Doximity, a newly formed networking site for healthcare professionals, has already captured the attention of over 7,000 physicians months before the site's official launch. Doximity, created by the founders of Epocrates, is a site available to physicians, which offers a network similar to LinkedIn. This new network supports numerous devices, including iPads, iPhones, Android devices, personal computers, and soon to include the BlackBerry. Doximity is designed to assist physicians when searching for consults from colleagues, referrals, pharmacies, hospitals and other medical facilities.
 

More than 7,000 physicians are now included within the network since the site’s unofficial launch in October, and it has landed a major contract with a medical company, which will produce $100,000 in revenue. The company is working to close a cycle of venture capital funding in the $10 million range.

The appeal of the site involves a free nationwide database of medical specialists, as well as the ability to reconnect with medical school classmates, direct phone numbers for hospitals, and even the ability to text message and receive picture mail using a secure network. Doximity is unlike similar sites because it doesn’t focus on user anonymity. The site creates a quicker method for treating patients throughout the US by reducing the amount of time it takes to contact colleagues and find information. This provides physicians more time to focus on patient care.

"Medical communications is a big problem," said Jeff Tangney, CEO of the California-based Doximity. Tangney went on to say, "It's mind-blowing, but doctors can't use email, they can't use SMS, so what can they do? They fax each other."

Doximity is geared towards younger physicians, which is the reason the official launch of the site won’t occur until after the American Medical Students Association conference in March in Washington, D.C.

"We're definitely very focused on the younger physicians -- they get it," said Tangney. "Our big goal for 2011 is to really put our stamp on that generation of younger doctors."

Due to the strict regulations that limit the way physicians can discuss medical records or colleague consults, Doximity has the potential to aid physicians abilities to communicate with one another by creating a secure collaboration platform. The goal of the site is to provide a secure channel for messaging and precision referrals. Although the site will make it easier for physicians to communicate, some seasoned physicians remain leery over the release of personal information on the site due to potential risks.

"I can't imagine that people would do that and offer advice," said Gabrielle Gold-von Simson, a pediatrician in New York. "That puts them in a spot where they're susceptible to, say, malpractice allegations." However, Tangney reports they have taken extreme measures to secure the site, which should ease the minds of those concerned.

Tangney’s former partner at InterWest Partners, Doug Pepper, supports the platform. Pepper said, “We have enormous confidence in the potential of Doximity to modernize medical communications”

Tangney supports the need for physicians to communicate by stating, “Doctors are more likely to accept invites from certain specialties. For example, if you’re an oncologist, the odds of you accepting another oncologist’s invitation are lower than you accepting an invitation from a primary care doctor or internist. So the notion of birds of a feather flocking together just isn’t true. Cardiologists want to have colleagues who are in the emergency room, because the ER docs see a lot of stroke patients and they need the referrals.”

Doximity is a fast and effective way for physicians to get a hold of one another when needed on a professional level. This site reduces the need to fax information because all a physician needs to do is send a message through the use of smart phones, which is HIPAA compliant. What’s even better, is the recipient of the message doesn’t even need to be a Doximity member, making this method more effective for everyone.

What do you think? Is Doximity a valuable communication tool for physicians?