American Well: The Doctor Will See You Now

Executive Summary

American Well is considering several options for expansion including the introduction of its new product, "Team Edition." "Team Edition" is a break-away from the traditional methods of consulting with physician specialists and will revolutionize the way the healthcare industry, and all its players, communicate with one another. The target market for this revolutionary product will be health insurance companies where cost-savings will be substantial due to early detection of medical problems thereby reducing insurance coverage for patients.

The primary marketing objective of "Team Edition" is to expand American Well's business and presence, and achieve differentiation from competitors which will hopefully translate to a larger market share and brand awareness for American Well.

Situational Analysis

Nature and Extent of Demand

American Well is a start-up company founded in 2006 providing medical services via the internet and telephony. Traditionally, patients had two primary choices when seeking medical care – to show up at an emergency room or a similar acute-care facility, or to schedule an appointment with their physician. With the American Well business model, excess demand was matched with excess capacity (patients matched to doctors). In addition to making use of excess supply and demand, this business model also creates efficiencies and value to many businesses by dramatically speeding up the diagnostic process for a patient. With just an internet connection and/or telephone, patients are able to visit a doctor of their choice online and receive a diagnosis. From a business standpoint, this business model benefits doctors, health insurance companies, and companies where the patients are employed at. Patients receive immediacy, convenience, quality, affordability, and selection. Doctors receive flexibility in work arrangements, increased earnings, and work/life balance. The value proposition to insurance companies will be significant savings and increased revenues by opening their doors to non-members. Insurance Companies are able to use this model to address one of the most intractable problems they face: align their financial incentives with those of physicians. Since physicians are usually paid on a fee-for-service basis, they are often incentivized to increase the number of services they deliver; meanwhile, more services results in higher costs for insurance companies. With American Well's business model, health insurer's costs can decrease if physicians encourage their patients to use Online Care for non-emergency and follow-up appointments. Furthermore, this business model addresses regional and rural physician shortage issues by connecting patients to doctors without having to be in the same physical location.

In 2009,