Tag Archives: health information

Beyond ZocDoc, four more ways to schedule your doctor online

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ObamacareHyperlocal vendors are changing the way consumers navigate the healthcare industry, offering tools for finding local providers who are covered by specific insurance plans. Not only do these platforms benefit patients by providing a streamlined way to secure appointments with qualified local physicians, but they also benefit healthcare professionals by filling empty appointment slots and decreasing the percentage of no-show patients. From Stephanie Miles, an associate editor at Street Fight, here are five hyperlocal platforms that consumers can use to find and purchase local healthcare services.

1. ZocDoc: Get real-time availability information from local physicians.
Since its debut in 2007, ZocDoc has become the proverbial 800-lb. gorilla of the hyperlocal healthcare industry. Patients in more than 1,800 cities can find doctors and make appointments online, browsing by location, specialty, and insurance coverage. ZocDoc provides users with real-time physician availability information, allowing them to book appointments with an average of 24 to 72 hours notice. The company’s mobile app even uses geo-location to automatically pinpoint available doctors within close proximity to a user.

2. Patient Fusion: Book appointments with local healthcare providers.
An offshoot of Practice Fusion, an electronic health records tool used by more than 150,000 physicians, Patient Fusion launched in 2013 as a way for patients to search for healthcare providers by location or specialty. Users can read reviews from “verified” patients who have booked past appointments through Patient Fusion. Patients can see which time slots a provider has available and request appointments entirely through the booking portal.

3. Medicast: Find a doctor who makes house calls.
Medicast is a “doctors on demand” tool that people can use to find physicians who can provide care at their homes, offices, or hotel rooms. Medicast matches users up with physicians who are generally available to come by in two hours or less.  Medicast does not currently accept any domestic insurance plans. Instead, patients can opt to pay-as-they-go for $199 per visit, or set up a monthly membership for $29 to $49 per month.

4. DocASAP: Secure an appointment with a doctor today.
DocASAP users in New York, Philadelphia, and New Jersey are able to schedule appointments with providers in a number of medical specialties in seconds using the company’s online portal. DocASAP is free for patients.

5. HealthLeap: Connect to a healthcare provider’s practice management system.
Acquired by Vitals, the doctor online reviews and rating platform, in 2011, HealthLeap is an appointment booking tool that people can use to find available physicians in their local areas. Appointments are made in real-time using data from physicians’ existing practice management systems. HealthLeap is also free for patients.

 

Download Two Apps and Call Me in the Morning

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Will medically prescribed “Apps” cure health care ills, as this New York Times article suggests?  Increased patient compliance with physician recommendations has enormous potential to reduce health care costs and improve patient outcomes.  This is true in a wide range of areas, such as post-surgery recovery, maintaining a heart healthy diet, and physical therapy.  But, aside from consumer fitness and diet apps, this market is yet to evolve.  What’s needed in a winning “app”?  For starters:

  1. A multi-format approach, mobile and web, to reach the broadest range of patients, so just a mobile “app” won’t cut it.
  2. MD-administered controls, enabling tailoring for each patient
  3. A patient compliance mechanism, such as feedback back to a health care professional
  4. A system incentive for the health care pros to engage, such as reimbursement incentives (or penalties), or links to outcomes.

Click here for the article.