Idea: 60
Sunday, 01 March 2015
By Cyrus David
Health Pal
— Become A Super Patient
Problem
Managing a health condition (ex: ulcerative colitis) is complex and tends to take tons of time + knowledge. Most people simply fail to maximize their care for a health condition that they’re dealing with within our health system.
What’s happening
A small percentage of people (I call them ‘super patients’) actively manage and stay on top of their health condition. They become avid navigators of the health system. They know the top doctors in the field, how to access them, and which treatments they offer/specialize in. They know all the ins and outs of their condition and stay on top of the latest developments. In many cases, they’re more knowledgeable than health professionals. This takes quite a time investment, and I’d argue, a certain type of person, to accomplish. The vast majority of people don’t become ‘super patients’ and thus fail to maximize the potential there is to manage their condition.
Solution
Health Pal — I threw together a quick landing page to support the first experiment I’m running.
Why me
I’m somewhat of an Ulcerative Colitis ‘super patient’ so it’s easy for me to get started and test this.
My first experiment will be to:
— Do some broad outreach (wide audience, wide range of health conditions) to get an early signal for demand. Everyone gets waitlisted since I haven’t employed any Health Pals yet.
— Do some targeted outreach (ulcerative colitis patients), cherry pick them from the wait list, charge them, and be their Health Pal.
Either way, would love the Cheeky community’s feedback and thoughts.
Questions
? How to approach pricing?
? How to structure the relationship between Health Pals and customers?
? How to grow early on?
? Would you use this or do you know someone who would?
? A better brand name, tagline or way to communicate the pitch?

