CrowdMed

CrowdMed (CrowdMed, Inc.) was a San Francisco, California healthcare technology platform that applied crowdsourcing and prediction-market techniques to medical data in order to suggest diagnoses for difficult and undiagnosed cases. Patients completed an online questionnaire covering their medical history, current symptoms and personal circumstances, and submitted the case anonymously; profiles included symptoms, health history, family background and previous testing. A community of participants known as "medical detectives" then proposed possible diagnoses, which other detectives elaborated on. Contributions were weighted according to each detective's prior performance and patient ratings, and detectives could earn and share monetary rewards offered by patients for help solving a case. The top three diagnostic suggestions were compiled into a report for the patient to take to a physician for testing.

There was no requirement for a medical degree to participate as a medical detective; the community included medical students, retired physicians and lay contributors. The company positioned its service for individuals as well as insurance providers and self-insured corporate customers as a way to reduce healthcare costs. CrowdMed graduated from Y Combinator's Winter 2013 batch and launched publicly at the TEDMED 2013 conference in Washington, D.C. Its advisors included founders and executives of online healthcare companies such as WebMD. Y Combinator lists the company's status as inactive and its founders as former founders.

Founding story

Jared Heyman founded the company in 2012 with Axel Setyanto and Jessica Greenwalt after his sister struggled to obtain a diagnosis for her FXPOI condition. During development, the website was tested with 300 randomly selected people.

Business model

CrowdMed operated a consumer-facing subscription/case-submission service, marketed with a seven-day free trial and HSA/FSA eligibility, while also targeting insurance providers and self-insured corporate customers with the proposition of lowering healthcare spending. Medical detectives could earn and share monetary rewards put up by patients for solving their cases.

Paid patient case submissions with a seven-day free trial and stated HSA/FSA eligibility, alongside offerings aimed at insurance providers and self-insured employers.

Traction

More than 900 cases solved as of May 2015; users reported in 21 countries per Wikipedia, while the company's site cites patients in more than 30 countries and "12K happy customers." A January 2016 study in the Journal of Medical Internet Research examined nearly 400 cases from May 2013 to April 2015, finding roughly half of patients likely to recommend CrowdMed to a friend and about 60% reporting insights that moved them closer to a correct diagnosis.

Latest developments

Wikipedia reports the CrowdMed website has appeared down since October 16, 2023, and that the company's LinkedIn page indicated 10 employees as of September 2024; Y Combinator lists the company's status as inactive with a team size of 5. Founder Jared Heyman is described as Executive Chairman of CrowdMed and Managing Partner of Rebel Fund, a seed-stage venture fund investing in Y Combinator startups.