Health Care Portals Everywhere

I have been doing a significant amount of research relative to health care portals and it is just amazing how many there are. Most people are familiar with sites like Web MD.com, but did you know that Steve Case created a competitive health care portal called revolutionhealth.com., which is, according to the latest com Score rankings, the largest health property on the Internet.

So why are so many other insurers, payers, providers, entrepreneurs and many others, spending millions of dollars building their own proprietary health portals? That seems pretty simple; those that control the user experience and/or entry point, will own the user/consumer.

Millions of dollars are going to be spent over the next several years with the intent of helping consumers and transforming health care. The reality is that the funding for health care is moving to consumers and entrepreneurs and corporations are positioning themselves to claim some of those dollars by providing information and services. Some of the largest companies in the U.S. are health insurers that stand to lose premiums as consumers are able to pay directly for care, care/treatment packages, specialty services and information.

I agree with Steve Case that our health care system needs a lot of new and creative thinking, but I don't believe that it will be so much of a revolution as it will be an evolution. While entrepreneurs will try to turn our health care system into a revolution, insurance and pharmaceutical companies, (that have a lot of money), our own government, providers and care givers, and all types of consumers will make this a health care evolution.

So stayed tuned because at the end of the day, it's my health care.