dans's blog

Periodically, I write for publications such as Forbes, Reuters, KevinMD, FreelanceMD, Huffington Post, TechCrunch, the Seattle PI and others (see past articles here). Forbes is running a series on ideas for reducing healthcare costs. Since my mission is to slay the healthcare cost beast, I couldn't resist the request to contribute.

Periodically I send an update to various friends of Avado. If you'd like to be added to that list, just email me at dchase at avado dot com. From time to time I'll share some of those updates here. After just a few weeks in the market (i.e., since we opened up our beta), it's been incredibly gratifying the response we've gotten. In a startup, you have a hypothesis that you build your product vision around and then test that hypothesis. Seasoned entrepreneurs will tell you that you've hit it out of the park if 50% of your hypotheses prove correct.

Those without vision are writing about the demise of the Family Physician. Meanwhile disruptive innovators are creating a model that is two parts Marcus Welby and one part Steve Jobs creating a new model for primary care that disintermediates insurance out of day-to-day healthcare. Why insure the equivalent of getting your car tuned up unless you like paying a 40% insurance bureaucracy "tax" that is layered on top of costs that go to the physician. [This post was originally published on the Huffington Post.]

One of the most exciting developments in primary care today is the growth of Direct Primary Care (DPC) practices which are sometimes referred to as Direct Primary Care Medical Homes or sometimes Direct Patient Centered Medical Home (D-PCMH). Primary care physicians has shaken off the shackles of insurance in day-to-day medicine returning to the proverbial Marcus Welby, MD model of care. Patients love it as they get more time with doctors while saving money.

The Wall Street Journal profiled Avado along with other "dashboard" companies such as the hugely success Mint.com.  They focused on the consumer/patient facing side of Avado which is enhanced by its connection to the physician's Patient Relationship Management System. While consumers are welcome to use Avado on a stand-alone basis, their use is greatly enhanced if the physician is connected and their EMR is integrated with Avado which is a straightforward process.

Key quote: "the best option for you to take control of your medical records"

One of the fastest growing disruptive innovators in medical practice is MedLion. They are profiled by Avado's CEO, Dave Chase, in this TechCrunch piece. With over 2,000 tweets/likes/shares, it has been one of the most shared healthcare posts in the last several months.

Direct Primary Care pioneer Brian Forrest, MD is interviewed and profiled on this piece written by Avado's CEO, Dave Chase, that originally was published on KevinMD.

Borrowing principles from the travel industry, this disruptive innovator has figured out a way to bring improved surgical outcomes while saving corporations tens of thousands and individuals thousands. This post written by Avado CEO, Dave Chase, originally appeared on TechCrunch here. 

Following up the Health Insurance's Bunker Buster piece, this laid out what many individuals and corporations are doing to respond to healthcare's hyperinflation. This was originally published in the Huffington Post.