ZocDoc Launches at TechCrunch40 Conference -- Service Delivers Real-time Appointment Scheduling for Doctors and Patients

New York-based company named one of the 40 hottest startups globally.

San Francisco, CA (PRWEB) September 18, 2007 -- ZocDoc (http://www.zocdoc.com), a new company that provides an online channel for consumers to find and book doctor and dentist appointments instantly, launched today at TechCrunch40 (http://www.techcrunch20.com/), where they were named one of the 40 hottest startups globally. ZocDoc is like OpenTable, which uses the Internet to enable consumers to make reservations at their favorite restaurants very quickly, often taking advantage of last minute openings. ZocDoc applies the power of the Internet to improve a system that, until now, was frustrating for patients, inefficient for physicians, and far too complex and lengthy for everyone.

"We started ZocDoc to improve the patient healthcare experience, because, let's be honest, it is a pain and frustration that everyone has felt more than once," said Cyrus Massoumi, CEO and co-founder of ZocDoc. "The goal is to make patients aware of open appointments for local doctors in real time, anytime, and book those times 24/7 and even minutes before the appointment. Our simple solution addresses a very complex problem that until now had not been solved."

ZocDoc Patient Features

ZocDoc's website is fast and easy-to-use and eliminates previous frustrations such as being put on hold or waiting weeks for an appointment. Additionally, ZocDoc features insurance validation to ensure the doctor of your choice is covered. ZocDoc also puts consumers back in the driver's seat when making healthcare decisions by providing them with detailed background information on all participating physicians and dentists. This includes feedback from previous patients, in a reviews feature similar to those from services like eBay and Yelp. These reviews are unique because only real patients can leave feedback, and only after an appointment has taken place. Other features include integrated Google Maps and an appointment availability auto-notification via e-mail. The service is available to consumers immediately.

ZocDoc Doctor Benefits

Participating physicians and dentists benefit greatly from the ZocDoc service as well. ZocDoc helps healthcare practitioners grow their practice by giving them wider visibility on the web, as well as attracting new patients, particularly for those practitioners with strong patient reviews and feedback. In addition, ZocDoc improves the efficiency of a medical business, helping alleviate productivity lost from last minute cancellations by filling those times with other patients. Even the best doctors have a handful of cancellations every day that may be lost and wasted, and by helping fill those times, ZocDoc creates capacity in an overextended healthcare system.

ZocDoc Market Potential and Availability

ZocDoc is free to consumers. In this early-launch stage, ZocDoc is also free to medical practitioners. However, the ongoing business model calls for a nominal service fee to be charged to participating practitioners, as well as the addition of targeted advertising.

Even with a nominal service fee, ZocDoc has a large, and lucrative, market around it, sized at a market potential of $15-30 billion nationally. There are 720,000 private practice healthcare practitioners in the United States, with an average of more than 3,000 appointments each year.

ZocDoc's service is currently restricted to dental appointments in the New York City area. Over 2 percent of the dentists in Manhattan have already signed up to use the service while still in pre-launch testing. And ZocDoc is managing a long and growing waiting list of doctors and other dentists, over 100 practitioners in total, eager make their appointments available on ZocDoc. The company is onboarding new practitioners on a daily basis.

Other cities and specialties will be added soon. ZocDoc is committed to putting its expansion plans in the hands of its users, giving them the opportunity to vote online for where ZocDoc goes next. Consumers can visit http://www.zocdoc.com to enter their requests. For those residing in or visiting Manhattan, dentist listings are available, live, starting today.

About ZocDoc

ZocDoc is a NYC-based start-up founded in April 2007 by serial entrepreneurs Cyrus Massoumi and Oliver Kharraz, MD, who combine to bring 9 years healthcare technology experience from McKinsey, as well as extensive entrepreneurial experience. For patients, ZocDoc delivers an online service to find and book doctor and dentist appointments in real time, anytime. For doctors, ZocDoc is a new channel by which to reach prospective patients, and an easy way to fill open appointments, maximizing efficiency of their practice. The ZocDoc vision is to use the Web to make healthcare simpler. More on ZocDoc can be found at http://www.zocdoc.com

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