Posted Under: Next BIG Thing, Startup

Next under the “Next BIG Thing” is DrChrono. Michael Nusimow and Daniel Kivatinos started DrChrono.com with the simple goal of making patient-doctor interaction more effective and meaningful. And they do it, in part, with a little help from a device known as the iPad. You see, DrChrono.com offers the first and only native app for EMR (electronic medical records) for the Apple iPad.

The idea for DrChrono.com came more than two years ago, after Nusimow had repeatedly missed several dentist appointments due to a lack of effective follow-up. It was soon thereafter that he quit his job as a software programmer and founded DrChrono.com in early 2009 with Kivatinos, his friend and fellow SUNY Stony Brook alum. Together they built a comprehensive suite of Web-based billing, scheduling, reminder and patient on-boarding. By offering their product over the Internet, DrChrono.com eliminates the hassle of updates, OS/version compatibility, and limited licensing.

When the iPad was announced earlier this year, the pair saw revolutionary implications for health care. At last, medical professionals could wield a device that was as effective as a laptop, but was less impersonal. And, with President Obama insisting that all Americans have electronic health records by 2014, there was at last a practical platform for EMR software. What’s more, DrChrono.com’s iPad EMR app is fully integrated with the company’s complete online product offering.

At present, the firm remains a small startup with only seven employees. The company is still in early stages, but has already shown rapid growth. Since the EMR app’s debut on April 24, it has received more than 1,000 downloads. A full 30% of the company’s current customers are actively using the iPad EMR app in their daily practice. To encourage more rapid adoption of the EMR, DrChrono.com is giving away both the EMR app and an actual iPad to all its new customers.

If DrChrono.com faces any challenge today, it is definitely the rate of adoption among health care professionals to transition to EMR from paper records. The medical industry is often slow to adapt to and adopt new and changing technologies. In addition, Apple products, including the iPhone, have always suffered from the stigma of not being effective business tools. There is also the prevalent yet entirely unfounded belief that the iPhone (and, by association, the iPad) are not as secure as other platforms.

These myths will fade in time, however. As the iPad receives increasing amounts of critical acclaim from the health care community, and more and more doctors begin to realize that tablet computing is the future of health care, this challenge will alleviate itself.

But Nusimow and Kivatinos are not resting on their laurels. Not only have they continued to upgrade and update their EMR app with new features such as dictation, stylus writing support, and soon electronic prescriptions and lab reports, but also the pair have launched full steam into development of an EMR app for the rumored Google Android tablet!

At present, Nusimow and Kivatinos are actively seeking support from venture capitalists and angel investors looking to take advantage of the billion-dollar EMR/EHR industry. The Obama Administration has passed a bill offering a $44,000 grant to any health care professional who converts to an EMR system that meets the established meaningful use guidelines. DrChrono.com’s iPad EMR app is well on its way to meeting those guidelines. In contrast, many legacy and big-name players in the EMR industry cost well in excess of the grant amount to fully integrate, particularly for large hospitals. DrChrono.com is far more aggressively priced and, when integrated with its Web-base practice management system, ensures near immediate ROI, making DrChrono.com the single most attractive option for medical professionals looking to make the switch to EMR.

Anyone interested in speaking to Michael Nusimow and Daniel Kivatinos about investment opportunities, or health care professionals looking to get on the cutting edge of EMR technology, can contact them directly at michael[at]drchrono[dot]com and daniel[at]drchrono[dot]com

We wish all the best and much success to Daniel, Michael, and Dr.Chrono.

Success to all!!