Thought Leaders in Mobile and Social: Peter Hudson, Founder of iTriage (Part 4)

Sramana Mitra: Yes, I think that’s correct. You’ve differentiated on a few fronts, from what I’m gathering. One is that you have done original content, a limited amount of content per disease, as opposed to providing 10 pages of information that make you lose your way. Then you’ve tied the information to providers with original research on the provider side. Those are probably the two strategies you’ve executed on. Is that correct?

Peter Hudson: Yes, I think, with the caveat that the taxonomy of our content and the UI that supports that is representative of the many different workflows patients go through trying to solve their problems.

SM: So, the third differentiation is in the UI and the taxonomy, which allows for the friendly navigation in a small form factor screen.

PH: Yes, because you’re limited in those.

SM: Great. What business model have you followed?

PH: Our main business model is we created a new type of mobile advertising for providers. It’s basically location-based listings that add information and content to our application. We allow providers to update and enhance the information about their offices or hospitals and have done so in ways that provide the information that patients want when they are making decisions about whom to go see. [That is the] functionality that helps drive interests like wait times for ERs or appointment setting for doctors. One is an information product, and the second is a functional product. The two tie together very well. In a location-based search, that presentation of information and function is compelling to the user.

SM: Is that a free app?

PH: It’s free.

SM: So, you’re monetizing on the providers’ side by providing them with lead generation.

PH: Correct.

SM: And you have been acquired by Aetna?

PH: Yes, we were acquired in the fall of 2011.

SM: How come? How is it that Aetna was the company that acquired you instead of Google or any number of companies that are trying health care stuff, such as Web MD and so on and so forth?

PH: I don’t know. You should talk to Google there. I think they missed it on us. We’re a very specific content-specific location-based search engine.

SM: Yes, I fully agree with you. This is a company Google should have acquired.

PH: They do a lot of stuff to promote us on Android. But I think they were right at the time that Google Health was imploding, and they were about to shutter it. Aetna was interested in us because health insurance companies are tradition B2B companies. And they all have B-to-B-to-C products that are not well distributed because you probably don’t want to get those products from your insurance company. With Mark Bertolini, the CEO of Aetna, his vision was, Let’s go where the people have decided to go and use a product that fits what we want to do.

SM: It’s a smart move on Aetna’s part. These insurance companies spend so much money on customer acquisition and so many advertising dollars. This is a fantastic move from a marketing point of view. They will have access to six million users on mobile phones and conceivably a lot more over time. I think on Aetna’s side, it’s an incredibly smart move. I just think it’s a stupid move on Google’s part to not do it.

PH: Yes. On Aetna’s side, they see the writing on the wall that they’re going to be selling more directly to consumers.

SM: Yes, of course.

PH: Exchanges and all the different things that are coming with health care reform. They also have a robust business in ACOs, which stands for accountable care organizations, and connecting. Those are basically local health care delivery systems.That our ability to provide the solutions we provide for consumers penetrated into one of those ACOs is a fantastic model of health care delivery. Why would you go out of network when you could book an appointment on your phone with a doctor who’s in network? It’s far easier.

SM: Yes. And how about WebMD? Were they not part of your discussions?

PH: WebMD has lost 60% of its market cap. It just lost its CEO. I can’t say that we were not having discussions with WebMD or Google or others from an acquisition standpoint. Aetna was aggressive and ended up winning our process.

SM: Well, good. It’s an interesting application. It’s an interesting time in the healthcare apps market. We’re seeing a lot of activity in the healthcare application/social media application and healthcare IT in general. Is there anything else that you want to share?

PH: I think the more users we drive with our application, the more value we think it represents to Aetna.

SM: Yes, I think a precursor to what you’ve done is a company that WebMD bought called Epocrates. You must be familiar with this, right?

PH: Yes, I know Jeff Tangney pretty well.

SM: We’ve covered that company extensively. It’s something that’s been on our radar much longer because it’s a much older company.

PH: Yes. We were around only two years when Aetna bought us … two and a half years.

SM: Very cool.

PH: Yes, thank you for your interest. We’ve done a lot of outside-in disruptive change to healthcare delivery. We have 800 hospital clients. We have a lot of participation within the healthcare provider system. A partner with the right vision helps you get even further. I think that’s critical in healthcare. You can’t change it without having some participation from within.

SM: Right. Also, I think there’s a timing issue. This healthcare apps or healthcare IT market in general is moving very well. In the past three or four years it has moved well, especially recently. It’s been moving extremely well over the past two years. You got the timing right as well.

PH: Yes. It has been and continues to be a lot of fun.

SM: Good. Thank you for sharing your story.

PH: Thank you very much.

This segment is part 4 in the series : Thought Leaders in Mobile and Social: Peter Hudson, Founder of iTriage
1 2 3 4