Aside from the fact that I am a big baseball fan, my wife loves eBay, and consumer-driven health care happens to be my field of employment, I would say - nothing! At least that is what I would have said yesterday.

I am a Yankees fan. I know very little about eBay. And I work in the health insurance arena. In other words, I am not very popular at cocktail parties. What I did not realize, however, until listening to a presentation today, is that these three seemingly independent subjects can provide very interesting commentary on the state of consumerism in our industry.

Many baseball fans may remember a pitcher by the name of Tommy John who played for both the Dodgers and the Yankees during his 26-year career in the majors. Even if you didn't know that Tommy John was a pitcher, you may be familiar with a fairly common type of elbow surgery that bears his name. It all started in the middle of the 1974 season, when Tommy permanently damaged the ligaments in his pitching arm. But instead of being forced into early retirement, Tommy underwent a revolutionary surgery that succeeded in repairing his ligaments, thereby granting him a full recovery and allowing him to pitch for another fourteen years and win another 164 games. The surgery and his recovery were considered so miraculous that the operation was named after him and has since been referred to as the "Tommy John" surgery.

Why is this relevant?

As you might imagine, you can go on eBay today and buy a Tommy John baseball card. There are several in mint condition being offered right now by several different sellers. Those of you (like my wife) who are familiar with eBay probably know that buyers have at their disposal a vast amount of information about each seller to help them decide with whom they want to transact. Each seller is rated based upon past performance, each seller receives feedback from buyers which is then published for all users to see, each seller provides different price points for the items that they offer (such as a mint condition Tommy John baseball card), and most sellers detail whether they accept PayPal or credit cards.

The point is that you can find out more about a person selling a Tommy John baseball card on eBay than you can find out about a provider who performs Tommy John surgeries at a hospital. If our clients are going to become true health care "consumers," we need to find ways to equip them with the hands-on tools that they need to make the best and most informed decisions. And who knows? Ten years from now when the Yankees win their 30th World Championship (OK, I can only hope) you may be able to review your doctor's track record online and then bid for the best priced procedure on eBay!

Instant Insights /

What can baseball and ebay tell us about consumer-driven health care?

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