He's a car collector, auto racer, and former coffee company saver, but now art is imitating life for Patrick Dempsey as he gets into the medical biz.
The man who plays Dr. Derek Shepherd, a.k.a. McDreamy, on "Grey's Anatomy," is teaming up with CrowdMed, an online crowdsourced medical diagnosis platform that helps people with the most difficult medical cases. The site allows patients with an unknown medical issue to fill out a questionnaire and upload photos or videos, and in return, receive an unofficial diagnosis from "medical detectives." As long as it's more Dr. Quinn and less Ace Ventura, this sounds like a decent endeavour.
Site users can also weigh in on a possible diagnosis and probable cures and/or ways to help others dealing with symptoms. As with any online community, suggestions are voted good or bad by their peers, though medical experts' responses will factor in more heavily than random users.
"CrowdMed was designed to help people in need who have nowhere to turn, no options and no answers, which is the same reason I founded The Patrick Dempsey Cancer Center for Hope & Healing," said Dempsey. "After meeting with several Silicon Valley healthcare startups, I was immediately drawn to CrowdMed's mission of helping those who have run out of alternatives."
Dempsey explained how personal it was for him to invest in CrowdMed. "I remember being overwhelmed when my mother was diagnosed with ovarian cancer almost a decade ago, and I know how challenging it can be trying to make the best medical decisions for oneself or a loved one," he added. "The patients turning to CrowdMed can't even begin to think about treatment options because they haven't been able to find an accurate medical diagnosis yet -- but hopefully we can change that."
Dempsey's investment will support CrowdMed's mission of harnessing the wisdom of crowds to help solve even the world's most difficult medical cases online, enabling further development and marketing of the company's technology. Since there's no Grey Sloan Memorial, CrowdMed seems like the best alternative for symptoms that are stumping both patients and doctors.
And who better to help bring this company to the world?s attention than a guy that plays a hunky TV doctor? McDreams do come true.
