“…if you literally think that in 2015 that your idea is so profound and nobody has ever thought of it that when I sit with you and you pitch it I’m going to think you’re a dope I’m going to take this idea and give it to someone else you are lost in the reality of the marketplace. If that is where your mindset is at I just don’t see that as a winning mindset for 2015. The days of patent or IP – every idea has been thought about. Nobody that has come up with a big time idea has had an idea that nobody else has thought about. People executing, having the pieces in place to execute or the right time in their career or the right resources, financially, energy, skills, those are the variables: not the ideas” #AskGaryVee Episode 96: You’re Out of Business @Garyvee

When we launched 3GDoctor in 2006 it was at a time when even the future of smartphones was in doubt. We’re incredibly grateful to Patients, Carers, business partners, media (who have so generously shared our work with their audiences) and the mobile industry that has invested billions in devices and networks that contribute so much to the experience we can provide to our Patients. After nearly 10 years it’s not surprising that recently there have been several services being launched that are similar to 3G Doctor in that they let Patients consult with a Doctor via FaceTime video calls. As an example check out how Google (with a market capitalisation north of $500 Billion) has even had a go at giving away ‘Video Chats’ with Doctors for free* to people who enter health keywords into their search engine.

It was always our intention to produce a service that can be copied because our focus is not to create the world’s biggest Doctor video consulting service but to build the world’s best. A primary goal in getting there is that first of all Patients the world over need to be able to reach into their pockets and use their mobile phone to get 24/7 access to high quality documented care from independent impartial Doctors that they can trust.

The product produced by the Healthcare Industry today is based on a model of care that has become outdated by advances in our understanding of health and medicine and the explosion in access to quality information (after a 2000 year run that shouldn’t really be a surprise), revolves around producing office visits and isn’t documented. It’s abundantly clear that it’s going to take more than 3GDoctor to turn this tide.

While we’d prefer everyone to work with us we’re not challenged by the existence of a rival because affordable documented consultations with Doctors who can listen to all of your concerns, help you document it all and develop with you an action plan to ensure the next step you make is the right one are never going to be a commodity and substitutes will always be imperfect, as Seth Godin so eloquently writes: “if you want to know what that book said, the only way to really know is to read it”…