Note: I had stopped writing posts in 2017. Started again in late-2024, mostly for AI.
Consumer-Driven Healthcare (CDHC) may not have arrived yet, but startups have been sprouting around it for a while. Carol.com is the brainchild of Tony Miller (founder of Definity Health, another CDHC company that he sold to UnitedHealth Group in 2004) and was started in late 2007. Carol.com's original intent was to be a 'marketplace for care'- a place where consumers with fat HSA's could...
There are plenty of medical conditions that necessitate dietary changes (Celiac's, Diabetes, etc.) and it's a hassle for the affected individual and/or primary caregiver to manage cooking with restrictions like gluten-free or lactose-free ingredients. MyFoodMyHealth is a startup with the self-stated mission of 'helping you feel better by eating deliciously'. They provide meal plans, recipes,...
Since my last rant was around twitter, I thought I'll follow up with another one around same topic. First notable thing about FoodFeed is that its not really useful (their own words, not mine). Its a service that lets you share your eating habits on twitter. They are still in beta so maybe other features are in pipeline, but honestly, FoodFeed seems to be a solution looking for a problem. So...
Google.org's flutrend is an attempt to model flu activity across US based on the search terms that Google.com users enter around flu symptoms, treatment etc. The underlying premise is that there is a relationship between how many people search for flu-related topics and how many people have flu symptoms. Think of it as a virtual public health surveillance proxy. If you are not convinced that...
OrganizedWisdom describes itself as the first human-powered, doctor-guided search service for health. What the site promises to provide are noise-free, simple but organized search pages that list relevant information on health topics. Its a crowdsourcing model at heart- these pages are essentially hand-crafted search results aggregated by OrganizedWisdom Guides and Physician Reviewers (eligible...
Healthmap is a perfect example of what technology can do to advance healthcare information. It aggregates online media reports to enable infectious disease intelligence on a global level. Its a near real-time internet-based infectious disease surveillance that is free from political and geographical restraints. Healthmap extracts real-time information from more than 10,000 sites every hour and...
SugarStats is a hawaii-based startup inspired by one diabetics' unfulfilled need to manage his disease data better. Marston Alfred (the site's creator) found the online diabetes management solutions boring and inaccessible, so he embarked on crating a clean, user-friendly website where diabetes could track their sugar levels and network with other affected individuals. They have various...
Fitbit is a startup trying to leverage the rising wellness trend- they manufacture a small device that you can wear throughout the day to find out how much physical activity you did, how well you slept etc. The tiny device sells for $99 and contains a motion sensor (like the Nintendo Wii) that converts 3D motion data into useful interpretations about your lifestyle. In a 7-day period, whenever...
I'm not a fan of direct to consumer genetic testing, but that market is hard to ingore now. deCODEme (excellent name choice, btw) will analyze your genetic information, store it securely and provide you with updates on your genetic profile "as new knowledge becomes available in the field". There is no doubt that our genes hold valuable information that can help predict and treat diseases. There...
WebDiet is an online weight management tool that can help its users eat smarter and healthier. Its a service that proactively sends location-based, customized meal suggestions directly to mobile devices and helps keep track of what you eat. The ides has potential. GPS-based real-time meal recommendations based on your daily intake requirements and goals can be a simple way to stick to healthy...