CrowdMed Files for IPO: Harnessing Crowdsourced Medical Detectives to Solve the World's Most Difficult Cases

CrowdMed, broadly speaking, is a U.S.-based website offering medical health consultation services for complex conditions. More narrowly defined, it crowdsources diagnostic and treatment plans from a community of “medical detectives.”CrowdMed was founded on October 1, 2012, by Jared Heyman, Jessica Greenwalt, and Leonardo Setyanto. The initiative was inspired by Jared Heyman’s sister, who suffered from a rare and difficult-to-diagnose condition. Despite significant financial and emotional investments by the family, her treatment yielded minimal results. Motivated to help his sister, Jared Heyman leveraged internet technology to create CrowdMed.

Before founding CrowdMed, Jared established a company called InfoSurv, which employed prediction market technology for market research. Using InfoSurv’s market forecasting system, Heyman posted his sister’s medical condition online, prompting more than 300 individuals to participate in discussions and vote on various treatment options. Heyman stated, “This crowdsourcing approach enables patients with rare and complex conditions to receive diagnoses within two weeks. In contrast, conventional diagnostic pathways typically take more than three years.”Thus, CrowdMed’s website still features the tagline “solves the world's most difficult medical cases,” leveraging collective intelligence to address the most challenging medical cases worldwide.

CrowdMed: Reshaping the Landscape of Diagnosing Complex and Rare DiseasesCrowdMed believes that the wisdom of the crowd surpasses that of any individual. Users can anonymously submit their medical conditions on CrowdMed, detailing their symptoms, past medical history, family history, and previous medical tests. CrowdMed operates with full transparency, enabling other users and physicians to discuss and share experiences in treating complex and rare diseases, thereby leveraging collective intelligence to address these challenging cases. CrowdMed aggregates these inputs and, combined with its proprietary technology, predicts potential diseases based on patient symptoms, providing users with diagnostic recommendations.(Note: In real life, these “medical detectives” are typically internists, nurses, medical students, and individuals with a particular aptitude for understanding complex and rare diseases.)After three years of development and refinement, CrowdMed’s market forecasting technology has become capable of addressing most of the complex and refractory conditions that have long plagued physicians worldwide.

Unlike traditional approaches that rely on a single physician, CrowdMed leverages the collective intelligence of hundreds of thousands of “medical detectives” to generate accurate and insightful diagnostic recommendations. Its goal is to become a trusted source of medical diagnostic advice for tens of thousands of patients.At CrowdMed, the process of harnessing the wisdom of the medical community takes approximately 75 days, meaning that submitted medical cases are typically resolved within this timeframe.Among patients who received diagnoses from the CrowdMed team, 78% reported that the diagnoses obtained through the platform were later confirmed as correct. Heyman stated, “On average, each patient had consulted eight physicians before turning to CrowdMed, incurring medical expenses exceeding $50,000 per person. Our approach is transforming the current landscape of diagnosing complex and rare conditions.”

During the beta testing phase, 20 patients with complex and rare conditions were diagnosed.CrowdMed: Revenue ModelUsers seeking a diagnosis are required to pay $199. Additionally, a $20 deposit is required, which will be refunded once the patient receives their final diagnosis. Medical detectives receive corresponding compensation, prizes, and internal rankings.Regarding CrowdMed’s revenue model, the platform takes a 10% commission from the “bounty” paid by patients for correct diagnoses. In the future, this model may also extend to third-party payers. Heyman stated, “Insurance companies benefit significantly from websites like CrowdMed. I believe these interests are actually aligned. Both payers and patients want patients to recover their health as quickly as possible.”Incidentally, CrowdMed was one of the 46 companies showcased in the Y Combinator Winter 2013 batch.

To date, CrowdMed has raised over $2.4 million in funding, with investors including NEA, Andreessen Horowitz, Greylock Partners, Y Combinator, and SV Angel.(Note: The Infosurv prediction model collects public opinion through a survey panel, which is essentially a large database of U.S. citizens who have agreed to participate in online surveys. This prediction system is primarily used for market research purposes, and its random sampling reflects the demographic distribution of the U.S. population. CrowdMed’s current platform operates in a manner similar to Infosurv.)(P.S.: The following is an unresolved case; those interested may take a look...)

Text | Li Ying

Editor: Mo Renying