I’ve been a startup guy for 11 years this month. And over the years, I’ve heard cries of “show me the evidence!” and “that’ll never work!” on an almost daily basis. They come from randos in comments on LinkedIn, doctors in comments on WSJ articles, or potential employer customers looking for something to help them mitigate their increasing healthcare costs. It goes something like this: … Continue reading How to deal with evidence and skepticism in healthcare startups

Yesterday, I wrote about the advantages of asynchronous communication and problem solving from the perspective of the patient. But what about for doctors? Does it make their practice easier or harder? Are they better doctors or worse? What can asynchronous doctors do that their traditional counterparts cannot? After 7 years of practicing exclusively asynchronously, our doctors believe practicing asynchronously is far safer, more efficient, and … Continue reading The advantages of asynchronous medicine: the doctor perspective

First, let’s define “asynchronous” as “not real-time conversations.” Instead of oral conversations, it’s messaging you respond to when you have the time. Of course, jumping on a call or video is always an option when necessary. But we all know how many emails we send vs. how few out-of-the-blue calls we make in a given day. Traditional healthcare has always been a real-time oral conversation … Continue reading Why the doctor-patient relationship should move primarily online: the patient perspective.

Yesterday, I posted a chart detailing the characteristics of new and traditional primary care models. Today, I’m going to try to identify who would be a best fit for each model. The following is a primer on how primary care works, how people spend on care, and how spend can be affected by the various new models of primary care. I’m a firm believer in … Continue reading Matching the right primary care tool to the needs of each person

Sherpaa invented and pioneered Virtual Primary Care over the last 7 years. VPC is a new genre of primary care.  It’s “mobile-first healthcare.” It is an ongoing relationship you have with the same doctors, that offers cost-effective care conveniently delivered online via a secure, HIPAA-compliant mobile and web app. VPC’s main mode of communication and problem solving is via messaging, photos, health data, phone, and … Continue reading What is Virtual Primary Care?