Oscar Health Wants to Become the Uber of Health Care Data
When Google's founders were but graduate students at Stanford University trying to work out how to organize the plethora of information on the internet, they borrowed a server from a fellow scholar, Mario Schlosser, who was visiting the campus to work on a way to build trust into peer-to-peer networks.
However, one type of information has always proven difficult to organize - even for Google - and that is healthcare data.
The main problem is the US healthcare system itself. It needs a massive overhaul. Due to hospitals being private companies, each being run in a different way, there is a confusing tangle of contradictory regulations, incentives which don't always favor best practice, and an overreliance on legacy systems.
In fact, an alarming number of hospital computer networks are still running on Windows XP.
As such, organizing the resultant data presents a mammoth challenge. However, Mario Schlosser, now Cofounder and CEO of Oscar Health, believes he has the answer.
Oscar Health
To fulfill its vision, Oscar Health has raised $1.2 billion, including a recent $375 million investment from Schlosser's old colleagues at Alphabet. The company has over 1,000 employees and was predicted to hit $1 billion in revenue for 2018.
"At the time, I was trying to do three or four things," said Schlosser. "I was trying to write a data science textbook with a friend of mine from my Stanford days. We were going to do something around the 2012 election, trying to launch a debit card in Brazil, as well and trying to start an insurance company. And the lowest probability I would assign to all of these at the time was certainly starting an insurance company."
Oscar Health's mission statement is to use data and digital technology to transform healthcare in the same way Uber disrupted the taxi industry.
In other words, they plan on using digital technology to make the process of accessing healthcare services more convenient, streamlined, and transparent than it ever has been. Uber uses data to offer seamless digital services which in turn gather more data, which can then be used to develop and offer even more/better services, creating a never-ending cycle of innovation.
However, Oscar Health is learning from Uber's mistakes and hoping to achieve its goals without quite so many high-profile upsets.
"Josh, my co-founder, always likes to quote Mike Tyson," said Schlosser. "'Everyone's got a plan until they get punched in the face.' That's also a pretty good sort of metaphor for the trials you've got to endure if you start something by yourself. It will be very hard and painful to go through building a company, seeing people come and leave, doing something right, doing something wrong, making mistakes."
Uber for Healthcare
So far, Oscar Health is making good on its quest to become synonymous with convenient healthcare solutions.
For example, using the Oscar Health app, policyholders can request a call from a real doctor 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You place the request through the app and can even attach a picture of your symptoms if possible. You are then called by a doctor within 15 minutes to discuss your symptoms and medical/health history. The doctor is then able to offer a diagnosis and recovery plan without you ever needing to leave the house -- ideal for when you're not feeling well. The technology also helps prevent unnecessary communication of your illness. Should you require medication, the doctor can send a digital prescription to your local pharmacy.
Making this service even better for the patient is the fact that every Oscar Health customer has their own concierge team consisting of care guides and a nurse. This means that every time you contact Oscar Health, you are put through to the same people. No more dealing with frustrating call centers and having to re-explain your problem over and over. Instead, you get to speak to the same team each time who will be familiar with your case and needs.
"Members of Oscar realize from the beginning that if they need a doctor, if they need help, they can come to Oscar first," said Schlosser. "They can go and search in the app, they can talk to their Concierge team, they can use us to make appointments, and we will take care of all of that. We will have the right data flows, the right tools, the right metrics, to make sure we hold the doctors accountable and make sure that whatever happens to you, whether it's a small thing or a really big thing in your life, you'll get the best possible care at the right point in time."
The power of healthcare data is set to be a hot topic at Digital Insurance Summit 2019, taking place in July at the Westin Chicago River North.
Download the agenda today for more information and insights.