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CHA-CASE Jun-25-2008 (650 words) With photo. xxxn
AOL co-founder seeks to give consumers power in health care decisions
By Nancy Frazier O'Brien
Catholic News Service
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The man who calls himself "the quintessential tech guy" has taken on a new challenge -- empowering consumers to take more control over their own health and to bring about a revolution in health care.
Steve Case, co-founder of America Online and former chairman of AOL Time Warner, spoke June 23 at the leadership luncheon at the 2008 Catholic Health Assembly in San Diego.
"Our nation's health care industry is at a crossroads with many ills and ... no clear remedies," he said. "And the more stories I hear, the more it's apparent that it's affecting everyone -- regardless of factors such as race, sex, age or income."
In 2005 Case founded Revolution Health Group and two years later he launched RevolutionHealth.com, a free health and medical information site designed to assist "the family's chief medical officer -- women and other caregivers," according to the Web site.
Case said that when he stepped down from AOL Time Warner in 2003 he thought "that maybe the whole experience of the Internet revolution was the kind of thing that probably comes around just once in a lifetime."
"But then I realized I was wrong," he added. "As I began to focus on the health care industry, I realized the potential to transform the consumer health experience might be greater than anything I had worked on in the past. And possibly even more significant in terms of contributing to the quality of life for all segments of society."
Case said he became more closely involved in the health care world about five years ago when his brother Dan was diagnosed with a brain tumor.
"It was through my experiences helping him fight his losing battle with cancer, coupled with dealing with the everyday health challenges of being a father of five children, that brought to light for me just how messed up our health care system really is," he said.
"I believe that a health care system driven by consumers, shaped by market forces, informed by principles of social justice and powered by technology can improve efficiency, lower costs, increase choice and improve quality," he added.
Among the current services provided by Revolution Health Group are a free personal health record, which could eventually be linked (with the patient's permission) to providers and hospitals; a symptom checker to help people determine what a stomach ache or dizziness might mean; CarePages, which allow family and friends to share information about the progress of an ill person and connect patients to others with the same disease or condition; RediClinics in retail stores offering walk-in treatment for some routine medical problem; and unbiased information about various health insurance options.
Employers also can contract with Revolution Health for their employees to receive telephone guidance on health issues and assistance with health insurance claims.
Case said the Internet "has decisively shifted" power from merchants to consumers in areas such as stock purchases, car buying, mortgage rates and hotel room rates.
"One of the last industries to change into being truly consumer-focused is the health care industry," he said. "Changes in the health care system are bound to follow in the well-worn path of every major consumer trend in our society: They put more power in the hands of the consumer, leading to greater choice, greater control and greater convenience."
Case said there is "no quick fix" for the health care crisis and said he expected Revolution Health "to be a 10- to 20-year journey -- similar to the Internet revolution we helped lead at AOL."
"We're on track to generate more than 3 billion page views this year," he said. "We are encouraged by that initial acceptance, given that a year ago we had zero consumers generating zero page views. ... But frankly, we're just getting started."
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Copyright (c) 2008 Catholic News Service/USCCB. All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed.
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