We review 15+ internet startups per working day. Vote for the one you think will be a killer.
Know it first, subscribe to our RSS | Help us grow, make us your homepage
Home » eCommerce » Carol.com - The Health Marketplace
15
Votes
+
Carol.com - The Health Marketplace

Carol.com, as its tagline announces, is a health marketplace, meaning that users can buy from it medical services, just as they make online purchases for any other product or service; it works in the Twin Cities area for the time being, and users who have health insurance, as well as those who don’t can buy their medical services here as well. The site sells both individual appointments and ‘Care Packages’, a predefined set of services your chosen health-care provider will give you. In this way, users can control more effectively their primes and medical costs. The company has plans to allow customized care packages in the future. In any case, using Carol.com is as complicated as buying shoes or plants online: you need to sign up as a member, and then start browsing physicians, health care facilities, laboratories, or any other healthcare related provider. You can also compare their services and pricing using the comparison tool, and make appointments online. Since the service works both for clients who have insurance coverage and those who don’t, it’s a great service to allow you to get in touch with an HCP you will be comfortable with, regardless of whether s/he belongs to your insurance network or not.

 
  In their own words  

“Carol, The Care Marketplace, is a health-care shopping site where you can browse, compare and purchase health-care services from health-care providers throughout the Twin Cities metro”.

http://Carol.com

  Why it might be a killer  

Other than the obvious benefits of allowing users to find a reasonably-priced HCP, this service also allows users to find the kind of health-related services that no insurance company ever pays for, like cosmetic surgery, dental, eye (LASIK), behavioral/mental health and alternative care (chiropractors, acupuncture, nutritionist, massage therapy, etc). As all providers can get rated, Carol.com can build up to be a very trustworthy source of professionals and practitioners.

  Some questions  

I reckon a good service this site is lacking is drugs Care Packages, that is: to allow users to buy a package of drugs at discounted prices to treat their conditions. Can they consider including an option like this one?

Killer Data
CEO:
Become a Gold Member now and access the Killer Data of more than 6,000 Startups, for ONLY $499 a month (less than $0,005 per startup)

 

Gold Member Login
Location:
Address:
Foundation:
Funding:
Revenue:
Earnings:
Employees:
Traffic:
Registered users:
Clients:
Competitors:
Seeking investors:
Phone:
Blog:
Website:
How do you think they 'll do?
(Vote to see results)
Go IPO
Get VC $
Be Bought
Survive
Bomb
 

Posted 8 Months 23 Days ago by fredb | Visit http://Carol.com
AddThis Social Bookmark Widget AddThis Feed Button
  Read comments  
written by Seattle  1 Months 20 Days ago  
There is a slight factual error in the article. In Washington State *(Carol's second market) not only is mental health care covered but so is alternative health care (naturopath's, chiropractor, acupuncture, etc). One potential problem will be whether or not consumers want to give a private company their personal insurance information as well as disclose their medical problems since it isn't covered by HIPPA.
 
 
  Blogging-Widgets
  Comm
  eCommerce
  Marketing
  Mobile
  Search
  Site Reviews
  Social Networking
  User Gen. Content
  Video-Music-Photo
  Web 2.0
  Web App-Tools
 
11/21/2008
 
 
2007 - 2008
 
Jan - Feb - Mar - Apr
May - Jun - Jul - Aug
Sep - Oct - Nov -Dec
1- 2- 3- 4
5- 6- 7- 8
9- 10- 11- 12
13- 14- 15- 16
17- 18- 19- 20
21-22-23-24
25-26-27-28
29-30-31
  Subscribe