Former Amazon Leaders Launch General Medicine: A Healthcare Store That Gives Everyone Access to the Best Care in the World

"They really listened to me," says Damon, who decided to try General Medicine after searching for his symptoms online. "I'd gone doctor to doctor to doctor but no one was taking my problem seriously or working to address it on the timeline I needed. General Medicine not only had an appointment the same day but asked insightful questions and consulted the right specialists. I was quickly diagnosed with dysphonia and had a successful treatment plan in place that got me healthy before my performance."

This consumer-friendly approach to healthcare is exactly what Ashwin Muralidharan, Elliot Cohen and TJ Parker had in mind when they founded General Medicine. The company, which is announcing its nationwide launch today with $32 million in funding, has built a true healthcare store – a platform where customers can either directly access the specific care they want or ask open-ended health questions to get the right solution. General Medicine provides both insurance and cash pricing, and there's no subscription or access fee. Customers only pay for the care they get.

"The healthcare system insists on pushing customers through winding diagnostic journeys that often fail to meet their needs," says Muralidharan, General Medicine CEO and cofounder. "We're creating a system where two things can happen: for customers who know what they need – whether that's a prescription for a UTI or a dermatology consultation – they can get straight to that service. Those with more complex situations can text with a doctor to build the best plan for their needs, including specialist expertise. Then, an entire logistics team works to schedule labs, imaging, procedures, pharmacy, and in-person visits to get the appropriate care quickly."

The company's approach is supported by MedicineOS, a technology stack that pulls together inputs across the healthcare system and allows providers to communicate seamlessly while delivering world class quality healthcare. Cohen, who previously cofounded PillPack pharmacy with Parker, likens this to how PillPack's PharmacyOS transformed prescription delivery, overcoming the complexities of insurance and healthcare systems. "What looks simple to the customer is actually an intricate choreography of clinical expertise, technology, and care coordination," explains Cohen. Notably, General Medicine is addressing the full breadth of health conditions–from the everyday to the extremely complex. This is unlike most digital health companies, which typically start with a narrow selection of services. That's intentional, says Cohen, "We're building a distributed health system. It is critical for us to be able to handle absolutely anything a customer might need from start to resolution."

Their approach is already showing remarkable results. One customer, Ashley*, had struggled with pilar cysts on her head for about 15 years before a dermatology consult with General Medicine. Ashley had put off care due to changes in insurance and long wait times to even begin the process of getting a dermatology referral. Ashley said, "When I reached out to General Medicine, they made the process super easy. Someone contacted me via text within hours, reviewed my symptoms and photos, and within a day, gave me three different options that accepted my insurance. They even called two places directly on my behalf to set up appointments. What would have been a year-long wait turned into a six-week process from contact to treatment. General Medicine eliminated so much stress that I had been putting this off for 15 years. I'm so glad I found them."

Unlike most healthcare platforms that either don't take insurance or, if they do, can't provide accurate cost estimates; General Medicine interprets the Byzantine rules of each customer's unique insurance plan—including deductibles, co-insurance, and network—and applies them across both their own direct services and outside specialists, labs, and pharmacy. This required synthesizing multiple fragmented datasets and using machine learning models that can 'read' insurance policies the way an experienced billing specialist would. "We've solved one of healthcare's most frustrating mysteries—not knowing what care will cost until after you receive the bill," says Muralidharan.

General Medicine has quietly built this new approach over the past year, rolling it out state by state with direct marketing campaigns targeting customers who turn to Google for medical answers. There's a ready market for a viable new approach to care access: today average wait times for new patient appointments reach 26 days (source: ANM Healthcare 2022 Survey) and 80% of rural Americans living in medically underserved communities (source: American Hospital Association) where in person care might be hours away. 

Parker, who is a partner at Matrix and the lead investor in the company, sees this as the way forward for how Americans access healthcare, "It's logical. Invest the time and energy up front to figure out how to get a customer to the provider with the expertise they need. If it's a simple problem, solve it fast. If it's not, connect the dots as quickly as you can with the skill sets needed."

"General Medicine customers get rapid access to the right specialists for their health concern," said Dr. Pallabi Sanyal-Dey, General Medicine's Medical Director. "Drawing from my hospitalist background, we've created an outpatient experience that delivers the best aspects of inpatient care: coordinated tests, expert consultations, efficient diagnoses, and treatment plans, all happen in quick succession to get answers in hours, not weeks. We're bringing that level of comprehensive, coordinated care to people wherever they are, without the hospital setting."

"Our model makes it easy to recruit highly skilled specialists," continued Dr. Sanyal-Dey. "We remove the administrative burden that plagues traditional practices, letting providers focus on what they do best–delivering expert care."

The company plans to use its new funding to increase capacity and add more 'shoppable' services to its marketplace. Currently, customers can access a wide range of care, from simple prescriptions to complex specialist consultations, using either a 'search and browse' online shopping-like experience or open-ended text message.

General Medicine is betting that giving consumers more control over their healthcare–while maintaining rigorous clinical standards–can solve healthcare's most persistent challenges. If they succeed, accessing any kind of healthcare, from simple prescriptions to specialist care, will become as straightforward as shopping online.

About General Medicine
General Medicine is a healthcare store. We make it delightfully simple to access the best healthcare in the world, quickly and with upfront pricing. Customers anywhere in the US can book an appointment and get help for any health concern. General Medicine works with insurance and offers direct access to specialists, labs, imaging, pharmacy, and anything else you might need. Shop for healthcare like shopping for everything else at generalmedicine.co

*real customers, compensated for their time

Press contact: [email protected]

SOURCE General Medicine