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My new medical research startup launches today: let me know what you think

metamed.com

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Re: My new medical research startup launches today: let me know what you think

#41

Post by waterlesscloud »

nostromo wrote: post #6

From Google Cache (was going to link to it, but the text-only version has a lot of over-laid text and is hard to read): > We work with you and your doctor to figure out how advances in medical science apply to your personal health needs. Our team of researchers will do in-depth, personalized analysis to find new technologies, read scientific journals, talk to experts, and separate real medical breakthroughs from medi…

Prices are currently listed as $5,000 (Core), $10,000 (Expanded), and Call For Quote (Concierge).

"Concierge" for medical service feels a little cheesy to me, but I'm not in that income demo so I could be completely wrong.

The sample Surface report looks kinda thin to me for $5,000. http://www.metamed.com/static/Meta_Sleep.pdf

The Expanded report is a little better. http://www.metamed.com/static/Meta_H_Pylori.pdf

The Sample Concierge report is interesting. Though from an admittedly quick skim I'm not sure how much of it is truly personalized. There's a lot statistics in there, which I guess is unavoidable. http://www.metamed.com/static/Meta_Gout.pdf

In any case, I like the basic idea of this a LOT. It's an interesting direction to go in, bringing this kind of thing to semi-mass market.

By the way, the line "Our doctors are here to listen" in the call-or-chat box is brilliant. The couple of people I know who have problems they would need to take to this level are completely fed up with doctors that they feel aren't listening to them. This is the market. People who are in strong need of personal level attention.

Re: My new medical research startup launches today: let me know what you think

#42

Post by cowkingdeluxe »

lifeisstillgood wrote: post #28

A rushed ten minute consult annoys us all, but How often is my medical condition going to be something that say paying the doctor to take 45 mins would not uncover. Most of us have diseases that are horses not zebra - and you have a strong financial incentive to encourage hypochondriacs to keep hearing zebra. If my condition has Gregory House stumped, sure ill pay you but otherwise that lump on your skin is a cyst no…

There are a good deal of misdiagnoses that cause more months of suffering, especially with diseases like Crohn's disease. Maybe a service like this could prevent that with the help of a more accurate up front diagnosis. Diseases aren't as rare as people tend to think (~1.5 million with a digestive disease in the U.S. alone).

That said, here are a couple things which make me skeptical about this:

1) They make claims involving rounded numbers without sources, such as "50% of second opinions contradict the original diagnosis." That's a red flag for me. Would be nice for me to see some sources for claims like that on a site wishing to sell medical research services.

2) Several of the medical researchers do not have a background in anything medical. In fact, one of the senior health researchers' area of expertise includes herbal medicine and Naturopathy (which is a bit anti-vaccination: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naturopathy). I would not be happy If I got suggested any alternative medicine remedies for my disease at the cost of $5,000.

Re: My new medical research startup launches today: let me know what you think

#43

Post by carbocation »

Udo wrote: post #25
carbocation wrote: post #16

Whenever we run a test in medicine, we ask, "How would the result affect management?" If the result, one way or another, would not change management, the test is not worth running. The site is down so I have to go from the headline, but I'd ask the same question: how would this service affect clinical management? Can you offer an example?

> Whenever we run a test in medicine, we ask, "How would the result affect management?" Yet, a lot of unnecessary tests are run daily at every hospital I've seen. But what's worse is that often times doctors are reluctant to find out more about a patient's illness simply because they believe "it wouldn't affect treatment and it's not worth it anyway". It doesn't take a scientist to figure out why this approach can be…

> But what's worse is that often times doctors are reluctant to find out more about a patient's illness simply because they believe "it wouldn't affect treatment and it's not worth it anyway". It doesn't take a scientist to figure out why this approach can be disastrous.

Some tests will not change management (just get a chest ct? no chest x-ray needed); other tests could change management but are unlikely to have an unusual result (have appendicitis? skin biopsy is probably not indicated). So without context it's possible to both agree and disagree with you equally emphatically.

> At the same time, high-paying private patients are often considered to be worth finding out the specifics.

More often, it seems that people who can pay push for and get unnecessary services, finding out specifics in a way that does not affect management.

I am still very curious to hear from the creators of this company how they think it will affect management, and whether they have an example.

Medicine needs a huge amount of change. Whether or not this affects management basically determines whether this has utility or is simply high-end entertainment.

Re: My new medical research startup launches today: let me know what you think

#44

Post by Udo »

carbocation wrote: post #43
Udo wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Whenever we run a test in medicine, we ask, "How would the result affect management?" Yet, a lot of unnecessary tests are run daily at every hospital I've seen. But what's worse is that often times doctors are reluctant to find out more about a patient's illness simply because they believe "it wouldn't affect treatment and it's not worth it anyway". It doesn't take a scientist to figure out why this approach can be…

> But what's worse is that often times doctors are reluctant to find out more about a patient's illness simply because they believe "it wouldn't affect treatment and it's not worth it anyway". It doesn't take a scientist to figure out why this approach can be disastrous. Some tests will not change management (just get a chest ct? no chest x-ray needed); other tests could change management but are unlikely to have an…

It's not just the perspective of a patient or a relative of a patient, though I can offer that too. This is the profession as I encountered it in medical school and clinical phases of my university career. Granted, it's in Germany not the US, but I'm guessing it can't be that different on the other side of the Atlantic.

