Steve Case's New Health Portal Offers Early Mix Of Free And Paid ServicesSteve Case's New Health Portal Offers Early Mix Of Free And Paid Services

If you want to better understand what Steve Case's Revolution Health Group is trying to offer, it helps if you squint and imagine WebMD, MySpace, OnStar, Drugstore.com, and the American Automobile Association all rolled into one -- with lots of high-tech bells and whistles.

Earlier this week, Revolution Health Group unveiled to the pubic a "preview" of the first offerings that company founder (and former AOL founder) Steve Case has said previously will empower consumers by putting them at the center of health care.

Right now, Revolution Health offers a free online portal providing an array of services, including social networking for heath issues; medical content from prestigious health researchers like those at the Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Clinic, and Harvard; and patient ratings of health providers and treatments.

Other health portals, like WebMD, provide consumers health information, such as the symptoms and possible treatments for hundreds of illnesses. But Revolution Health's search technology built into the portal helps to present the content to consumers based on their interests, says Martin Fisher, Revolution Health's chief technology officer. Revolution Health's search technology "is an open source tool within our own Web site, plus in-house developed applications for tagging and taxonomy," he says.

Another array of services -- which will help generate revenue for the company -- is offered via fee-based premium membership. Those "concierge" services include a help phone-line where consumers can connect to health professionals, such as registered nurses who can help explain a diagnosis or treatment options suggested by the patient's doctor. There also will be pros who can help consumers figure out their best insurance plan options, as well as scheduling services to help consumers set health care appointments.

"It's like OnStar for all health care needs," says Revolution Health chief operating officer Jay Silverstein.

But in providing the help, Revolution Health's health staff won't be relying simply on their own opinions. The company has developed "algorithms" that will help the staff answer the questions, Silverstein says.

Although the advice services will be offered initially via the phone, "this will expand over time, as well as ways to access it," says Silverman.

For the next 90 days, Revolution Health is providing a special offer of free concierge membership till end of 2007. However, in order to have that membership fee waived, people need to "earn" the perk by participating in some of the health portal's features, such as the health care rating system, during the site's preview period.

After that, annual pricing for that premium membership will likely range from $50 to $100, says Silverman. "Think of it like AAA," he says.

Once the site officially launches in the spring, it will also includes another revenue source: the Revolution Health Store, an e-commerce site that sells online health products. For that, Revolution is partnering with another e-commerce site, Drugstore.com, Fisher says. "We put our interface on the store, plus we select the merchandise," he says.