Operational Plan

Executive Summary
OursMedicina is a 501(C)3 organization dedicated to providing, accurate, and non-commercial healthcare information throughout the world. This is accomplished through the development of the online community OursMedicina.org, a self-regulating source of educational content operating under a free license in the public domain. In collaboration with a network of volunteers and Board of Directors, OursMedicina provides the essential infrastructure and an organizational framework for the support and development of multilingual wiki projects and other endeavors which its mission. OursMedicina will make and keep useful information from its projects available on the Internet free of charge, in perpetuity.

While there are numerous existing sources for health information on the Internet, OursMedicina will distinguish itself in a few fundamental ways. It is a non-commercial enterprise with an objective of enhancing health knowledge as opposed to generating profit. Its content is accessible to all without cost; it can be redistributed in anyway without permission. All of OurMedicina’s expenses and funding will be posted for all to see, granting a unique air of complete transparency. These three factors will function synergistically to inspire donors, volunteers and health-information consumers to participate and help foster the spread of truly free health knowledge.

General Company Description
OursMedicina, Inc. is a non-profit, non-partisan organization committed to providing free, comprehensive, credible, and open source healthcare information which will improve access to and relationship with healthcare for people around the world.

OursMedicina will optimize the provision of health information for the betterment of the healthcare system and all its participants by modeling the establishment of a free, non-commercial, non-geographically biased, international, interactive, and referential website.

Goals

 * Be the top healthcare resource for healthcare consumers from all around the world
 * Create a community of volunteer healthcare information editors and contributors
 * Allow the best products and services to rise to the top based on a free non-commercial community rating exchange

Business Philosophy
In the effort to provide accurate and useful healthcare knowledge to consumers and, OursMedicina will operate transparently. Its source-code and content will all be publicly available for distribution and use in other places. Its accounting records will also be publicly posted for all to see. Users of and contributors to the site will have a full understanding of what OursMedicina is comprised of.

Another aspect of OursMedicina’s philosophy is its dedication to internationalism. The website will start out with an English Language audience, but will eventually be multi-lingual. This will allow contributors and users from around to world to share health information and knowledge in a manner that was until now impossible.

Finally, OursMedicina will is a non-commercial venture. It has no financial stake in its success. Rather than accruing profits from advertisements, OursMedicina is committed to providing truly free health information.

The Industry, e-Health
It is becoming clear that Internet users who seek health-related information want direct access to medical knowledge. American internet users spent time browsing for web-based information on the major health topics shown in table 1. Fox, S. (2005). Health information online. Washington, D.C.: Pew Internet and American Life Project.

These topics can be grouped into the following 8 classification categories.


 * 1) Encyclopedia-like Information for Medical Conditions. This category includes information on Disease Overview, Causes, Symptoms, Risks, Screening/Diagnostic Tests, Treatments, Prevention, and Potential Patient Concerns.
 * 2) Self-Diagnostics (Symptom-Disease matchers). This category encompasses information users search for to both identify the symptom they are experience as well as assessing its seriousness.
 * 3) Pharmacotherapy. This category includes information about the pharmaceutical, over the counter, and supplement drug action profiles, side effects, benefits, and risks.
 * 4) Patient Symmetry. This category is broad and extends to any information provided about doctors, hospitals, medical resources available in your area and for your health care needs.
 * 5) Insurance. This category extends to any information about how insurance programs work to specific information regarding health coverage plans.
 * 6) Cultural Approaches to Healthcare. This category is an extensive and includes a wide scope of information about non-standard treatments, spiritual healing, and mind-body connection. An example of some information that would be included in this category is exercise, fitness, clinical medications, acupuncture, and yoga.
 * 7) Avenues of Support System Information. This category consists of information for caregivers, advice and support from other patients (e.g. blogs and forums), and connection to foundations (e.g. Susan G. Korman Breast Cancer Foundation, March of Dimes, etc.).
 * 8) Healthy Living Tips. This category is for any other information that may be related to health. It usually consists of general advice to promote a healthier life and includes sub-categories such as diet, fitness, women’s health, men’s health, child care, and elderly care.

Altogether these categories are the essence of the medical information database on the Internet and reflect a clear and defined way individuals search for health information online.As such, the OursMedicina website will provide users with direct access to trusted, accurate, comprehensive, and culturally competent medical knowledge along the above listed dimensions. Furthermore, it will map a layer of user preferences and experiences onto healthcare data to provide a reliable source for valuable personalized insight, unbiased advice, and individual recommendations.

Business Structure
OursMedicina Inc. is a Corporation registered with the State of New York Department of State Divisions of Corporations and State Records, incorporated on August 22, 2007. It is a Federally recognized 501(c)3 organization.

Like standard for-profit corporations, nonprofits corporations provide limited liability protection. The personal assets of the directors or officers typically cannot be used to satisfy the debts and liabilities of the nonprofit.

