DocDoc: Building a patient-centric healthcare ecosystem

“At DocDoc, we support the patients throughout the continuum of care and empower them with necessary medical information so that they can make well-informed healthcare decisions.”

A wave of consumer empowerment is sweeping the world and every sector is feeling it’s force. Consumers in every sector are actively seeking and utilizing relevant information to make data-driven decisions. Now, it is healthcare’s turn. Creating a patient centric healthcare model requires a system which collects, models, and translates healthcare data from various silos into usable and easily digestible information.

Headquartered in Singapore, DocDoc is proud to be the patient’s advocate at every step of this journey. Its vision is to empower patients to make data-driven healthcare decisions which are safe, transparent, and fair. With Asia’s largest healthcare provider network and extensive proprietary data on outcome, price, and experience, DocDoc helps patients find the highest quality care for their unique medical needs. The company spends thousands of hours collecting and verifying data so that the patients don’t have to. Then, it combines this data with sophisticated knowledge models to produce customized doctor recommendations for every patient. 

With Pain Comes Strength and Strength Helps You Find Purpose

DocDoc was established in 2012 by Cole Sirucek and Grace Park. The mission of DocDoc originated from a unique personal incident the co-founders went through. When the head liver surgeon at a well-known hospital told them that their previously thought healthy 90 days old daughter needed liver surgery immediately, their world turned upside down. To make the situation worse, the doctor was not willing to give them any guidance on his qualifications to perform the procedure. Luckily, Grace had 10 years of experience in the healthcare industry and she had a professional network they could rely on to find the right doctor. Nevertheless, they felt afraid, alone, and exceptionally vulnerable at that moment. The whole pain the co-founders went through gave them the strength and purpose to do something about the way doctors and patients connected. DocDoc was founded to be the service Cole and Grace never had and to empower patients to make data-driven healthcare decisions.

Helping Patients Navigate the Medical Maze

DocDoc is a real world AI project currently operating in healthcare in Asia. The company’s doctor discovery product is based on HOPE^TM which is the name of DocDoc’s AI. HOPE^TM stands for the Heuristic for Outcome, Price, and Experience. Grace Park, the President of DocDoc revealed, “We collect information no one else in the industry has and we then structure this data in a way which allows HOPE^TM to leverage the practical strengths of computer intelligence to compare each doctor’s unique strengths at a condition and procedure level of granularity based on health care quality. We define quality in healthcare as a function of Outcome- expected efficacy of treating a condition or procedure, Price- what a doctor charges relative to peers and Experience - how the doctor makes you feel.”

As the largest company offering doctor discovery in Asia, DocDoc is able to secure and share the critical information that is most linked to quality, including detailed information related to outcome, price, and experience. Information is collected from and compared against multiple sources, including patients, providers, insurance, and government. Most of these data sources are not available publicly, making the DocDoc database the most robust in the industry. Information is reviewed by a trained team of data specialists and clinical informaticists to assure validity in both data collection and proper use of information.

DocDoc: Truly Making a Difference in People’s Lives

Cole Sirucek strongly believes that the biggest asset to any organization is a motivated team that believes in the company’s mission and fights tooth and nail every day to achieve it.

DocDoc believes its greatest achievement is the overwhelming amount of feedback the firm receives from the patients who have deeply benefitted from its service. Cole Sirucek, the CEO of DocDoc says “At DocDoc we measure each consumer interaction and so we have a clear sense of the market perception of our brand. Based on the Net Promoter Score methodology, the average consumer in 2017 rated our product to be an 8.1 on a scale of 10 with 10 being perfection and 1 representing a very poor experience. Any score greater than 8.0 on this scale represents a delighted customer. In comparison, the insurance and healthcare segment as a whole in Asia tends to average a score of 4.”

Sign of Things to Come

As a fast-growing company, DocDoc is constantly experimenting and innovating. Not every experiment issuccessful and it is easy to give up in such situations. What keeps the team motivated is being part of a mission that is larger than themselves and having the courage and determination to follow it through even at the toughest of times. The company learns from each failure, adjusts and keeps trying until it succeeds.

Moving forward, the company wants patient empowerment through data to be a norm rather than an option. DocDoc aims to leverage its platform to expand access to healthcare across Asia and empower patients to achieve excellent healthcare outcomes, efficiently priced treatments, and a delightful healthcare experience.

Greet the Thought Leader

Cole Sirucek, Co-founder, and CEO: Cole is an investor and entrepreneur with over 20 years of experience founding, investing into and otherwise supporting entrepreneurial ventures. He has seen 1st hand the internet revolution unfold from the inside out as an investor in FaceBook, Alibaba and many other well-known companies. Cole has founded a diverse range of businesses in his career including the Epic MMA Club, Asia’s largest mixed martial arts training center.

Cole spent seven years in the direct investment team of Temasek Holdings, the national wealth fund owned by the government of Singapore. In this capacity, he sourced, executed and monitored investments on a global basis in the firm’s telecommunications, media, and technology group.

Cole has received numerous recognitions to include, “Asia’s 100 greatest leaders,” “The 30 most inspiring entrepreneurs of Asia,” and “The 30 Best Entrepreneurs to Look For in 2018.” Cole attended Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management (Master of Business Administration) and Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government (Master in Public Administration).

“Over the years, we have helped thousands of patients navigate the medical maze and find the right doctor. We have received numerous heartfelt messages from the patients who have been grateful to find a company that truly cares for them.”