NEW YORK – The problem with Internet searches is that they inherently turn up too much information – much of it unnecessary or, worse, inaccurate. When the subject is healthcare, that so-called “information overflow” can turn out to be dangerous.
OrganizedWisdom would like to solve that problem.
The four-year-old, New York-based start-up touts its network of more than 5,000 physicians as a “trust filter,” creating an online library of information that’s suitable for both doctors and their patients.
“We’re creating an expert-driven platform for health and wellness,” said Unity Stoakes, the company’s president and co-founder.
Other search engines “pretty much license the same set of medical or health encyclopedias,” he said. “There’s very little out there to prove which information is good, which information is trusted. … We want to be able to close that online health gap with trusted sources of information.”
“The patient needs something more when (he or she) leave’s the doctor’s office,” he added.
[See also: Online info has patients doubting doctors, survey finds.]
Stoakes and Steve Krein, the company’s CEO and co-founder, launched OrganizedWisdom as a fee-based service, with health entries written by paid contributors. Last year, the company changed its format, dropping its fees and offering a free service. The company now relies on board-certified physicians (the application process is strict) who develop and analyze online content.
“There’s only a few thousand doctors out there who are actively engaging with patients online,” said Stokes. “Doctors don’t have the time to surf right now – they need to be able to leverage what they’re already doing. And in the next few years, you’re going to see more and more doctors looking to do this. We want to make it easier for them.“
“We really want to build out a customized online health library for every doctor in the United States.”
The company has made a flurry of business moves recently to boost its presence. It secured $3 million in financing and is pursuing a second round of funding, and has announced deals with Reader’s Digest to bring its online content into more than 300,000 doctors’ offices around the nation and with Xtify to push that content across mobile applications.
More recently, OrganizedWisdom joined with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the nation’s chief technology officer, Aneesh Chopra, to launch Startup Health, a strategic initiative designed to improve access to capital, education and resources for health and wellness entrepreneurs. That initiative will also be part of the Startup America Partnership, a collaboration between the private sector and the White House to accelerate high-growth entrepreneurship.
[See also: StartUp Health Initiative launched to spur innovation .]
“Startup Health has a long-term vision of what needs to happen to help foster a vibrant health and wellness system in this country by energizing entrepreneurs,” said OrganizedWisdom Director Jerry Levin, the former chairman and CEO of Time Warner, who will chair Startup Health. “By building a detailed roadmap for health and wellness entrepreneurs, we aim to provide access to everything and everyone they need to significantly increase their chances of creating a sustainable business.”
