
Healthcare 2.0?
Josh SuskewiczPosted by Josh Suskewicz in Comments (10)
Discussion
Posted: Tuesday, January 30th, 2007 - 3:29 am EST
Revolution Health is indeed one of the first web 2.0 healthcare ("healthcare 2.0") plays. Consumer ratings of providers (ideally coupled with hard data on outcomes) is a much needed, still measing feature in healthcare. Like all web 2.0 initiatives, though, it is subject to a signifcant network effect ("the more, the merrier"): it needs to build a large installed base of active users. How to engage consumers of healthcare services and have them coming back and participating, in a matter that is not recreational (this is no YouTube) ... thats the key question.
Posted: Wednesday, January 31st, 2007 - 10:15 am EST
Hey, I'm one of the designers at Revolution. Thanks for the writeup. It's quite an honor when I see stuff I'm working on featured in my favorite blogs!
One quick clarification to your post about the storage of medical records. That part of our site will always be free. You will always be able to create and securely store your medical records online simply by creating a screen name. What you get with the paid membership is the ability to take all your paper records, fax it in, and get them digitized for you.
Posted: Thursday, February 1st, 2007 - 10:22 am EST
You both make great points --
JAM, I agree. Revolution is likely thinking that a year of free premium services will not only introduce users to these new programs but also encourage the rapid development of critical mass, enabling the network effect that will, ultimately, determine whether or not this venture sinks or swims.
Michael, thanks for the clarification. Very interesting. Digitizing and managing non-digital matter in the way you describe reminds me of Amazon's Mechanical Turk Initiative. As consumers come to expect digital efficiency in more and more aspects of their lives, there is an emerging service opportunity to patch the gaps. Good luck to you, and thanks for reading!
Posted: Thursday, February 8th, 2007 - 3:02 am EST
Revolutionhealth and others in the space (WebMD) are really onto something here. For years, we've heard all about EHRs/EMRs to prevent errors, improve quality, and reduce paperwork INSIDE the medical establishment. What these new market entrants have to offer mirrors what consumers have been doing for a few years - managing stocks, online music, photos, etc. EXTERNAL management of your health IT records is next.
Hopefully, consumers will see the value in managing a "family and personal wellness dashboard" so their medical visits go smoothly, data is shared without red tape, and information is accessible when needed.
You'll likely see these wellness decision support tools for the consumer being transportable on cell phones and ipods.
Posted: Friday, October 5th, 2007 - 4:40 am EDT
I agree "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." i am one of the client i must say thanks for concierge serice they make my life so easy and with lots of fun.
Posted: Monday, October 8th, 2007 - 2:12 am EDT
hello,
Thanks for the shout-out to my post! The concierge idea is a great one for technical support that requires very focused, one-on-one attention. It could be a trend-setter
Regards,
Alex Bell
Posted: Monday, October 8th, 2007 - 4:26 am EDT
I read an article about a site called HUSPITAL that is actually going to take on revolution health from a grass roots level. It doesn't look like it is up yet at huspital.com but while browsing through it I DEFINITELY don't get the bad corporate taste in my mouth I do on revo health. My 2 cents.
Posted: Thursday, March 20th, 2008 - 11:33 am EDT
Vanderbilt Understands Hospital Marketing 2.0
Who is the marketing guy/gal at Vanderbilt Hospital? She/he is a genius. They know how to turn a negative customer service problem into a new sale. Heres what happened. I was being treated for sinus problems in the Asthma Sinus and Allergy Clinic. My nurse practitioner decided that I needed a referral to the Gastroenterologist, because some of my sinus problems may be related to my hiatal hernia. This was all very well and good until I needed a referral for my insurance company.
I was informed by Vanderbilt that I needed to contact my Primary Care Physician to get the referral before my insurance company would allow the visit to the Gastroenterologist. I contacted my PCP and was informed by them that they would need to see the notes from the Asthma Sinus and Allergy Clinic before he would provide a referral.
This is now getting interesting because I had been working with Vanderbilts Asthma Sinus and Allergy Clinic for several months and have asked on at least two occasions that they keep my PCP informed about my condition and progress. This had obviously not been done. So I called back to Vanderbilts Asthma Sinus and Allergy Clinic and informed them for the situation. The clerk told me to come in and pick up a copy of my records and deliver them to my PCP. I told her that I wasnt about to do that and she hung-up on me.
Knowing that I am the customer and this was a case for a patient advocate, I contacted the patient advocates office at Vanderbilt. This is where the sales job came in. The patient advocate was very pleasant and apologized for my trouble and promised to get the problem straitened out in short order. She asked me if my PCP was a Vanderbilt Doctor and I said no. She said, "Well sir you should know that if your PCP was a Vanderbilt doctor this wouldnt of happened because Vanderbilt doctors have computer access to all the Vanderbilt clinic patient reports.
Now she didnt say you need to change your PCP to a Vanderbilt PCP, she didnt need to. It was the first thing that crossed my mind. Im not particularly in love with my current PCP, but I think hes competent. The only reason I did not consider changing my PCP was because I recently had a bad experience with a Vanderbilt trained doctor at one of their urgent care clinics. Otherwise, I would have taken the very subtle advice the patient advocate offered.
Now heres the point of this. Vanderbilt could allow any doctor access to patient electronic records if they chose to, but why should they. By not allowing access to non-Vanderbilt doctors, they are encouraging patients to consolidate their business with Vanderbilt and insuring more referrals to their specialists. This is some of the best marketing tactics I have seen in a long time. My hat is off to these guys. They want customer service complaints because they know how to turn them into new sales.
by James Edward Hicks III
Posted: Friday, May 2nd, 2008 - 12:30 pm EDT
There are already many websites like Healthcare Reviews www.healthcarereviews.com offering patient reviews of doctors, hospitals and healthcare workers. What's so great about 'Healthcare 2.0' other than its cool moniker?
Posted: Friday, May 2nd, 2008 - 12:30 pm EDT
There are already many websites like Healthcare Reviews www.healthcarereviews.com offering patient reviews of doctors, hospitals and healthcare workers. What's so great about 'Healthcare 2.0' other than its cool moniker?
Add a Comment:
Please log in to add to the discussion.