{"id":4655,"date":"2017-03-20T16:58:22","date_gmt":"2017-03-20T20:58:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/digital.hbs.edu\/platform-digit\/submission\/iodine-the-yelp-of-medicine\/"},"modified":"2017-03-20T16:58:53","modified_gmt":"2017-03-20T20:58:53","slug":"iodine-the-yelp-of-medicine","status":"publish","type":"hck-submission","link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/submission\/iodine-the-yelp-of-medicine\/","title":{"rendered":"Iodine: the \u2018Yelp of Medicine\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a><\/p>\n

IODINE<\/p>\n

Iodine is the \u2018Yelp of Medicine,\u2019 a website that crowdsources and aggregates reviews of pharmaceutical drugs and other medical treatments in order to help patients make better-informed choices about their medications. Building on a foundation of traditional research (i.e. clinical trials and product labels) and existing data (i.e. pharmacist reports, insurance, etc.), Iodine crowdsources patient-generated content to create detailed reviews of over 500 medications and therapies. An initial Google Consumer Survey of 100,000+ U.S. citizens, now supplemented with inbound reviews, has made Iodine a source of valuable information for patients trying to learn about drugs\u2019 efficacy (or failure rates), side effects, and whether or not a drug is \u2018worth it.\u2019<\/p>\n

Managing the Crowd: Challenges <\/u><\/p>\n

Thomas Goetz, co-founder of Iodine, was very careful in managing the crowdsourced data that populated the platform initially. After all, in the context of medical decisions, a \u2018minimum viable product\u2019 with some possible quality defects really isn\u2019t viable at all. To gain as unbiased a sample set of reviews as possible, Goetz\u2019s team used Google Consumer Surveys to solicit reports from 100,000 U.S. citizens. In this way, Iodine hoped to avoid what they term the \u2018silence of the satisfied user\u2019 \u2013 when pharmaceutical users with limited-to-no side effects, or moderate improvements in their condition don\u2019t bother to report their results. Many companies focused on user-generated content struggle with acquiring too-biased a sample, as contributors are most likely to post reviews when they are extremely dissatisfied or extremely pleased with an experience. Iodine worked to mitigate this bias by not relying solely on volunteer reviewers \u2013 an excellent way to improve data quality while growing a review base quickly at launch.<\/p>\n

Users who have found Iodine organically and left reviews of their own volition are not compensated for doing so. Their sole incentive in leaving a review is the opportunity to improve the experience of other patients with the same conditions. The Iodine team also rigorously checks its survey responses and crowdsourced reviews for spam or fraud prior to including them in their data sets or publishing them on the website; each review is individually checked. Additionally, the overall data set is analyzed for patterns that may conflict with clinical data; discrepancies are further reviewed.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Value Creation<\/u><\/p>\n

Iodine has created value for patients by giving them access to a wealth of information: unbiased reviews of drugs and therapies, a cumulative repository of information on what treatments are effective or \u2018worth it\u2019 in different circumstances, and tidbits of relevant information that your doctor or pharmacist might neglect to mention. This is particularly beneficial in the context of comparing medications. Iodine recently launched a tool to help users compare different forms of birth control (which has gained significant press and traction over the course of the 2016 election cycle, and in early 2017). Iodine also launched an app called Start, designed to help patients with mental health issues track their progress as they adjust to new treatments and medications. Beyond giving patients access to information, Iodine has also given them a voice by enabling them to share their experiences with different treatments \u2013 creating a potential feedback loop for doctors and pharmaceutical companies.<\/p>\n

Beyond patients, Iodine has created value for several other key healthcare entities. For one, pharmaceutical companies with well-reviewed drugs might benefit from the positive earned media (note the Cialis vs. Viagra comparison).<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The greatest benefit, perhaps, is to the healthcare system overall, as Iodine is increasingly focused on improving drug regimen adherence. Recent studies have shown that about 50% of chronic disease sufferers do not take their drugs as prescribed, resulting in a devastating 125,000 deaths and costs of $100-297 billion annually. If Iodine manages to even slightly improve patient adherence \u2013 by helping patients to be better-informed about side effects and better-prepared to stick with the regimen over time \u2013 this could result in thousands of lives lengthened and billions of dollars saved. Further savings may accrue to health insurance providers as Iodine highlights the similarities between brand name drugs and generics, improving patient and doctor confidence in generics.<\/p>\n

