Startups Vie to Build an Uber for Health Care | Hacker News Reader

Startups Vie to Build an Uber for Health Care

wsj.com

14 pointsmattee5 comments

so you pay 100$-200$ for what you also get at the urgent care for ~2x-3x less...i'm trying, but i just don't get it - are they playing to the paranoid parent with a baby? People who want an hour wait at home instead of the possible 2 hour wait as a walk-in at the office? I really don't understand where a thriving market would exist.

> see in-home care as a way to reduce unnecessary ERs visits and readmissions

Sure. But so does regular check-ups/physicals. In other news water is wet.

Instead of partnering with hospitals, partner with webMD - if someone is on there and embarrassed/unsure they may schedule a discrete inhome visit rather than having to explain to the nurse why they need to see the doctor. I'm sure there's loads of money in amazon-esque single click service there.

It depends on what your time is worth... if you need to see someone same day, or near term, you can actually get some work done while waiting. Often when I go to a dr's office I spend an hour+ in the waiting room, then another hour+ in the office mostly waiting. All told, I can have an appointment at 9am, but won't get to work before noon. I'd much rather pay $100 out of pocket and work from home that morning and be in the office in the afternoon, for a 30 minute visit.

It really depends on what you make, and what your time is worth. Beyond that is the convenience factor. People wait extra long in a drive through, when there's no waiting if you walk in... They will order food delivery instead of take-out. They will do any number of things to make it more convenient.

For that matter, I order almost everything practical via Amazon... I go to the store for produce because I prefer to pick my own and for clothes because sizing is hard. I'm not reclusive I just don't enjoy those things as much and would rather be doing something else... if I can recover 3hrs of my time on a work day, or hell after hours as mentioned in the article for < $100, I'll take it.

> I'm not reclusive I just don't enjoy those things as much and would rather be doing something else... if I can recover 3hrs of my time on a work day, or hell after hours as mentioned in the article for < $100, I'll take it.

I totally agree for something as routine as a physical, but if i'm sick, i probably don't want to squeeze in more to my day. It may be more convenient to stay in bed, but if i'm not doing much that day anyway...

Most of my doctors visits are relatively routine... blood work every 3 months, followups on medications, etc. Killing half a day every other month for that drives me nuts... but that's just me.

> paranoid patient with a baby...

What?! That's such a weird category you've created right there. Babies need immediate attention for medical issues because it can go south much faster in them than in adults. Most pediatricians are easily accessible after hours and have 24/7 triage lines.

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