Jeff Tangney
CEO and Founder
Doximity
Ending the Siloes of Medicine
Jeff Tangney’s vision and leadership is a catalyst for bringing healthcare providers into the 21st century, not once but twice: First, with the creation of the pharmaceutical reference app, Epocrates, and most recently, with Doximity, the largest professional network for physicians.
In no other industry is fluid connection and communication as important as it is in healthcare—however, open-consumer social networks (think: Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn) aren’t built to handle the rigorous regulations enforced on healthcare professionals. Jeff saw that with the right security and infrastructure in place, similar technologies could have life-changing implications for patients and healthcare professionals.
“Who really does need to communicate quickly, urgently, securely about how to solve a problem? It’s physicians,” Jeff told The Washington Post in 2014. So he created a social network for physicians that offers encrypted communications to meet privacy regulations.
Doximity’s physician-focused network provides nationwide access via a searchable directory of U.S. physicians and healthcare providers and a secure channel for clinicians to discuss patient care in an industry where interoperability has ceased to exist. The network also offers curated medical news, based on specialty and clinical interest, called DocNews. It often takes an average of 17 years for new evidence-based findings to reach clinical practice. Doximity is changing that slow rate of adoption by ensuring clinicians are up-to-date on the latest research and news pertinent to their practice.
“I had patients worried about symptoms of menopause lasting multiple years, afraid they might have cancer or a psychological disorder,” says Dr. Victor Liou, a preliminary medicine resident. “Fortunately, I was browsing Doximity DocNews one morning and there was an article on the topic that I was able to share with my patients and calm their fears.”
Doximity has had impressive growth: In just over four years, more than 60% of U.S. physician members joined the network, making it the profession’s second-most rapidly adopted new technology (behind only the iPhone).
In helping physicians collaborate and share information, Jeff is on a journey to reduce the siloes that often burden the healthcare field.
