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One of Uber's core crew said to launch on-demand doctors

Word has it that Oscar Salazar has been working to create a startup for the "1 percent" that will send doctors on home visits.

Dara Kerr Former senior reporter
Dara Kerr was a senior reporter for CNET covering the on-demand economy and tech culture. She grew up in Colorado, went to school in New York City and can never remember how to pronounce gif.
Dara Kerr
2 min read
Several companies such as Dell, Cisco Systems, and Google have worked on initiatives or products in the healthcare sector over the past few years. Cisco Systems

With the US government's botched rollout of Healthcare.gov, it appears some techie types are thinking about how to startup-ify doctor visits for the country's upper class.

Oscar Salazar, one of Uber's core crew who helped build the early prototype, is reportedly creating a new company that will send doctors on on-demand house calls, according to Valleywag. If the patient needs more care after the home visit, the doctor will send them to the emergency room.

"It will work like Uber, but with doctors coming to you. I mean it will start out for the 1 percent, clearly," a source familiar with the matter told Valleywag.

Eventually, however, the startup could also roll out a low-cost version. "Someone out of school with training coming over for $50 instead of $500 bucks to evaluate and decide whether you need more attention," the source told Valleywag. "It will get tricky if someone misdiagnoses, but no more tricky than a hospital. This is why I think out of all the Uber for X co's, this is the most viable."

Apparently, 40 doctors have already signed up to take part in the New York City-based service, which is said to be named "Housecall" or "Doctor Housecall." According to Valleywag, Salazar reportedly plans to launch the startup in the near future.

Correction, January 15 at 11:05 a.m. PT This story was updated to correct Oscar Salazar's role with Uber. He is a member of the "core crew" rather than "co-founder." An Uber spokesperson told CNET that "Oscar is not a co-founder of Uber."