Healthshoppr uses the web to match health services to those in need

by Victor Agreda, Jr. Dec 11th 2008

Earlier this week I had a conversation with CEO of Healthshoppr, Dr. Vijay Goel. The site went into public beta today and the premise begs the question: why hasn't this been done before? Healthshoppr leverages the ability of the internet to connect (and rate) health and wellness providers with people seeking those services. It is billed as "transparent health choices" and I'd say it delivers just that: transparency when choosing a healthcare provider. In the beta, the example is massage therapy. Dr. Goel walked me through a typical experience, which you can see in the gallery. It's much like Expedia for health services, and borrows many of the "atomic connections" you see in services like ebay and yelp.

As I said, using the power of the internet to connect buyers and sellers of health services seems so natural. If you've ever had to choose any health service, what do you go on? The phone book? Friends and family? Now think about selling stuff like collectibles (ebay) or finding restaurants (yelp) -- harnessing the power of the network you're instantly able to gather multiple reviews and browse myriad potential sellers. Thus, Healthshoppr's angle.

The beta is currently focusing on massage therapy in the Los Angeles area. But finding a therapist in the 90401 area code gets simplified when you're drilling down into specialists or looking for someone with a particular skill. For example, the filtering controls allow fine-tuning by style (Alexander Technique), add-ons (aromatherapy), special needs (carpal tunnel) and special equipment (heated table). Again, by using computers to do the filtering you've eliminated a lot of the grunt work in choosing what you need. You can also sort by gender, philosophy, etc. Much in the same way ebay would let you drill down into Beanie Babies. Imagine doing this via recommendations from friends or the phone book.

Gallery: Healthshoppr

Once you've filtered your results, there's a simple chart to help you pick a winner. Distance, popularity, price and percent match are to the right of the headline -- again, similar to an ebay one line description. Dr. Goel explained the popularity ranking, as I was concerned about "gaming" the system. He assured me there are safeguards, and pointed to a weighting system for people who actually book a service through HealthShoppr then return to rank the provider.

After choosing a specific provider, there's a handy calendar showing available times for appointments, and you can book directly. There is a list of services offered, their price, and a more detailed star rating and endorsement section. The "philosophy" box is also here. For example, is the therapist more of a spiritual healer, or pur science? Is this a luxury service, or a no-frills experience? Lastly, there's the experience of the therapist and any certifications and training.

Naturally, there's a lot of work to be done in vetting and approving providers. That's why, at the moment, the site is limited to massage therapy in a specific geographic region. But the platform is really briliant. I see this saving a lot of time and money, not to mention creating healthier, happier customers! We'll keep our eye on this one as they grow and hopefully extend to more areas of service. After all, it's about time we started using technology to fix the broken medical system, isn't it?

To see more check out the site and watch the video as Dr. Goel walks through the system.

Tags: health, healthcare, healthshoppr, massage, medical, web

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

pr0vider said 1:15PM on 12-11-2008

This is a magnificent concept; and so much needed! I hope it succeeds.

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