HealthTap unveils micropayment system and doctor chat

The online and mobile health network adds premium features that include private health conversations

Personalized health platform HealthTap is getting a new look, and a few interesting new features.  The company that aims to finally get rid of Dr. Google revealed Thursday some new features for its site and Web apps, including new doctor ratings, private health conversations, and a new micropayment model.

HealthTap’s announcement happens to coincide with the much-anticipated Supreme Court ruling on the Affordable Care Act (or “Obamacare” for those who can’t pronounce “Affordable Care Act”), which was finally delivered Thursday morning (the act has passed constitutional scrutiny and the individual mandate has been upheld).

The fact is: healthcare is expensive.  As the company notes, over 80% of Web users have looked up health information online, and healthcare is now the fastest growing content category among mobile users.  Who wants to waste money on a doctor who might not even know what that rash is when you can just google it?  HealthTap is designed to displace Dr. Google by letting users create their own patient profiles and get their questions answered by real doctors in the HealthTap network.

The new features include doctor ratings—called the “DocScore”—which acts as something of a FICO score based on public data and doctor-to-doctor peer review.  Doctors can even rank one another on their expertise levels.

You can also now check out a directory of over one million doctors and schedule in-person appointments using appointment requests, direct messaging, and phone calls.

And now, HealthTap is offering premium services that users can purchase with a new micropayment system.  Premium services include private health conversations—so you can pose a question to a specific doctor with the peace of mind of knowing it’s secure.  You can also connect with a doctor of your choice for immediate answers to your health questions via a list of who’s “online now.”  And finally, you can also share health records, photos, and documents securely with specific doctors in the HealthTap network.

All of the features are available via the Web or any of HealthTap’s mobile apps.

CEO Ron Gutman says that the network now has over 12,000 vetted physicians spanning 112 different health specialties in all 50 states. 

Launched in April 2011, the company raised $11.5 million in a Series A round led by Mayfield Fund and Mohr Davidow last December, bringing HealthTap’s total raised to nearly $14 million. 

The mobile health market is expected to exceed $400 million by 2016—up from $120 million in 2010, according to ABI Research.