LOCALMED
Local company revolutionizing medical & dental appointment scheduling
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When Daniel Gilbert faced the frustration of juggling up to eight medical appointments a week while battling cancer at the age of 19, he felt there must be an easier way. The idea of an online and mobile medical scheduling and appointment reminder platform was born.
After being told he was in remission, Gilbert gained the help and partnership of his twin brother Derek in co-founding LocalMed in 2011. They later attracted investors including former State Sen. Marty Chabert and CEO Keith English, the founder and CEO of LeadRev, a $36 million-a-year software company, which sold to private equity firm London Bay Capital in 2008.
How it works
Based in Baton Rouge, LocalMed is a free, 24/7, online and mobile scheduling platform that allows patients the ability to find doctors and dentists, view and schedule real-time appointments, and remember their appointments through reminders sent directly via text or email. LocalMed gives patients the ability to manage multiple physician and dental appointments for themselves and their dependents all in one place.
LocalMed software provides the capability for patients to search for a physician or dentist according to their preferences, using filters including location, specialty, insurance, and appointment dates and times. Doctor profiles contain pictures, certifications, accepted insurances and interactive maps to their office. English says, “Our goal is to provide transparency and convenience to the patient when scheduling their medical and dentist appointments.”
Filling a void
LocalMed solves the problems that peer groups say are top reasons for not wanting to visit the doctor and/or dentist: Left on hold while trying to make appointments, limited appointment availability, and forgotten scheduled appointments. The user-friendly site is free to patients, making it a destination for future appointment scheduling. “This software is filling a void in the medical community that is not currently available.” Unlike the current process of requesting an appointment and awaiting response, LocalMed users can view real-time doctors’ and dentists’ schedules and book confirmed appointments instantaneously.
“Scheduling appointments by phone will soon be a thing of the past,” says English. “Making appointments at the convenience of the patient via smartphone or computer, similar to the technology used to book a flight or hotel room, is the future.”
For physicians, LocalMed’s marketing platform attracts new patients and streamlines the process for existing patients. The application will also help to reduce “no-shows” and allow offices to free up staff, both of which reduce costs. LocalMed also provides the practices with a doctor portal to help track their return on investment.
A local success story
Born out of the LSU Louisiana Business & Technology Center’s Student Incubator, LocalMed has since grown into a team of 14. LocalMed has hired professionals from a range of strategic backgrounds, including health care, sales and marketing, and application technology, and is on pace to hire 38 additional employees by 2015.
LocalMed’s innovative technology has already gained both local and national attention. This comes from partnerships that include StayHealthy, which places LocalMed’s software in kiosks in more than 1,900 pharmacies across the country. The company was also featured in the March 2013 edition of Entrepreneur magazine.
Locally, Gov. Bobby Jindal praised LocalMed for choosing Louisiana to call home. “The city and state are pleased LocalMed chose to stay in Baton Rouge,” Gov. Bobby Jindal said.
“Baton Rouge is home for us, as well as providing us with all of the resources we need,” Daniel Gilbert stated.
The rollout of LocalMed’s flagship product in 2013 will be joined by additional business partnerships that will help LocalMed gain a projected 3,000 physician and dental practices by the end of 2014. The company will begin its next round of fundraising in late 2013 to support that growth.
“Almost every other industry allows 24/7 access to scheduling or booking. LocalMed will provide this same level of access to doctors’ and dentists’ schedules, simplifying life for patients and helping practices fill their open appointments,” states English.