Finally, Iodine is also providing tremendous benefit to the FDA through its work as a developer on OpenFDA; Iodine received a $1m+ grant to advance the OpenFDA platform, making FDA information more accessible to other developers and the general public.<\/p>\n

Value Capture & Growth Potential<\/u><\/p>\n

Iodine clearly has the potential to create tremendous value for society, yet its ability to capture value remains uncertain. While they raised moderate amounts of early funding, and won the OpenFDA grant, no clear business model emerged that would enable Iodine to monetize. Indeed, all of its apps were made free to the public, as is the general Iodine website; it is clear they have not attempted to monetize the patient side of the value Iodine has created.<\/p>\n

In January of 2017, a merger with GoodRX was announced, but the deal terms have not yet been released. The merger marks an apparently-successful startup exit for Iodine, which is expected to continue to operate as-is going forward. Yet the Iodine team has yet to unveil a path to revenue generation and positive cash flow.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s help Team Iodine out with a few ideas: how do you think they could capture value from their crowdsourced medication reviews, and decision-making and behavior change apps?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

—<\/p>\n

Sources:<\/p>\n

All images from: http:\/\/www.iodine.com<\/a><\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.iodine.com\/about<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/rockhealth.com\/companies\/iodine\/<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.crunchbase.com\/organization\/iodine#\/entity<\/a><\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.prnewswire.com\/news-releases\/iodine-inc-awarded-117-million-contract-from-the-food-and-drug-administration-for-openfda-project-300027652.html<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/angel.co\/iodine<\/a><\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.dddmag.com\/article\/2015\/03\/meet-thomas-goetz-co-founder-iodine<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2014\/09\/24\/technology\/to-gather-drug-information-a-health-start-up-turns-to-consumers.html?_r=0<\/a><\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.recode.net\/2015\/1\/29\/11558230\/electronic-health-startup-iodine-gets-fda-nod-in-data-sharing-project<\/a><\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.inc.com\/magazine\/201606\/thomas-goetz\/small-companies-big-customers.html<\/a><\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.mobihealthnews.com\/36837\/google-wired-vets-team-up-to-launch-d2c-drug-data-startup<\/a><\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.mobihealthnews.com\/43513\/crowdsourced-medication-review-site-iodine-launches-antidepressant-study<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.fastcompany.com\/3054024\/this-app-promises-to-provide-the-care-for-depression-patients-that-their-doctors-<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.fastcompany.com\/3067627\/innovation-agents\/goodrx-and-iodine-quietly-merge-to-help-consumers-find-the-right-drugs<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.wired.com\/2016\/10\/smarter-way-compare-birth-control-methods\/<\/a><\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.iodine.com\/start<\/a><\/p>\n

http:\/\/medcitynews.com\/2016\/08\/iodine-mental-health-apple-carekit\/?rf=1<\/a><\/p>\n

-review-site-iodine-launches-antidepressant-study<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.fastcompany.com\/3054024\/this-app-promises-to-provide-the-care-for-depression-patients-that-their-doctors-<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.fastcompany.com\/3067627\/innovation-agents\/goodrx-and-iodine-quietly-merge-to-help-consumers-find-the-right-drugs<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.wired.com\/2016\/10\/smarter-way-compare-birth-control-methods\/<\/a><\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.iodine.com\/start<\/a><\/p>\n

