Have you ever had a chat box open up when you are trying to find a chiropractor to adjust your spine or a doctor to perform an allergy test or other service? Have you ever wondered where that technology came from? The most likely answer is that it came from DearDoc, the fastest growing bootstrapped start-up in the healthcare space, founded by CEO and entrepreneur Joe Brown.
Brown and his team founded DearDoc, a company best known for the creation of cutting-edge software that solves a host of issues for smaller doctor’s offices and practices by creating solutions for every step of the patient journey. Their flagship product has made it possible for doctors to open a line of friendly communication with every would-be patient that visits their website, even going as far as to offer tailored questions based on a variety of factors and communicate in a voice that suits the doctor, their specialty, and the patient.
What’s incredible here is that DearDoc has made their chat software healthcare industry compliant through technology that works to protect the private medical information of patients and keep doctors on the right side of regulations.
Finding Inspiration in Family
Among the most fascinating things about this is that Brown does not have a medical or software background. Instead, he has a sales-heavy resume alongside positions where he was training salespeople.
He was struck with inspiration by his grandfather, a Boston dermatologist. Brown is close with his older family member, and well-aware of some of the issues doctors face in small practices. Communication is often an issue, with little time to reach out or reply during a day filled with back-to-back appointments.
“When he mentioned that he was seeing traffic coming to his website but wasn’t able to capture any of that traffic and convert it into patient visits, that was my ‘aha’ moment,” he said. “Out of that, DearDoc was founded.”
The Reviews Are In
Doctors across the US and Canada seem to be loving DearDoc’s product. Though the software only launched two years ago, they already has 2,500 clients across the country and has quickly scaled from two employees to over 175 employees. DearDoc has also recently acquired a 10,000 sq. ft. office in Manhattan that employees have described as “epic” and fit for a news-making start-up like DearDoc.
Though the company’s AI software product has myriad five-star reviews, one client said, “I’ve been using DearDoc for close to a year and would recommend them to anyone looking to take advantage of their AI chat. It’s a great tool to engage patients during off-hours and even have them book appointments when the office is closed.”
Other clients note that DearDoc has been a lifesaver for converting patients and that their complimentary services are just as good. These include text communication facilitation between doctors and patients, an AI autodialer to schedule appointments with those visiting your site, and review management, which offers auto-updated testimonial displays for websites, making real-time updates of your latest and greatest reviews to your homepage.
Technology for All
DearDoc exists to empower doctors and patients, Brown said, and the company has prioritized creating products that touch every portion of the patient experience.
“We’re trying to democratize AI,” said Brown. “Historically, AI has only been used for big corporations. What we’ve done is to simplify it, make it easier to use, and give it to private practices across the US and Canada. Now small dentists and doctors can leverage AI in the same way as giants like Amazon and Fortune 500 companies.”
The way he sees it, it’s a buyer’s market and medical professionals need to do all they can to optimize every lead. He noted that three-quarters of would-be patients visit a doctor’s site and never call to make an appointment – that’s where the office needs to step in to convert traffic into appointments.
After the success of the chat technology, the review management software is the next product poised to go big for DearDoc. He noted that, for medical services, 92% of patients read and trust online reviews as much as – or more than – a recommendation from a friend. This is why he presses on clients that, no matter how many great reviews you have, it’s a wasted opportunity if they aren’t front-and-center on your website.
About Joe Brown
Joe Brown is an entrepreneur, optimist, and the CEO and founder of DearDoc, a practice growth platform for doctors and medical practitioners. He has been featured in Built In NYC, Business Insider, and MarketWatch. Click here to learn more about his AI software that is helping doctors get more patients: https://www.getdeardoc.com/
