Free Market Medicine Comes To the Internet
Groupon, the market leader, had about 115 million subscribers in 2011, which he says are mostly 20- to 40-year-old college-educated women. Living Social says it has about 70 million members…
While most health-related deals on sites like Groupon and Living Social are for cosmetic procedures like Botox, providers also offer everyday medical, vision and dental services…Health and medical deals make up about 5 to 10 percent of the online coupon industry…
Dr. John Muney, head of AMG Medical Group, based in New York, said the company’s Groupon deals brought more than 1,000 people to AMG’s six clinics for cholesterol and blood sugar testing, and regular checkups, over the course of a year. Most of the new patients, he said, were low-income, uninsured or on high-deductible plans.
Source: Kaiser Health News.
There’s also ‘Zozi’ now. You can often find 5k charity runs and I have seen everything from teeth whitening to introduction to shooting classes. I believe we will see more health-oriented offers in the future as the full potential of the service is realized.
Perhaps some entrepreneuring web developer will create an online coupon site devoted strictly to the health industry.
If Groupon is comprised mostly of “20- to 40-year-old college-educated women”, why then were “Most of the new patients … low-income, uninsured or on high-deductible plans”? Perhaps either the statistics Groupon and Living Social have about their membership are not very accurate, which is unlikely, or these medical coupon offerings are quite effective. How much more effective would health-related coupons be if the demographics of these large coupons sites shifted to include men and low-SES individuals?
“Health and medical deals make up about 5 to 10 percent of the online coupon industry…”
I’m surprised that this number is as high as it is. Very interesting.
Personally, I’m a big fan of these online coupon services since they offer a wide range of deals for every taste or need out there. It seems to be working for everyone involved, since health providers are getting more and more patients as we speak and patients, or coupon buyers, are getting the services they need at very affordable prices. I’m all up for this online service to continue growing. Whether targeting low-income or high-income indviduals, they are helping those who need it.
Now if only they had a groupon for six day, seven night, all-inclusive cancer treatment getaways.
And finally, this is a welcome change. Finally health care is coming to terms with the 21st century and providing services through the appropriate mediums.