Re: My new medical research startup launches today: let me know what you think

#45

Post by ThomPete »

guylhem wrote: post #33

Excellent idea, great concept!!! It's not everyday medicine where you work on simple problems following a statistical approach - an appendicitis is more likely than a Meckel diverticulum, and a simple overeating is even more likely than both. But there are complicated cases - not very often, but that's the one I like, and that most of the passionated doctors do too. Hell - I love such cases. A quick story - I once ha…

What a great story and congrats on the find!

Where those tests really expensive though or do you mean what you could have charged?

Re: My new medical research startup launches today: let me know what you think

#47

Post by Mycroft65536 »

cowkingdeluxe wrote: post #42
lifeisstillgood wrote: post #28

A rushed ten minute consult annoys us all, but How often is my medical condition going to be something that say paying the doctor to take 45 mins would not uncover. Most of us have diseases that are horses not zebra - and you have a strong financial incentive to encourage hypochondriacs to keep hearing zebra. If my condition has Gregory House stumped, sure ill pay you but otherwise that lump on your skin is a cyst no…

There are a good deal of misdiagnoses that cause more months of suffering, especially with diseases like Crohn's disease. Maybe a service like this could prevent that with the help of a more accurate up front diagnosis. Diseases aren't as rare as people tend to think (~1.5 million with a digestive disease in the U.S. alone). That said, here are a couple things which make me skeptical about this: 1) They make claims i…

Some things that are labeled "alternative medicine" have actual studies, with decent sample sizes and good methodologies, showing that they work. These things are worth paying attention to. The rest don't meet our standards and get ignored.

Re: My new medical research startup launches today: let me know what you think

#48

Post by biotech_anon »

naive wrote: post #35

The website (now loading) lists many health researchers on your team, but it doesn't say say much about their credentials and/or experience in biology/medicine. Can you give us some more details?

It also looks like many are associated with the "Singularity Institute." My exposure to that group left me feeling like it was some sort of cult of charlatans and wide-eyed dreamers. The presentations I've seen from them featured graphs without units and a lot of hand waving without hard data or independent validation. Almost like a sort of Scientology for Silicon Valley.

Re: My new medical research startup launches today: let me know what you think

#49

Post by Mycroft65536 »

ThomPete wrote: post #46

Great project and may I say great design. Looks very very solid IMHO. Good luck. As someone with a 1000 moles who have been diagnosed with melanoma (luckily early stage and now removed) would this service be of any good for me?

If you're uncertain of the diagnosis or are worried about it coming out of remission, then we will be able to help. How long ago did you have it?

Re: My new medical research startup launches today: let me know what you think

#50

Post by FireBeyond »

waterlesscloud wrote: post #41
nostromo wrote: post #6

From Google Cache (was going to link to it, but the text-only version has a lot of over-laid text and is hard to read): > We work with you and your doctor to figure out how advances in medical science apply to your personal health needs. Our team of researchers will do in-depth, personalized analysis to find new technologies, read scientific journals, talk to experts, and separate real medical breakthroughs from medi…

Prices are currently listed as $5,000 (Core), $10,000 (Expanded), and Call For Quote (Concierge). "Concierge" for medical service feels a little cheesy to me, but I'm not in that income demo so I could be completely wrong. The sample Surface report looks kinda thin to me for $5,000. http://www.metamed.com/static/Meta_Sleep.pdf The Expanded report is a little better. http://www.metamed.com/static/Meta_H_Pylori.pdf The…

"The sample Surface report looks kinda thin to me for $5,000. http://www.metamed.com/static/Meta_Sleep.pdf

No kidding. For three pages, effectively (with lots of whitespace).

In fact, for $5,000, your actionable items on the subject of "Difficulty Sleeping" are:

1. Get tested for sleep apnea. 2. Take melatonin. 3. Reduce caffeine intake.

Seriously? The first item is "get tested for thing you are complaining about"?

http://www.medicinenet.com/insomnia/article.htm - I typed in "Difficulty sleeping" into Google, and got this result as the first. It included all three items from the report and took somewhere under sixty seconds to find.

Don't get me wrong - this, and essentially anything medical - is ripe for innovation (I'm working on a almost polar opposite idea myself), and there are some good advances in expert systems for diagnosis that I've seen.

But if you're attempting to get $5,000 to $50,000 out of someone, the sample report you're showing isn't selling it, at all.

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