CrowdMed

History

CrowdMed was founded in 2012. During the creation process, the company's website was tested with 300 randomly selected people in the summer of 2012. It was one of 46 companies to participate in the Y Combinator winter 2013 class. CrowdMed launched its public beta at TEDMED 2013 in Washington, D.C. The company aims to speedup and lower the cost of diagnosing rare medical conditions by crowdsourcing and applying prediction market technology to medical data. CrowdMed has users in 21 countries around the world, and has raised $2.4 million in seed funding from investors including New Enterprise Associates, Greylock Partners, Y Combinator, Andreessen Horowitz, SV Angel, Khosla Ventures and actor Patrick Dempsey. Dr. Amin Azzam is adding CrowdMed cases to his curriculum at the University of California at Berkeley, California and San Francisco’s joint medical program.

Prior to founding CrowdMed, CEO Jared Heyman built the internet survey company Infosurv, lead developer Axel Setyano worked at Loku, and lead designer Jessica Greenwalt founded graphic design firm Pixelkeet. Former WebMD general manager Clare Martorana and Second Life founder Philip Rosedale are advisors for the company.

Operations

There is a free case submission option, but CrowdMed also offers three paid packages each providing additional benefits. User information is kept anonymous and their case includes symptoms, health history, family background, and tests that have already been taken. Hundreds of "medical detectives" then submit possible diagnoses which other detectives bet upon to agree with the result. These "medical detectives" can be anyone from medical school students, to retired physicians, to anyone else, as there is no requirement for a medical degree to help solve these illnesses. In the end, the top three diagnoses are given to the patient for them to take to their doctor. The results from each medical detective are weighed based on their prior performance and current rating from patients, additionally medical detectives may also earn and share monetary rewards offered by patients to anyone who helps solve their case. As of May 2015, CrowdMed has solved over 900 cases, which take from a few weeks to a month to solve.

Reception

Many CrowdMed users find the site very helpful for patients who have rare, unsolved conditions. This site should never be used for emergency situations, or as the first source of treatment advice. These patients have, on average, been sick for eight years, seen eight different doctors, and have incurred $60,000 in medical expenses. Seventy percent of the patients who have turned to CrowdMed state that the site has led them closer to a correct diagnosis or cure. However, CrowdMed has experienced quite a bit of criticism as well. Bioethicists are concerned about the site’s lack of privacy as well as its accuracy of diagnoses. Medical regulatory experts are also skeptical of the site, as they believe it is an "unauthorized practice of medicine." Numerous viewers of CrowdMed have commented that medical information has no place in crowdsourcing. These viewers believe that a site like CrowdMed gives too much freedom to users by allowing them to submit any type of treatment suggestion. Posting outrageous medical advice can convince a patient to do something a doctor would not advise. Although the premise of the site is to talk to a doctor about the possible cures, desperate patients are often willing to try any type of remedy before communicating with their physician.