COVID has expedited many tech trends, but perhaps none as drastically as what we are seeing in the HealthTech industry.
As physicians and patients alike look for solutions to connect with healthcare services, Frank Wasti noticed a gap in the marketplace for those uninsured or underinsured.
Wasti told Hypepotamus that addressing pitfalls for both patients and physicians was his goal with launching DocNow, a “digital health assistant.” The app has several unique functions to optimize the patient-physician relationship.
The app, which is free for individuals to download, allows patients to find and book appointments with local doctors. The platform also supports HIPAA compliant, HD-quality telemedicine appointments without the need to download additional software.
Physicians pay to be on the platform, which in turn helps to “optimize their visibility within a geographic area,” Wasti told Hypepotamus.
This is particularly important in the wake of the pandemic, as healthcare services and appointments have been drastically reduced and as more patients look to telemedicine as a safer alternative.
Patients can search specialists ranging from cardiologists to veterinarians for “fur babies” in the family.
For Wasti, what sets DocNow apart is the membership, DocNow Plus, which is designed to directly increase healthcare costs. Members receive discounts at specific urgent cares.
The platform also offers a subscription-based healthcare program to help patients access physicians in the network for a nominal monthly fee, thus gaining access to services that might only be available to those with specific insurance plans.
TECHNOLOGY IN HEALTHCARE
Prior to DocNow, Wasti spent 18 years at IBM before joining Oracle. “I had a chance to really look closely at what was going on in the healthcare industry from a technology perspective, and I always felt they were behind the curve.”
Along with its telemedicine capabilities, DocNow has launched an On-Call service that Wasti says works like “Uber in a physician setting.”
The On-Call service is specifically designed to help bring consultations and advice to those who may be worried about high deductibles or who are living without insurance.
Since its launch in October in Georgia, the platform has brought on over 40 physicians and upwards of 16 urgent clinics.
For Wasti, the launch in Georgia proves that DocNow has helped both patients and physicians with pain points in the appointment booking and insurance process. The team says it has secured $600K in seed funding and is working to expand over 2021.
Featured photo by @nci
