Unless you’re living under a rock you will already know at least one of the three things I am about to share with you.

1. Our nation’s health care system is basically as organized as a contestant’s house on Hoarders.

2. Health Care Start Up companies, websites and mobile apps are going to make people Mark-Zuckerberg-rich in the next 5 years.

3. People are freaking crazy about Game of Thrones.

With these factoids in mind we’ve figured the best way to share our story as a true health start-up website would be by making some “Stark” comparisons to the HBO series many Americans can’t stop talking about. While the race for the crown in Game of Thrones is a bit more of a bloodbath than the world of health care start-ups, what with HBO’s writers killing off most characters right when they start to be endearing, there are certainly some similarities in the way we do battle. There are large and small houses companies competing for the throne, but what is important to note are the processes those companies go through and how they provide value.

We’ll parallel our start-up, Save On Medical, to the House of Stark. Similar to them, we have a large, noble idea of what we’d like to accomplish in our kingdom industry. Our goal is to change the way patient-consumers shop for healthcare, giving them the appropriate tools and transparency to make their own self-governed decisions. The Starks value the kingdom and are focused on preserving what is best, just as everything we do is to benefit our patients.

One of the most important steps in becoming a successful start-up is bootstrapping and fighting the small battles successfully, while building resources for success. We did this by leveraging what we had; knowledge of the radiology industry, access to a network of providers and an experienced team dedicated to showing that a transformative application like ours could benefit providers and patients alike.

In Game of Thrones, the House of Stark toiled in the North for King’s Landing because they knew that in order to protect the kingdom they had to be successful there first. The radiology industry is our King’s Landing. This is where we have perfected our application model and built a foundation for growth into new areas of health care. Start-ups have to have a niche, a place where they can show proof of concept and succeed before they try to tackle larger markets and take on stronger battles.

We don’t want to rule the world though, we’re not Lannisters. Big businesses, large carriers and payers and health care systems? Those are the Lannisters, wanting to control the “gold.” They keep themselves a class apart to maintain control. This is why the health-care-world-Lannisters have convinced the media and patient-consumers that transparency into health care is simply impossible, because they do not want to give it. Well we’re here to tell you that transparency is possible and it’s for the best of the kingdom, so we’re giving it to you.

No more crying that “winter is coming” because, newsflash, for our health care system, it’s already here. Think about it: 48.6 Million uninsured, Medicare and Medicaid turmoil, health care tax debates, not to mention the astronomical prices we are paying for health care services, procedures and coverage. Don’t even get us started on the challenges of understanding those prices. Ladies and Gents, we’re in the Darkness and we just don’t have the ups to get back from North of the wall without the help of transparency and better patient education.

This is how we provide value. When patients are as in need as they are with this economic climate, we’ve tried to become a savior of sorts. To be a valuable start-up you have to be saving the day in some way. You don’t have to revolutionize the wheel, just build a better bridge to drive over. That is how we’ve been able to set ourselves apart from other sites like ours.

Here’s what we’ve done that other royal houses big companies aren’t even trying to do:

Full price transparency.

How we do it: Show average pricing in the region, which has been collected from extensive market research and secret shopping. Providers then list their Save On Medical self-pay rate directly on the site. This eliminates the need to call around to a number of facilities being transferred to 75 separate people only to hang up with inaccurate pricing.

Quality physician grading.

How we do it: All of our providers have been evaluated based on over 50 assessment points. These grading metrics take into consideration an aggregate of components including convenience, technology, patient satisfaction, report turn-around time etc. The grade is out of 100 and allows for easy patient comparison.

Online payment for better collections.

How We Do It: This allows patients to lock in the discounted Save On Medical rate by paying online ahead of time with a credit card or PayPal account. It is a win-win because the provider is able to collect the payment upfront without having to worry about collecting payments down the line and patients have less stress the day of their procedure.

Referring physician portal. COMING SOON!

How we WILL do it: We’ve created a platform for referring physician users so that they can easily refer their self-pay patients to the best provider for them, bridging the gap between referrals and scheduling. We’re working out the kinks with some test markets, before we make it available to the masses. It’s always important as a start-up to have some guinea pigs to help you out.

It hasn’t been an easy road, getting from point A (the idea of a great start-up) to point B (a valuable application adopted by your market.) A lesson learned from Lean Startup has helped us along, though. Always remember to build, measure and learn, then start the cycle over again. This process has helped us to evaluate our assumptions in light of successes and failures, recognizing when it is time to pivot or adapt.

Sara McFarland
http://Myatlantichealthsolutions.com