Advantages of a nonprofit corporation:


 * Directors are typically not personally responsible for the debts and liabilities of the nonprofit corporation
 * Nonprofit corporations have the ability to apply for both federal and state tax-exempt status
 * Certain nonprofit corporations are eligible to receive public and private grants, making the obtainment of operating capital easier
 * With 501(c)(3) nonprofits, donations made by individuals to the nonprofit corporation are tax-deductible

Products and Services
OursMedicina will use an open source MediaWiki platform for content editing and article creation, similar to Wikipedia. A Linux, Apache, MySql, and PHP (LAMP) architecture will be used for the development of additional add on features to site such as the ability to rate articles, and a WYSIWYG easy editing tool for editing and discussions. All health articles will be transferred from Wikipedia to OursMedicina for review and editing by the verified medical professional community.

All of the content posted on OursMedicina, whether they be original or transferred from other sources (Wikipedia), will be subject to the GNU Free Documentation License. See the below excerpts for specifics.

The purpose of this License is to make a manual, textbook, or other functional and useful document "free" in the sense of freedom: to assure everyone the effective freedom to copy and redistribute it, with or without modifying it, either commercially or noncommercially. Secondarily, this License preserves for the author and publisher a way to get credit for their work, while not being considered responsible for modifications made by others.

This License applies to any manual or other work, in any medium, that contains a notice placed by the copyright holder saying it can be distributed under the terms of this License. Such a notice grants a world-wide, royalty-free license, unlimited in duration, to use that work under the conditions stated herein. The "Document", below, refers to any such manual or work. Any member of the public is a licensee, and is addressed as "you". You accept the license if you copy, modify or distribute the work in a way requiring permission under copyright law.

Text from the GNU Free Documentation License Version 1.2, November 2002

To use this License in a document you have written, include a copy of the License in the document and put the following copyright and license notices just after the title page: Copyright (c) YEAR YOUR NAME.

Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts. A copy of the license is included in the section entitled "GNU Free Documentation License".

Therefore, it is clear that the “product” which OursMedicina is offering is health knowledge. While there are existing sites to gather such information, none are doing it by the same means. By operating under the GNU Free documentation license, all information will be free to redistribute and share. Unlike Wikipedia, a site also operating under the GNU license, OurMedicina’s articles will be reviewed and edited by credentialed health experts. In addition its articles will be ranked by users. OursMedicina will provide an avenue for health care consumers to both learn from experts and help inform each other about health care options (specific doctors, treatments, drugs, hospitals).

OursMedicina will provide health information that is a collection of the most up-to date breakthroughs in the medical and research fields. Moreover, medical professionals can review these articles and make edits that are recorded in the history page. The number of reviews will be shown at the top right-hand side of the article to add value and credibility to the information provided.

(WHAT TO DO WHEN ARTICLE IS MODIFIED- NUMBER OF REVIEWS RESET?) Each entry will be a dynamic piece of health information, subject to user review. This has two fundamental advantages over other conventional, private health websites like WebMD and the Mayo Clinic. Instead of relying on an in house staff to generate and update entries, OursMedicina will draw from a global network of experts insuring the resulting information is as up do date and accurate as possible. Additionally, each entry will be rated by users, letting each other know what is most useful, and allowing experts to see which entries need revision. The review system, combined with wiki-style expert editing, will have a synergistic effect and push OursMedicina to the forefront of e-Health.

Market research
Recent studies have shown that roughly half of American adults have sought health information on the internet. Amongst strictly internet users, 80% of Adults have searched for one of the top 16 health topics. These figures make health information seeking one of the most popular internet activities. (Fox, Fallows, 2003) (Fox, Fallows, 2003)

The figures above illustrate that OursMedicina has a potential audience of 93 million adults. But, this only tells part of the story. OursMedicina aims include users and contributors from around the globe due to its multi-lingual format. While it is unclear if other parts of the world sustain health searching behavior on the level experienced here in the US, it’s safe to assume that tens of millions of internet users outside of the globe are potential OursMedicina users.

Competition
Given the huge numbers of people searching the internet for health information, it is understood that they are getting it from somewhere. There are numerous sites domestically and abroad offering different varieties of knowledge. They are organized differently, have different funding schemes, and offer different types of services. Here is a listing of some of the more well known health sites.


