Some people–such as Oprah Winfrey and Steve Jobs–enjoy the kind of fame that brings instant media coverage whenever they inhale. Steve Case, founder of America OnLine (AOL), seems to share that type of notoriety.
Some people–such as Oprah Winfrey and Steve Jobs–enjoy the kind of fame that brings instant media coverage whenever they inhale. Steve Case, founder of America OnLine (AOL), seems to share that type of notoriety.
Case inhaled in October 2005, when he announced that Revolution Health Group (RHG), launched months earlier, had acquired a handful of start-ups and was poised to “revolutionize” healthcare. Oh, good, another healthcare revolution. When he spoke, Case captured ink in U.S. News & World Report, Fortune and USA Today among other major media outlets for what was, essentially, inhalation lite.
Can Revolution Health Group fix the healthcare system that Case publicly has labeled “unaffordable and unsustainable?” Will it return power to the masses and educate millions of consumers about wellness, chronic health conditions, treatment costs and provider choices–and do it all with the colorful gift-wrap-counter personality of AOL? Am I the only one frightened by this?
Case publicly has said he will invest $500 million of his own money in the RHG initiative. I don’t know anyone who has $500 million to invest in anything, but I can’t imagine a person who has amassed that amount using it to acquire start-ups to fuel a new corporate venture without expecting one King Kong of an ROI. Case is back in business: Healthcare information is his product, and the consumer population at large is his target. Curiously unmentioned in the media ballyhoo was the quality of the healthcare information he intends to provide and any quality control for utilization of the information. But, look for “disclaimer” as a keyword.
RHG’s board of directors is stocked with famous names who have distinguished themselves in fields other than healthcare for actions unrelated to healthcare. Carly Fiorina, Colin Powell and former Netscape CEO Jim Barksdale are examples. Available media coverage on Case, RHG and its BOD doesn’t seem to include many initial sets like M.D., D.O., Ph.D., R.N., Pharm.D., AHA, AMA or DMAA. But RHG has purchased companies such as MyDNA Media, which reportedly offers “health news and information” and 1-800-Schedule, which helps consumers find doctors and make appointments, along with a minority ownership in InterFit Health, an enterprise that builds economy clinics in retail sites. Behold–the tools of revolution?
The problem isn’t Steve Case or RHG. The problem is–only in healthcare can a person with no healthcare experience and no healthcare credentials–but one big fistful of money–publicly declare he is going to fix a damaged healthcare system, not be laughed into a mole hole and, instead, garner tons of media coverage. How often has a nonexpert invested millions of his own money and vowed to fix the U.S. aeronautics industry? How about in retail, manufacturing or financial services? For Pete’s sake, even Oprah sticks just to books.
Here is a short list of things that won’t fix the healthcare system: a) teaching consumers to expect to shop online for doctors and healthcare services like they shop online for shoes and small kitchen appliances; b) more celebrities with no healthcare qualifications being named to BODs of healthcare entities; c) more unvetted healthcare information and more Web sites to host it; d) more profit motive.
If we must suffer through an uncredentialed, inexperienced millionaire advocate for healthcare revolution, could we at least stage a public election? Let’s see: Steve? Martha? Shania? Leonardo? Tiger?
