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All great questions brador. 1) We work very closely with our Medical Partners to identify the lowest-cost, highest-impact profiles possible. Their Doctors iden

All great questions brador. 1) We work very closely with our Medical Partners to identify the lowest-cost, highest-impact profiles possible. Their Doctors identify the patients based on our criteria, and then we verify and accept the profiles as we receive them. 2) We only deal with our Medical Partners. Funds are sent directly to the partner to pay for the cost of treatment, and NEVER sent to the patient. The patients don't even know we exist until the Doctor tells them that they have been selected as a candidate for Watsi funding. 3) We require a full written profile from our Medical Partner's doctor, a photo, and a signed release waiver. After the treatment is provided our Medical Partners send us proof of the cost of treatment for our records. 4) We never deal with patients, only with our Medical Partners. As you can tell, a lot of trust is placed on our partners, and that is why we only partner with the best. You can read about the partners on our site, but currently they are: a) Dr. Rick Hodes (CNN Hero Finalist) http://rickhodes.org/ http://rickhodes.org/ b) Nyaya Health / Partners in Health (Givewell rated them as top 1% of all non-profits) http://www.nyayahealth.org/ http://www.nyayahealth.org/ c) Wuqu' Kawoq (featured on ABC) http://www.wuqukawoq.org/ http://www.wuqukawoq.org/ Beyond just partnering with the best, we have personal relationships with each one of our MP's. Feel free to learn more in our FAQ: http://watsi.org/faq http://watsi.org/faq and on our transparency document: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/pub?key=0Ah3wJ9CRQzyHdDZSaEF1X1JsRm1yZ251d0RQZ0VmRGc&output=html https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/pub?key=0Ah3wJ9CRQzyHdDZ...

justindocanto 14y ago
This breakdown needs to advertised more on the site. i browsed around a little and didn't know this is how it works. youre going to have a challenge of people trusting you... and this breakdown really helps get past that.
reader2000 14y ago
Just because a Medical Partner has fame does not mean that they are trustworthy! I am concerned about fraud from MP's, especially as you expand and add more of them. One of the techniques that Kiva uses is sending out Kiva Fellows who, among other things, verify and audit the local bank's process and borrowers. As you scale, you need to build in verification processes. As someone who has been living and volunteering for an NGO in Africa, I can't stress how important it is to build in transparency and accountability systems - on the ground. Fraud is rampant, even by doctors (for example, at a public hospital, the poor have to bribe the doctors to be soon in a reasonable amount of time). You don't want to create a situation similar to this: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/nov/14/orphans-cambodia-aids-holidays-madonna http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/nov/14/orphans-... And there are three cases that immediately come to mind to worry about: 1) Is the patient real, 2) Is the patient truly in need, and 3) Is the cost of the treatment true? All in all, it's a great idea. I implore you to please execute well to maximize impact and minimize unintended negative consequences. There are too many projects out here that were started with great intentions but end up doing more harm than good on the ground.

justindocanto 14y ago

This breakdown needs to advertised more on the site. i browsed around a little and didn't know this is how it works. youre going to have a challenge of people trusting you... and this breakdown really helps get past that.

reader2000 14y ago

Just because a Medical Partner has fame does not mean that they are trustworthy! I am concerned about fraud from MP's, especially as you expand and add more of them. One of the techniques that Kiva uses is sending out Kiva Fellows who, among other things, verify and audit the local bank's process and borrowers. As you scale, you need to build in verification processes. As someone who has been living and volunteering for an NGO in Africa, I can't stress how important it is to build in transparency and accountability systems - on the ground. Fraud is rampant, even by doctors (for example, at a public hospital, the poor have to bribe the doctors to be soon in a reasonable amount of time). You don't want to create a situation similar to this: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/nov/14/orphans-cambodia-aids-holidays-madonna http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/nov/14/orphans-... And there are three cases that immediately come to mind to worry about: 1) Is the patient real, 2) Is the patient truly in need, and 3) Is the cost of the treatment true? All in all, it's a great idea. I implore you to please execute well to maximize impact and minimize unintended negative consequences. There are too many projects out here that were started with great intentions but end up doing more harm than good on the ground.