Spotlight on Zocdoc

If you’re not familiar with Zocdoc, you can be certain your healthcare provider is. Founded in the spirit of empowering patients and enabling easy access to healthcare, Zocdoc has expanded its efforts in response to the pandemic by assisting hospitals and doctors in managing their patients.

By now many of us have had at least one virtual appointment with a doctor and become accustomed to making those appointments online via the Zocdoc platform. In May of this year, Zocdoc released a HIPAA-compliant telehealth video service on its patient portal to meet the growing demand for virtual appointments, allowing providers to sign up for the service. Through video conferencing, nurses can conduct health screens and doctors can check in on patients recovering at home. Zocdoc also offers free 24/7 access to a one-on-one appointment with an RN experienced in treating COVID-19 patients.  The company’s dedicated resource hub provides patients with free information about coronavirus, including locations where they can get insurance-covered testing.

Making life simpler for doctors is a natural mission for a company founded by a doctor—Oliver Kharraz, whose family tree includes a large number of doctors going back over 300 years. From its days as a tech startup in 2007, Zocdoc has successfully built a marketplace for doctors and patients, growing into a company now valued at $2 billion.

It turns out that Zocdoc’s focus on hospital sales over the past few years has been, timed perfectly. With the 2010 passage of Obamacare, doctors gradually began shifting back from private practice to hospitals and Zocdoc shifted in response, onboarding large healthcare providers. This meant that these institutions already had the technology in place, allowing Zocdoc to seamlessly integrate COVID-19 support and resources. Within a week of launching the telehealth platform, patients used it to book over 350,000 appointments.

However, Zocdoc came under fire when it appeared on a published list of companies that applied for a PPP loan as a small business—a description that had long ceased to apply. Zocdoc returned the funds within a month of receiving them, along with many businesses that made similar errors in applying for the loan to begin with.

After the explosive growth in telehealth due to coronavirus, we look to Zocdoc to continue embodying its brand purpose—to make the world better, to improve lives, and to deliver equitable and open access to healthcare.

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About Brand Acts of Kindness® 

Brand Acts of Kindness® is a series from Carpenter Group that spotlights companies across industries that are living their brand values in addressing the unprecedented challenges facing the world today.

The series initially headlined companies assisting healthcare workers and first responders, as well as communities, businesses and families impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. We also highlight brands taking the lead in supporting social and racial justice, LGBTQ rights, sustainability and the environment. Their stories show how innovation, resolve and action, built on a solid value proposition, can both strengthen a brand and help create a better world.

About Carpenter Group

Carpenter Group is an independent, woman-owned strategic branding, messaging and marketing communications firm that has delivered results-driven solutions to financial, professional services and technology firms for 30+ years.

Our broad cross-discipline experience enables us to craft brand messaging and carry it through to the channels that most effectively connect with our clients’ target audience, from editorial content to advertising to event marketing and more.