Complete this sentence: Someone should start a business that...
 

Someone should start a business that... does what? Are there any unserved or underserved needs that come to mind - especially service businesses?

I'm sure posting this in PPOT will result in some, um, less than serious responses. A few real ideas would be nice too! :D I'm trying desperately to avoid getting a real job.

employs fluffers.

Ha ha. That's the first response that came to my mind, too. :D

A web-based portal that integrated doctors offices with insurance companies, hospitals, labs, and pharmacies. It needs to provide business management/billing services as well as medical information.

What we have now is a poorly organized group of independent efforts that ALL fall short of the mark. It's a 7 trillion dollar industry. The efficiencies of a comprehensive web based portal would be worth billions.

Moses,

Wouldn't there be issues with patient information being at risk?

Already being done securely in the same manner as banking, etc.

......offers me a simple and easy to find 'Cayman S for kindney' exchange program.

Moses:

1. Who's going to pay for it?

2. Who would administer it? Something that big would likely be run/mandated by the government. You DON'T want the same people bringing you Medicare to run this project, too.

(Not trying to be argumentative. I agree with your idea. It's just that I can't get over these pretty big potholes along the way.)

....converts all the PLASTIC we bury in landfills into fuel for our cars!

Isn't that something like how Ross Perot made his fortune? I know it was long before the Internet. But I thought he designed the programs for Medicare billing.

Moses...you need an EMR (Electronic Medical Records) system...lots of companies in the game. That would handle the front-end, at least. HIPPA requirements are easily covered even with low-end systems...just look at TeleRadiology or PACS.

Someone should start a business that specializes in fast turnaround marketing of REOs for banks, including typical 'flipper' tactics to maximize returns.

pick up and delivery service for shops.
They bring you a loaner, take your car to the shop and return it, take back the loaner.

I know its done at some shops, but not many.
Independents could offer this service imo.
I hate the time it takes to drop off and pick up a vehicle.

Had there been something like that when I was stupid enough to have bought a new Dodge...... how does that song go? "thank god for unanswered prayers" :D

This is a good idea. I represent 13 different financial instutions in my area and they are all getting killed on REOs - and these are not subprime lenders. Banks are notoriously poor property managers and they don't usually maintain the manpower to handle the work involved. Beyond that, they get killed on the commission, taxes during the holding period, and refurbishing/repairs. A business that could maintain, market, and sell at less that a 6% total cost would be a no brainer for most of these institutions. But it would take a brokers license to make it work.

NOT GOVERNMENT RUN!

A new patient walks into your office. You swipe his insurance card in the reader and his medical web page opens.

On that page is a list of current meds, medical and surgical problems, allergies etc. It also tells you he has a $10 co-pay and he has authorization for his visit. Through this portal you can order and receive blood tests and x-rays, and send prescriptions. The page even tells you which medications his insurance covers and which it doesn't. And because all the data can be updated in realtime, there are fewer errors.

During your patients visit, you read the Emergency Room doc's summary of his last visit and you determine that he needs a CT scan (at an approved facility) and a visit to a specialist (who is part of his insurance network). all this is accomplished without any delay, errors or a single phone call.

As the patient leaves your office, your billing clerk submits a bill to the insurance company and gets instant notification of payment. No 45 day delay.

Who wins? The doctors office saves a lot of time and money. The hospital and lab will have impressive savings. The insurance company will save billions by not having doctors duplicate tests or prescriptions or send patients to non-contracted facilities that cost the insurance companies millions.

But the BIG winner is the patient. Fast, efficient and SAFER care.

Moses, some of that already exists. At least in e-prescribing, eligibility and Payer interfaces. I designed the transaction sets and helped in implementing the Master Person Index (MPI) that current holds information in over 170 million people. RxHub (www.rxhub.net) was formed back in 2001 to get the ball rolling. Biggest hurdles? First was standardization. Everyone out there wanted to include bits an pieces of their own systems to give themselves a competitive advantage. Biggest nut to crack? Docs. Docs are notoriously cheap. Really hard to get most to cut loose with the capital investment, even after being shown the ROI. It's really quite good, Doc get eligibility and formulary right there as he prescribes, No call-backs from the pharm for substitution, instant interaction checks, etc. It's picking up steam now, and while it's still primarily Dr - Rx-payer, they are trying to tie in all medical.

But to get everyone (the various insurance companies, and even tougher, the multitudes of doctors--people who seem to pride themselves on their individuality) to agree on the same system will be near-impossible. Plenty of docs don't even have EMR in their offices. Then, for those that do, they're going to have to change over to a new system, thereby making all their technology/software obsolete. Who pays for that? Who pays for the new system? What about those conspiracy theorists out there that are afraid of big brother or the potential for this information to "fall into the wrong hands?"

I understand where you're coming from and agree. The VA computer system (which runs nationwide) would actually be not too bad of a model. But to get everyone else in the country (insurance companies, healthcare providers, and patients) to agree to use one single system...will be difficult. Still, I'd like to see it work.

edit: Oh, and what happens when the computers crash, as seems to happen on a weekly basis in my office (and I know I'm not alone)? Seems silly if we develop a system and become so dependent on it that I wouldn't be able to see a patient if the computers didn't work.

Mitchell Medical?

... men go to where women pick up the men :D
Charge $50~100 a head for men and women drink free all night :D