{"items": [{"author": "Jeremy", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/611525495882?comment_id=611615201112", "anchor": "fb-611615201112", "service": "fb", "text": "It looks like the distinction between Watsi and other charities that use personal stories but nonetheless pool money is not as significant as it may seem. See this blog post:
http://blog.watsi.org/.../watsis-operational-process...", "timestamp": "1367536137"}, {"author": "Jeremy", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/611525495882?comment_id=611615655202", "anchor": "fb-611615655202", "service": "fb", "text": "Basically, for obvious reasons, it isn't reasonable to make patients wait to receive medical treatments, so the Watsi has, as far as I understand, a very low latency process by which clinics can submit requests and have them approved by Watsi, at which point Watsi guarantees funding. A donation to one patient really is earmarked for reimbursing Watsi's general fund for the cost of that patient's treatment payed to the clinic, and Watsi can ensure it doesn't go bankrupt by only accepting requests that can be payed out of existing funds. However, by donating to one profile, you are effectively also donating to other profiles in the form of advertising space on Watsi's website.
Still, maybe donors find this indirect form of pooling more acceptable.", "timestamp": "1367536560"}, {"author": "Jeff Kaufman", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/611525495882?comment_id=611651468432", "anchor": "fb-611651468432", "service": "fb", "text": "@Jeremy: Thanks! I've posted an update: \"There's still more of a connection in the sense that the people whose profiles you see are the people Watsi currently works with not just representative samples, but everyone one the site has already been treated and their care will be covered even if you don't donate, so the actual effect is that you're funding the treatment of the people Watsi will post on the site later.\"", "timestamp": "1367581359"}, {"author": "Chase", "source_link": "https://plus.google.com/100103430849183284950", "anchor": "gp-1378577638677", "service": "gp", "text": "Hey Jeff -- Interesting read, thanks for covering us! One clarification: the vast majority of patients on our website have not yet received care. In fact, we've rarely (if ever) received a treatment update before the patient's care was funded on the website. And because we require that our hospitals submit profiles before the patient receives care, we're never approving treatments retroactively.\n
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\nThis is similar to how healthcare works in the US, for example. When you go to a hospital for surgery, they don't ask you to pay upfront. Instead, they ask you to make a commitment to pay, and then they bill you immediately after the treatment happens, which makes a lot more sense when you think about the intricacies of medical care (e.g. it's hard to predict if a patient will need one pint of blood or two, hard to predict complications, it's immoral to withhold care and endanger the patient, etc.).", "timestamp": 1378577638}]}