ICYou.com (beta) Debuts at Health 2.0 Conference

Today I happened to be in San Francisco for some client meetings at the same time the Health 2.0 conference (http://www.Health2con.com) was taking place -- which I unfortunately did not have the opportunity to attend.  However, I was invited to "crash" their cocktail party where I spoke to several of my peers who informed me that the conference was quite inspiring, and they actually learned about a whole slew of start-ups that have all set their sights on transforming the healthcare sector.

 

One particular company that several people mentioned to me was "ICYou.com" (http://www.ICYou.com), a "YouTUBE" of Healthcare, if you will.  I have not had sufficient time to really understand what they are all about, but from the 5 minutes I have spent on their site I have to say that I really like what they are trying to do. 

 

In addition, they have recorded and posted various sessions from the conference on their site (thank you very much ICYOU!):

 

http://www.icyou.com/?q=events/health-2-0-conference

 

In addition to hundreds of videos on almost every condition you can imagine, their site features videos related to "Healthcare Finance" and "Healthcare Politics".  The site also provides useful interactive functionality like "share your story", "send", "comment", and "add to my favorites". 

 

The site is created by "Benefit Focus" (http://www.benefitfocus.com), that, according to their Website, "provides software and services that put people in touch with their health and healthcare. Our solutions are for health plans, employers, insurance brokers, and individuals. Anyone that needs better healthcare information." 

 

While I am not sure where they are headed or what exactly their business model will be, I am thrilled that someone is capitalizing on the online video revolution to educate consumers and improve the state of our healthcare system.

 

[Below is an excerpt from their Website]

 

About ICYOU.com

 

icyou.com, an innovative video Web site on healthcare, aims to empower you to make more informed decisions about your health. Our team of producers, reporters, graphic artists and expert healthcare consultants are creating high fidelity medical content to explain healthcare beyond text.

 

Everyday families are thrust into new medical situations they don't choose. A simple trip to the doctor can set into motion a landslide of questions.

 

We want people to come to icyou.com:

• To share their story
• When they are facing a medical procedure
• To understand a diagnosis
• To comprehend their medical expenses and bills
• To hear from industry experts & everyday people
• This on-line video library and healthcare community is a place to share your medical story, good or bad. Tell others what you did and what you wish you would have done.

icyou is a Benefitfocus company. Benefitfocus is the leader in software and services for the healthcare benefits market. By developing leading technology solutions, Benefitfocus allows consumers, employers and benefit providers to manage complex decisions in an ever-changing healthcare environment.