7 ms·

Show HN: Urgent care in your home

21 points by jfals82 12y ago

embwbam 12y ago
I'm in urgent care right now getting bad road rash cleaned up and wish I was at home instead! Pricing is definitely higher. I'll walk out paying about $200 on a high deductible plan. So I probably wouldn't use this for that reason but I love the idea.
steven777400 12y ago
I like the idea of house calls making a come back. The last thing we need is to take contagious people and tell them they have to go out in public to get a doctors note, or they have to come in to work. We need to find ways to keep sick people at home and a service like this helps.
joshmn 12y ago
I like this. One question: what cities are you currently live in? On the developer side of things, why aren't you asking, say, "Where do you need urgent care?" -- here's a map, input your address, so we can gauge interest for the next city.
yaddayadda 12y ago
1) Initial thought - cool, but then 2) I'd still want to use insurance, particularly as there is variability in the cost. 3) Some things listed require prescriptions to be filled. In those cases, I assume I'm still going to have to get dressed and drive to the pharmacy, at which point, what it is the benefit? 4) Some insurance carriers provide services similar to this. A few years back, I had a physical injury which left my physically limited for several months. My insurance actually covered the cost of a physical therapist coming to my house to make sure I knew how to get around in my limited state, to make minor alterations around the house, and to begin physical therapy. In talking to the insurance company and the therapist, there were a ton of different in-home services that they provided - unfortunately I was way too doped up to remember what the other services were they provided.
- jfals82 12y ago
  2) you receive the paperwork you need to submit to your insurance provider, but it is not done by Yodel Health. 3) that may be true. But you may not have to, for example, schlep your sick 5 year old with you. That's the killer use case.
  - yaddayadda 12y ago
    2) I'd definitely make that possibility more visible in any marketing. 3) Again, I'd make that a bit more visible in any marketing. (As a single person, if I'm going to have to schlep myself to the pharmacy, I might as well start at the clinic that's in the same building. So, I'm clearly not your targetmarket on this point.)
feld 12y ago
Are house visits by doctors a normal thing in France? I recall being told about it years back and it made me very envious.
- pan69 12y ago
  I think in most western European countries this is normal, at least when I was kid (growing up in the Netherlands) it was. However, I haven't lived in Europe for the past 10 years so maybe the messed this system up as well.
- m_t 12y ago
  In France, yes. There's a service called "SOS Medecins" that you can call, and a doc can come and visit. It is overpriced of course (three times what you'd pay at your regular doc, and it won't be completely taken care of by our national health insurance) but it can be very handy. I used it in Paris, where I didn't have a regular doc and had a flu. In smaller cities, more so in villages or in the countryside, your regular doc can come and visit, as older people might have difficulties moving, or the practice might be far away.
- mobiplayer 12y ago
  In Spain is not something uncommon.
arbaCarbac 12y ago
Interesting idea. Doesn't "urgent care" imply that a home visit wouldn't be suitable? If I was in urgent need then a hospital visit with access to all the equipment an emergency room has would be the best option right? Seems like this kind of wording would open you up to some kind of liability issues.
- jfals82 12y ago
  Emergency care is what you are describing. Urgent care, while urgent, doesn't have the same immediacy. This replaces what gets done in an urgent care facility.

21 points by jfals82 12y ago

I'm in urgent care right now getting bad road rash cleaned up and wish I was at home instead! Pricing is definitely higher. I'll walk out paying about $200 on a high deductible plan. So I probably wouldn't use this for that reason but I love the idea.

steven777400 12y ago

I like the idea of house calls making a come back. The last thing we need is to take contagious people and tell them they have to go out in public to get a doctors note, or they have to come in to work. We need to find ways to keep sick people at home and a service like this helps.

joshmn 12y ago

I like this. One question: what cities are you currently live in? On the developer side of things, why aren't you asking, say, "Where do you need urgent care?" -- here's a map, input your address, so we can gauge interest for the next city.

yaddayadda 12y ago

1) Initial thought - cool, but then 2) I'd still want to use insurance, particularly as there is variability in the cost. 3) Some things listed require prescriptions to be filled. In those cases, I assume I'm still going to have to get dressed and drive to the pharmacy, at which point, what it is the benefit? 4) Some insurance carriers provide services similar to this. A few years back, I had a physical injury which left my physically limited for several months. My insurance actually covered the cost of a physical therapist coming to my house to make sure I knew how to get around in my limited state, to make minor alterations around the house, and to begin physical therapy. In talking to the insurance company and the therapist, there were a ton of different in-home services that they provided - unfortunately I was way too doped up to remember what the other services were they provided.

jfals82 12y ago
2) you receive the paperwork you need to submit to your insurance provider, but it is not done by Yodel Health. 3) that may be true. But you may not have to, for example, schlep your sick 5 year old with you. That's the killer use case.
- yaddayadda 12y ago
  2) I'd definitely make that possibility more visible in any marketing. 3) Again, I'd make that a bit more visible in any marketing. (As a single person, if I'm going to have to schlep myself to the pharmacy, I might as well start at the clinic that's in the same building. So, I'm clearly not your targetmarket on this point.)

feld 12y ago

Are house visits by doctors a normal thing in France? I recall being told about it years back and it made me very envious.

pan69 12y ago
I think in most western European countries this is normal, at least when I was kid (growing up in the Netherlands) it was. However, I haven't lived in Europe for the past 10 years so maybe the messed this system up as well.
m_t 12y ago
In France, yes. There's a service called "SOS Medecins" that you can call, and a doc can come and visit. It is overpriced of course (three times what you'd pay at your regular doc, and it won't be completely taken care of by our national health insurance) but it can be very handy. I used it in Paris, where I didn't have a regular doc and had a flu. In smaller cities, more so in villages or in the countryside, your regular doc can come and visit, as older people might have difficulties moving, or the practice might be far away.
mobiplayer 12y ago
In Spain is not something uncommon.

arbaCarbac 12y ago

Interesting idea. Doesn't "urgent care" imply that a home visit wouldn't be suitable? If I was in urgent need then a hospital visit with access to all the equipment an emergency room has would be the best option right? Seems like this kind of wording would open you up to some kind of liability issues.

jfals82 12y ago
Emergency care is what you are describing. Urgent care, while urgent, doesn't have the same immediacy. This replaces what gets done in an urgent care facility.