It's hard to find anyone who is happy with the state of our health care system. Costs are up; too many people lack access to care; and many families -- forced to take more responsibility for critical choices and expenses -- confront a dizzying array of information and bureaucracy, with no one on their side.
Even a family that is well off isn't exempt from having to cope with many of these issues. In 2001, I watched my brother Dan - diagnosed with brain cancer, and given less than a year to live -- see too much of his energy diverted to filling out repetitive forms, sorting through insurance paperwork, and keeping track of all his medications. At the same time, he found it hard to connect with other patients to exchange perspectives on possible treatment options. And at the other end of the spectrum, like so many other parents, I've struggled with what to do when my daughter twists her ankle on a Saturday afternoon playing soccer. Go to an emergency room? Wait until Monday and scramble to get into a doctor's office? Try to learn more from confusing or contradictory web sites?
For years, the Case Foundation, led by my wife Jean, has been working on many of these issues. But when I left TimeWarner two years ago, I wanted to do something more. Of course, many problems with our health care system require government solutions. But I'm not a politician or a policy maker, so I decided to tackle some of the challenges through the best means at my disposal: entrepreneurship. That's why, joining with leaders from health care, technology, investment, and government backgrounds, I started Revolution Health in 2005.
Revolution Health hopes to empower people with information, tools and an online community to help people make better health care decisions for themselves and for their families.
Some of what we are doing is backing ideas that were already underway, but needed a boost - like our RediClinic "convenient care" centers that provide inexpensive care for simple conditions, and are open at night and on the weekend (www.RediClinic.com).
Today, though, we take the next step at RevolutionHealth, and launch our first two brand new services. The first is a free online service that provides new tools, information, and online resources that will help you and your family live healthier lives, and cope with health problems when they arise. The second is a paid membership service that provides personalized, on-the-phone assistance when you need it - like an "OnStar" for health. Please come to www.RevolutionHealth.com and learn more about both of our efforts.
What will you find at RevolutionHealth.com? Thousands of pages of the best health information, from trusted sources like the Mayo Clinic, organized in our Revolution Health Centers where users, like you, rate the information and provide their own insights. You'll find Revolution Ratings, which give patients a chance to rate their experience with their providers and treatments, and provides consumers with access to those ratings. You'll have a chance to join our Revolution Circles that apply the concepts of social networking and Web 2.0 to health, providing community tools that enable people to connect with others who have similar health interests. All that, and so much more, is now online at RevoutionHealth.com, and it's all free.
Our Revolution Health Membership gives Members one-on-one access, via telephone, to nurses, clinicians and other experts to answer your health questions, help you get your insurance claims paid, and even to schedule that hard-to-get doctor appointment. And our membership offerings will continue to be enhanced over time.
While Revolution Health Membership will come with an annual fee, we want to encourage people to visit the site and help populate it. Therefore, anyone who signs up for a membership before April 19th will have their membership dues waived for this year.
What you see today is just the beginning. Ultimately, our success will be a function of people like you joining us on in the fight to put all of us back at the center of the health care system. Please join us today as we launch a revolution in health care - people-powered health!
Steve Case is the Chairman of Revolution Health. Prior to founding Revolution Health, Steve was the co-founder of AOL, and later, the Chairman of AOL Time Warner.