Startup idea #52: Comparison service for medical tourism

After reading a few good articles on current state of healthcare (see post here), and reading this story from Fast Company, it suddenly all made sense and I can see what a startup with little resources can do to create value for the healthcare sector.

The main issue threading across these articles is that healthcare is not going to the people who need it due to the games that insurance companies play. One solution, as pointed out by the Fast Company story is to seek cheaper treatment in other countries. I think there lies the opportunity for a startup to contribute to the solution for healthcare problem.

One idea is to be the Jellyfish.com + Tripadvisor.com for the medical tourists. The site will allow comparisons of different factors such as price, service quality, airfare costs et al for different types of medical services. It should also allow users to review recreational activities that can be enjoyed by the patients after their operations. The quality of information about the different medical services and the ease of the interface will be key success factors.

I will leave you with this paragraph from the Fast Company story that spells out the opportunity:

Medical tourism hubs will become different stops on the same assembly line: Brazil and South Africa for plastic surgery; Mexico and Hungary for dentistry; Costa Rica for a little of both; and Southeast Asia for the bodywork of heart surgery, organ transplants, and orthopedics.

Posted in: healthcare 2.0,marketplace,search application,startup business ideas