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>View discussions about this entry Country: United States
Organization: LynSys Software Services, DBA
Focus of activity - Technology
Year the initiative began (yyyy) - 2007
Positioning in the Mosaic of solutions
Define the innovation - What is the main focus (product, services, etc) of your innovation? Who are the primary beneficiaries? How does it make health and/or health care more affordable, accessible, and simpler to achieve/use? How does it differ from what currently exists in the market? Enabling access to vast arrays of knowledge globally opens doors towards more promising health care solutions, better informed health care provider bases, and potentially faster resolutions to health care issues. Some may argue that it opens the doors for "quackery". I argue that it opens the doors to expose it more publicly and quickly.
Educated health care consumers will provide a groundwork for consumers to demand access to alternative health care solutions via their existing health care provider networks, insurance companies, and practitioners. Think of this hypothetical exaggerated scenario: A patient complains to doctor of dark brown liver spots appearing on their face and body, their teeth are coming loose and falling out, and they are depressed. (Probably because they have liver spots and are losing their teeth.) The PCP diagnosis an extreme Scurvy and write a prescription for asorbic acid to combat the disease, and an anti-depressant to combat the depression. Soon, the teeth are sitting solidly, liver spots have stopped appearing, and the patient needs only to de-tox off the anti-depressant. They payed a co-pay to their insurance company for the asorbic acid prescription, which was cheaper than buying the non-prescription bottle of over the counter chewable vitamin C tablets (asorbic acid). What the doctor AND the patient didn't know was that most other countries treat the disease successfully by simply adding a healthy dose of oranges to the diet. Or that in 1536, Jacques Cartier was exploring the St. Lawrence River, and he used the local natives' recipe for tea -boiled needles from the arbor vitae tree (eastern white cedars), and thus saved his men who were dying of scurvy. This tea was later proven to contain 50 mg of vitamin C per 100 grams. More information, more choices... and a lot less cost, control, and censorship. That's really the bottom line. Context for Disruption: - Describe how your innovation is transforming traditional health or related systems in the short and long term. "Uncensored Healthcare" removes walls of censorship built by corporatized healthcare systems and partnerships between westernized government agencies, pharmeceutical and insurance companies, and science and medical research organizations who strictly regulate or entirely prevent the flow of information to trickle down to "real people" (aka, healthcare consumers who could most benefit from knowledge).
Censorship of health care knowledge coming out of highly qualified organizations in countries like India, China, Africa and Russia reduce personal health care choices. Many treatments do not require health insurance. Or medicine. Or surgery. Or, at least, less of it. This hurts the profit margins of our health care industry. Hence, the walls of censorship are fiercely protected. "Uncensored Healthcare" establishes an internet based online global health care and research facility for access to both consumers of health care, and to worldwide medical and science communities for affordable peer support and collaboration of online research, findings, publications and review processes. "Open access" to scientific and medical publications and knowledge bases will speed up the flow of knowledge exponentially, allowing advancements to flourish unhindered. Beneficiaries of open access to "Uncensored Healthcare"include: -Established well funded professionals who can now publish and collaborate debatable or controversial material which would not be supported by the traditional peer publishing process. -Established professionals with limited funding. Equally as qualified, they can't afford the time consuming, unguaranteed and non-refundable high cost of publishing and collaboration. -Students, professionals in small or less industrialized countries, NFPs, ventures surviving on grants, donations, or contributions. -Ultimately, the health care consumers who will have free access to information about choices in health care. Delivery Model - How does your innovation reach its target populations? What mechanism(s) (e.g., communications, distribution channels, etc.) do you have in place? What is your current market penetration? How do you measure this? Delivery of this model would be primarily through building a solid reputation with international medical and scientific communities, and universities not intimidated by government and corporate control. Electronic newsletters would be a means of delivery, for both the science and medical communities, and the consumer. They would be free. Content would be supplied as appropriate. Press releases would be issued and spewed through the media avenues available on the internet, including blogs of both reputable and controversial nature.
Key Operational Partnerships - What key partnerships have you established to make your disruptive innovation model possible? Who are your partners (business, social, government, other) and what are their roles? How central are these partnerships for your initiative. I have no solidified partnerships. I do have contacts with both medical and scientific communities here and abroad who would be approached to share in this endeavor. One partnership, in particular, already attempted something similar to this (complete with business plan) in 2003. The effort failed due to lack of funding, fear of failure by the then partnered investors, lack of time to invest (due to lack of funding), and a general insecurity about "is this the right product at the right time?". It is the right product, NOW.
Financial Model - Describe the financial model for your innovation. What percentage, if any, of the total operating costs does earned income (from products, services, or other fees) represent? The financial models expenses will consist mostly of salaries and monetary rewards to volunteers to support the sites content, and the abstract reviewing process, by engaged professionals. The cost of running the site will be minimal, after development. The development of the site will be costly, upwards of $60k - $100k in technical skills for the layout and design, functionality, administration, and security of the initial build. The maintenance of the site technically will be minimal, it will be developed to be primarily self maintaining, problems not withstanding. Additional supportive income would be advertising, minimum to moderate "subscriptions" for content suppliers (but not subscribers), and supportive donations/funding.
Effectiveness - What has been the measurable impact of your project to date? How many people have benefited from your program in total? What policies, communities, or institutions have been influenced to make fundamental changes because of your work? Insurance companies already support in part some controversial and alternative medical practices. Chiropractors come to mind. The one I am seeing offers many alternative medical solutions outside of the realm of straight chiropractic offerings, few of which are covered by insurance. But the knowledge of the alternatives is made to the patients, as is the rather prohibitive cost of un-insured coverage.
Scaling up Strategy - What is your priority for the next 3 years and please describe why. Scaling up is not relevant. It's impossible to predict how to scale up a project that is still relatively conceptual.
Origin of the Initiative - Tell the personal story that will help people connect to your work. How did the initiative start? Was there a particular individual or event driving the idea? Tell the reader the story behind the innovation. My brother died of multiple-melanoma, my sister in law had a masectomy due to breast cancer, my mom fought epic battles with skin cancer.
A good friend and the Phd responsible for the lead poisoning awareness initiative in upstate Rochester, New York, born in Africa, and educated in African universities, volunteers as a peer for abstract reviews of budding scientists. From him I learned that less than 10% of all scientific work ever gets published. His knowledge of cancer research findings and treatments alone that have gone unpublished is daunting. The censorship is criminal. Other exposure I have is a result of technically enabling non-westernized science and medical businesses and practices who are my clients, not all necessarily based in the United States, and none of whom advocate practicing westernized medicine only, to apply technology to spread their knowledge and practice. Contact Information:
Lynne Perry
Web Developer, Sr. Programmer Analyst, Enterpreneur LynSys Software Services, DBA (Individual, Freelance web developer supporting mostly Eastern medical and science communities.) Discussions about this entry |