 * WebMD. Ranked as the number one most visited health site (see citation below). Content features interactive diagnostic tools, a wide variety of articles written by physicians. Privately owned and operated. Revenue comes from advertisements. Article authors are paid. Information is protected by copyright.
 * Mayo Clinic. Ranked as the 3rd most visited health site on the net. It is the IT branch of a group of related non-profit hospitals. While it is listed under a .com domain, it is unclear whether this is a non-profit or for profit venture. Includes advertisements for revenue. Content is similar to WebMD. Self diagnosis and health management tools, near encyclopedic volume of articles written on conditions and healthy living.
 * Medpedia. Will launch at the end of 2008. Privately owned and operated in partnership with prestigious medical schools (Harvard, Stanford, Berkley, Michigan). Will operate under GNU Free Documentation License. Credentialed MDs and PhDs can apply for editing privileges. Content will be volunteer driven, despite private operation. Revenue will likely be generated through advertising (speculation). Content strictly available in English, but with potential plans to expand. No place for users to provide rankings for articles. No description or rankings of specific doctors, drugs or hospitals. http://www.ebizmba.com/articles/health - ranking source
 * What about all of the government sites? They have great information but are hard to use.

The OursMedicina Niche
It is clear that there is a substantial, if crowded market for health information on the internet. There are distinguishing characteristics of OursMedicina that set it apart from its alternatives.


 * It will be the first health website to post all of its accounting information for anyone to see. This open book strategy will inspire confidence in both potential donors and contributors.
 * Unlike private alternatives, OursMedicina is a non-profit organization. Instead of having to pay contributors, they will be attracted to the organizational mission and edit and create articles for free.
 * The OursMedicina board will include members from other parts of the world, attracting contributors writing in a variety of languages. This will exponentially increase market size, far surpassing that of OursMedicina’s domestic competitors.
 * It will include section for user feedback where users can rate the content of an article or the quality of a drug, treatment and particular doctor. Such a rating system is not maintained by any alternatives. One barrier to people using internet health resources is a lack of trust in a given sites content. The rating system will help alleviate such qualms with OursMedicina’s content. Furthermore, the rating of drugs, treatments and doctors would be a novel feature of this site.

Marketing the Site
Despite the site’s uniqueness and competitive advantages (described above), there is still a definite need for it to be publicized. For OursMedicina, this is a two-pronged challenge; both users and contributors need to be recruited. This step is especially important for this organization, because its content will largely be developed volunteers. As a non-profit organization, OursMedicina does not have the resources to employ conventional, private marketing tactics (TV, Radio, Print) Steps that will be taken include:


 * Directly emailing to MDs and medical PhDs. This will attract credentialed professionals to write and edit material on the site.
 * Generating press on notable internet sites/blogs (Slashdot.org, thehealthcareblog.com). This will attract both editors and contributors, as well as users to rank content.
 * Using connections from the Executive Board and the Advisory Board to recruit credentialed contributors.

Operational Plan
Explain the daily operation of the business, its location, equipment, people, processes, and surrounding environment.

Operating Principles
I. To establish a free, comprehensive, credible, and open source of information which will improve people’s access to and relationship with healthcare around the world.

II. To develop a self-sustaining, non-partisan and non-profit organization engaged in research, technology and outreach for providing health-related information on the internet.

We will accomplish this by:


 * Recruiting a leadership body with broad expertise
 * Attracting talented staff to research and design an initiative in line with current research in medicine, public health, and computer scienc
 * Collaborating with organizations from all domains of healthcare whose data will contribute to our cause.
 * Establishing a long-term sustainability plan.
 * Evolving as a group providing the premier resource to those who need access to and wish to contribute to a body of health-related knowledge that spans the globe

III. To build and launch an online health portal which is configured optimally to identify highly relevant, quality sources of information with respect to users’ experience and preferences.

We will accomplish this by:


 * Identifying essential types of content from a wide survey of existing model sites;
 * Establishing dynamic standards of accuracy, which will filter sources by quality, but not by their ties to different systems of medicine or belief;
 * Testing and continually revising ideas and products to match users’ real-world needs;
 * Creating new mechanisms to identify, disseminate, and annotate content.

IV. OursMedicina is supported a diverse base of donations earned by a three-pronged fundraising approach.


 * Foundation and Corporate Grants: We reach out to hospitals, medical organizations, public health groups, foundations and corporations who use our site to encourage their support in large infrastructure needs and projects.
 * Donations: Although our site is free for all users we do ask for donations from our users to support growth. Donations can easily be made online via Paypal, by Check via USPS mail, or by direct deposit.
 * Annual Benefit Events: We plan on hosting an annual fundraising event. We invite leaders in the health community to speak at a formal dinner. All proceeds directly support OursMedicina.

Fundraising Description
OursMedicina actively pursues donations that advance our goals and mission. Donations and sponsorships can be important sources of funding and the OursMedicina welcomes cooperation with individuals, corporations, governments, intergovernmental organizations, non-governmental organizations, and private businesses in the pursuit of shared values. OursMedicina gratefully accepts monetary or in-kind donations if:


 * 1) The donation is wholly consistent, in fact and appearance, with the activities, policies, mission, goals, and/or programs of the OursMedicina.
 * 2) The donation is not linked to a requirement that OursMedicina endorse any products, policies, or services.

