Filed under: Internet, Web services

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.

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

Healthshoppr uses the web to match health services to those in need originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 11 Dec 2008 11:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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