Zweena Health provides a service to collect real-world paper medical records, digitize them and enter it into a Healthvault account. That way users can have a Personal Health Record (PHR) created for them, without dealing with multiple bricks-and-mortar medical offices.
I’ve endorsed the validity of services offering such ‘last mile’ value propositions before. Note MotherKnows for getting pediatric medical records, Phrazer in the medical interpretation realm, etc. No doubt there is a need to fulfill here.
Couple of interesting things about Zweena Health. First, they store the digitized information in Microsoft Healthvault, and not in their own proprietary application. That’s smart because it adds a layer of disintermediation that could be a sell for the rare savvy PHR users. Better to store information in a more-recognized brand name platform than in a startup’s coffers. To me it also underscores the need for ubiquitous platforms in the Personal Health Record space. After Google Health’s untimely demise, seems like Healthvault is the de facto choice. Microsoft could definitely use some more competition.
The other interesting aspect is Zweena Health’s pricing model. It has three parts. First, there is a base monthly access fee ($10) which is to be expected in any subscription based service. Second are the copy charges which are no fault of Zweena Health. They are an absurd figment of conventional healthcare system, so still okay to pass on the the user. The third part is about ‘page bundles’ – a set number of pages that a user needs to buy on Zweena Health. I find that to be an archaic way of thinking about digital information. The bloated paper records, when retrieved, should be parsed into discrete information that is in bits and bytes. So why should the payment be modeled on paper units? What if a provider took 3 pages to describe a simple procedure or left one blank intentionally? Sadly, this is the part where a new-age idea seems to be bogged down by antiquated processes. PHRs continue to be a valid need that hasn’t been solved to any shred of viability. Sigh.