PriceMed
Data
healthcare price comparison
SHOW HN2013
How HN took it
3 positive, 6 neutral or asking, 1 mixed, 12 critical, out of 22 comments about the project. Thread score -0.36.
Idea: 3 for, 5 againstExecution: 0 for, 4 againstDesign: 0 for, 1 againstPerformance: 0 for, 1 againstPricing: 0 for, 1 against
The thread, comment by comment
Each row is a top-level comment and its replies, in HN's order. Select a cell to open that comment on HN.
positive neutral or mixed critical about another commenter or something else the maker
What HN said
What people liked
Useful step toward medical price transparency
From 3 comments
This is the kind of data that is needed for true transparency, and true medical reform. Prices will be gouged so long as you can't compare; Realistically, this still has a long…
GauntletWizard on HNLove this! If there's some unstructured data that you're having trouble taming, contact me. I have a ton of experience with Mechanhcal Turk and can give you some advice on how…
aantix on HNVery cool. I wished this would be done for hospitals in .NL as well.
NKCSS on HN
Objections
Chargemaster prices are not what people actually pay
From 3 comments
No one pays chargemaster prices. The reason hospitals set the prices so high is because they are the starting point for negotiations with networks and insurance companies. Even…
hkiely on HNVery cool. Does anyone pay the chargemaster price though?
bezdekt on HNNo, no one pays that. And I don't think the chargemaster price is even correlated with the final price, so it's not even useful as a relative measure. I wish it was a real price…
ars on HN
Prices alone lack quality metrics like readmission rates and user reviews
From 2 comments
This is all great, but cost isn't the only metric, there is also such things as readmission rate &c. Two weeks ago or three a fellow, a physician, made the front page of HN who…
HarryHirsch on HNFor many procedures, that's true so long as they're competently executed, which we should expect so long as the doctor is licensed to practice. To really make buying decisions…
wffurr on HN
Sorting and data errors such as a $1 price and a 0-result lung transplant
From 3 comments
It looks like the sorting is off. It's saying that Cedars-Sinai is the worst priced hospital for the linked procedures, but at "only" a 99% marked over the average $1,300 even…
pc86 on HNGreat idea! There seems to be a minor flaw in the data though, the Healdsburg District Hospital appears do be doing many procedures for 1$.…
donquichotte on HNLung transplant: 0 results
bdcravens on HN
Requests
Fix the hospital search to show location and filter by zip code
From 1 comment
One suggestion: The dropdown for "Find a Hospital" needs to show the location too. I tried searching for "St. Anthony's" near my town and multiples ones from all over the country…
chime on HN
Design and UI polish on tables, search and links
From 2 comments
Some tweaks to the design would help! At the top of the page, the search boxes are mis-aligned to the text above them. Fix that. They could also take up more horizontal space, or…
babby on HNReally cool! One thing - the google map always sets California as the state, even when I look at hospitals in other states.
jmcgough on HN
Add quality and review data alongside prices
From 2 comments
For many procedures, that's true so long as they're competently executed, which we should expect so long as the doctor is licensed to practice. To really make buying decisions…
wffurr on HNThis is all great, but cost isn't the only metric, there is also such things as readmission rate &c. Two weeks ago or three a fellow, a physician, made the front page of HN who…
HarryHirsch on HN
Questions
Who will be the primary users of this data
From 1 comment
This is a fascinating data problem. I noticed a lot of the price distributions are non-normally distributed (specifically with a strong positive skew for the least consistently…
tryitnow on HN
Where the original data came from
From 1 comment
I love it, thanks for sharing. Where did you get the original data from? (I thought chargemasters were relatively guarded secrets?)
ljoshua on HN
Alternatives named
Medicare DRG price data
From 1 comment
Chargemaster is kind of like (a more screwed up) MSRP when you buy a car, so not exactly, but it's an indicator of the pricing disparity for the same procedures. We've also…
aguynamedben on HN