Fundraising programs conducted will consist of donation solicitations via:


 * 1) Foundation Grants: Request for proposals will be sought after for continual sponsorship to support OursMedicina programs and services.
 * 2) Government Grants: Proposals for support or sponsorship will be sent out to governmental organizations that align with OursMedicina goals and mission.
 * 3) OursMedicina Website: Detailed contribution information for interested donors or contributors will be provided on the OursMedicina Website, including Donor Policies and Procedures.
 * 4) Mail/E-mail/Phone/Personal: Potential donors and sponsors will be contacted via mail, email, phone, and personally to solicit sponsorship and donations for OursMedicina Cash, mutual fund shares, stocks, bonds, and products and services are eligible for contribution to OursMedicina. Contributions may be delivered by mail, wire or other acceptable form to the OursMedicina bank account.

Gift acceptance is governed by the Executive Board of OursMedicina, which has the ultimate responsibility for developing and applying gift acceptance and fund administration policy (as advised by Legal Counsel).

The Executive Board is charged with the responsibility to review any gifts not adequately addressed in the OursMedicina’s policies, to properly screen and to accept or refuse those gifts, and, where appropriate, to make recommendations to the Executive Director on gift acceptance issues.

Management and Organization
Who will manage the business on a day-to-day basis? What experience does that person bring to the business? What special or distinctive competencies? Is there a plan for continuation of the business if this person is lost or incapacitated?

If you’ll have more than 10 employees, create an organizational chart showing the management hierarchy and who is responsible for key functions.

Include position descriptions for key employees. If you are seeking loans or investors, include resumes of owners and key employees.

Staff
OursMedicina will be staffed by an interdisciplinary group with expertise in the fields of management, technology, computer science, public health, anthropology, education and marketing. Some initial postitions are listed as follows:

Executive Director

Establish OurMed's goals, priorities and policies (in collaboration with Advisory Board and Board of Directors). Meets frequently with subordinate staff to ensure that operations are conducted in accordance with these policies, in charge of everyday operatations of office. Overseen by a board of directors. Retains overall accountability although its shared with the board of directors. Must be a strong communicator, good analytical thinking, understands technology, ability to network.

CFO

Responsibility for organization’s financial goals, objectives, and budgets. Oversee the investment of funds and manage associated risks. Works either on a part-time, contract basis, or is a volunteer from the Board of Directors. Must have proven financial and accounting credentials, work hand in hand with ED.

Program Staff

Responsibility for the operation of the organization. Set goals and arrange programs to attain goals. Work hand in hand with contract employees (technical, finacial) to ensure sound operatation. Oversee budgets and ensure that resources are cost-effectively utilized by each division

HR Manager

Maintain the human resource records of an organization’s employees. Record information and answer questions about employee absences and supervisory reports on employees’ job performance on a weekly basis. General PC proficiency and strong skills in MS Word, Excel &amp; PowerPoint are required. Strong organizational skills.

Administrative Assistant

Responsible for managing, organizing, scheduling and maintaining information for a company's workers. Create spreadsheets, compose emails, manage databases, maintain paper and electronic files, create documents and handle travel arrangements. General PC proficiency and strong skills in MS Office are required. Experience composing a number of types of professional documents (statistical and written reports). Strong organizational skills

Boardmembers

 * The Executive Board (Board of Directors) is responsible for guidance of OursMedicina. It holds the power to define organizational priorities and actions.
 * The Advisory Board is dynamic and represents the voices of industry, activists, patient advocates, public health leaders, and health management groups.

Board of Directors:
General Categories to be Represented


 * 1) Academic Representative
 * 2) *Addresses broadest category of E-patient needs
 * 3) *Perhaps MD pharma related and MD alternative related
 * 4) Technology representative
 * 5) *Envision how new technology can lead us to providing these services in the unique way we strive to provide them
 * 6) *Perhaps someone involved with Web 3.0
 * 7) Social (Celebrity) Advocate
 * 8) *Social and political visibility to push agenda on wide-scale
 * 9) Patient Advocate
 * 10) *Connection to patient advocacy groups but removed from MD status removed from (e.g. patient education/outreach gurus)
 * 11) *Targets support systems category
 * 12) International Representative
 * 13) *International aspirations of site (perhaps MD international or UN rep)
 * 14) *Targets comprehensiveness and methods of information categories
 * 15) Business Entrepreneur
 * 16) *Business savvy to understand intricacies of industry, market, money, sales/ads
 * 17) *Perhaps someone in insurance and or hospital field
 * 18) Information Representative
 * 19) *Expert on information publication to masses
 * 20) *Perhaps someone from times, US news, journals etc. Bonus if they could also be in ACHE
 * 21) *Targets Patient Symmetry category
 * 22) Ethicist