http:\/\/medcitynews.com\/2016\/08\/iodine-mental-health-apple-carekit\/?rf=1<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Iodine is the \u2018Yelp of Medicine,\u2019 creating tremendous value by crowdsourcing reviews of pharmaceuticals to help patients make better-informed choices about their medications. But the question remains: can they capture any of that value?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":786,"featured_media":4675,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","categories":[460,1326,1313,741,1322,24,1325,1320,1328,1327,795,1321,1323,802,1324,1293],"class_list":["post-4655","hck-submission","type-hck-submission","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-apps","category-birth-control","category-clinical-trials","category-crowdsource","category-drugs","category-healthcare","category-insurance-providers","category-iodine","category-medications","category-mental-health","category-patients","category-pharmaceuticals","category-product-reviews","category-startup","category-ugc","category-user-generated-content-uncategorized"],"connected_submission_link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/assignment\/managing-digital-crowds\/","yoast_head":"\nIodine: the \u2018Yelp of Medicine\u2019 - Digital Innovation and Transformation<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/submission\/iodine-the-yelp-of-medicine\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Iodine: the \u2018Yelp of Medicine\u2019 - Digital Innovation and Transformation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Iodine is the \u2018Yelp of Medicine,\u2019 creating tremendous value by crowdsourcing reviews of pharmaceuticals to help patients make better-informed choices about their medications. But the question remains: can they capture any of that value?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/submission\/iodine-the-yelp-of-medicine\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Digital Innovation and Transformation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2017-03-20T20:58:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2017\/03\/iodine-most-searched-drugs-2.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1879\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"797\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-digit\\\/submission\\\/iodine-the-yelp-of-medicine\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-digit\\\/submission\\\/iodine-the-yelp-of-medicine\\\/\",\"name\":\"Iodine: the \u2018Yelp of Medicine\u2019 - Digital Innovation and Transformation\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-digit\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-digit\\\/submission\\\/iodine-the-yelp-of-medicine\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-digit\\\/submission\\\/iodine-the-yelp-of-medicine\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-digit\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2017\\\/03\\\/iodine-most-searched-drugs-2.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-03-20T20:58:22+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-03-20T20:58:53+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-digit\\\/submission\\\/iodine-the-yelp-of-medicine\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-digit\\\/submission\\\/iodine-the-yelp-of-medicine\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-digit\\\/submission\\\/iodine-the-yelp-of-medicine\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-digit\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2017\\\/03\\\/iodine-most-searched-drugs-2.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-digit\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2017\\\/03\\\/iodine-most-searched-drugs-2.png\",\"width\":1879,\"height\":797},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-digit\\\/submission\\\/iodine-the-yelp-of-medicine\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-digit\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Submissions\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-digit\\\/submission\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Iodine: the \u2018Yelp of Medicine\u2019\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-digit\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-digit\\\/\",\"name\":\"Digital Innovation and Transformation\",\"description\":\"MBA Student Perspectives\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"性视界Action\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-digit\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Iodine: the \u2018Yelp of Medicine\u2019 - Digital Innovation and Transformation","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/submission\/iodine-the-yelp-of-medicine\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Iodine: the \u2018Yelp of Medicine\u2019 - Digital Innovation and Transformation","og_description":"Iodine is the \u2018Yelp of Medicine,\u2019 creating tremendous value by crowdsourcing reviews of pharmaceuticals to help patients make better-informed choices about their medications. But the question remains: can they capture any of that value?","og_url":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/submission\/iodine-the-yelp-of-medicine\/","og_site_name":"Digital Innovation and Transformation","article_modified_time":"2017-03-20T20:58:53+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1879,"height":797,"url":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2017\/03\/iodine-most-searched-drugs-2.png","type":"image\/png"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/submission\/iodine-the-yelp-of-medicine\/","url":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/submission\/iodine-the-yelp-of-medicine\/","name":"Iodine: the \u2018Yelp of Medicine\u2019 - Digital Innovation and Transformation","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/submission\/iodine-the-yelp-of-medicine\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/submission\/iodine-the-yelp-of-medicine\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2017\/03\/iodine-most-searched-drugs-2.png","datePublished":"2017-03-20T20:58:22+00:00","dateModified":"2017-03-20T20:58:53+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/submission\/iodine-the-yelp-of-medicine\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/submission\/iodine-the-yelp-of-medicine\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/submission\/iodine-the-yelp-of-medicine\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2017\/03\/iodine-most-searched-drugs-2.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2017\/03\/iodine-most-searched-drugs-2.png","width":1879,"height":797},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/submission\/iodine-the-yelp-of-medicine\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Submissions","item":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/submission\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Iodine: the \u2018Yelp of Medicine\u2019"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/#website","url":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/","name":"Digital Innovation and Transformation","description":"MBA Student Perspectives","potentialAction":[{"@type":"性视界Action","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hck-submission\/4655","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hck-submission"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/hck-submission"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/786"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4655"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hck-submission\/4655\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4675"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4655"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4655"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}