Screenshot of doctors from on Zocdoc

Let ZocDoc save you time, energy and vital organs

I’m sitting in my doctor’s office. Her facility – which is nice and clean and has a caring set of staff - is on my street. After I arrive, and sign in, I wait a total of three minutes to see the doctor. Just like my last visit, she is friendly, thorough and honestly cares about my concerns. The office also accepts my insurance (Healthnet) and the receptionist doesn’t hassle me because I didn’t have cash for the co-pay. “Mail it in when you get a chance,” she says. She said the same thing at my last appointment. Oops, I forgot. They seemed to have forgotten too. My doctor also happens to be a younger Black woman (holla!). And get this: I found her online.

Welcome to www.ZocDoc.com, a Web site that enables you to make appointments with dentists and doctors online instantly. When I first moved to New York from California, and needed a doctor, I was pissed at what appeared to be limited pickings. First, I went on my insurance carrier’s website. Then I started making cold calls to the doctors they listed. I waited on hold for 45 minutes for one doctor’s office. Another told me they don’t have any available appointments for new patients for the next five months. The next said that she currently isn’t accepting any new patients at all. Once I finally got a doctor, I waited four hours before I was seen (this is with an appointment). She misdiagnosed me and almost did an invasive procedure to follow up. Luckily, their “machine broke” (this is the one that performed the procedure) and by the time it was working again (two months later) they realized that I was fine and I never should have been required to take the procedure in the first place.

Cyrus Massoumi is the CEO and co-founder of Zoc Doc

led. The website’s co-founder, Cyrus Massoumi, said he came up with the idea on a business trip. His eardrum ruptured on the airplane and it took him four days to get an appointment. The idea is genius: You can review doctors, schedule same day appointments online, see your doctor’s picture, choose a doctor that takes your insurance an

d pick a physician that is near you - or your job. You can also look at where your doctor went to school. ZocDoc also plans to add other specialties in the near future, they recently added dermatology.
Make your appointment online now, and let me know how your experience went.