CrowdMed
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Healthcare, Crowdsourcing |
| Founded | 2012 |
| Founder | Jared Heyman, Axel Setyanto, Jessica Greenwalt |
| Headquarters | San Francisco , United States |
Area served | Worldwide (users from 21 countries) |
Key people | Jared Heyman (founder) |
Number of employees | 10 (2024) |
| Website | crowdmed |
CrowdMed operated as a healthcare platform headquartered in San Francisco, California. Established in 2012 by Jared Heyman, Axel Setyanto, and Jessica Greenwalt, the company sought to identify rare medical conditions by leveraging crowdsourcing and prediction market methodologies applied to medical information. By May 2015, CrowdMed had successfully addressed over 900 patient cases.
As of October 16, 2023, the platform's website is no longer accessible.
History
The inception of CrowdMed was motivated by Jared Heyman's sister encountering challenges in diagnosing her FXPOI condition. The platform underwent initial testing with 300 participants before its public beta debut at TEDMED in Washington, D.C. in 2013.
CrowdMed engaged users from 21 different countries and secured $2.4 million in seed capital from investors such as New Enterprise Associates, Greylock Partners, Y Combinator, Andreessen Horowitz, Khosla Ventures, as well as actor Patrick Dempsey. According to the company's LinkedIn profile as of September 2024, it employs 10 staff members.
Operations
All user data—including symptoms, medical history, family background, and previous test results—is kept confidential. A community of hundreds of "medical detectives," which includes medical students, retired doctors, and individuals without formal medical qualifications, contribute potential diagnoses and expand upon them. Patients receive the top three suggested diagnoses to discuss with their healthcare providers. Contributions from detectives are evaluated based on historical accuracy and patient feedback, with financial incentives provided by patients for successfully resolving cases.
Reception
Concerns have been expressed regarding the dependability of advice sourced from non-professionals. A 2016 analysis of nearly 400 cases revealed that approximately half of the patients would endorse CrowdMed, while 60% indicated that the insights gained helped them progress toward accurate diagnoses.
Lists Featuring CrowdMed
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