Phyisicans Global Network Builds Physician Network With Online Tech
ANN ARBOR (WWJ) -- In a decade-long medical device sales career, Adolfo Tejeda estimates he spends 80 percent of his time on networking efforts, trying to grow individual practices by connecting the physicians he calls on. Setting up a system of referrals among those physicians helps the practices grow.
From that experience, his Miami, Fla.-based Physicians Global Network, PhysiciansGlobalNetwork.com, was born. Tejeda and co-founder Vinicius Guerra Paz consider their professional media outlet to be a LinkedIn-style networking system specifically for physicians with the major bonus of a built-in ability to refer patients in real time, a feature powered and protected by cloud services from Ann Arbor-based Online Tech Inc., which is compliant with the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. Online Tech tests its HIPAA hosting products and data centers against the latest HIPAA Audit Protocol.
"The referral process for physicians is very antiquated, and a lot of patients are being lost in the process," Tejeda said. "It's great for physicians to have their own space to discuss best practices and other issues, but at the same time the biggest benefit that comes from networking is referrals."
Physicians Global Network streamlines the outdated health information exchange and referral processes, bringing doctors online to build relationships and grow their businesses efficiently. Doctors can refer patients to other specialists and track who is referring patients their way. This transparency and accountability, Tejeda says, helps to build strong professional relationships.
Referrals can be made and appointments scheduled before the patient's visit ends and both the patient and specialist are notified by text or email alert. Referrals are tracked on one central platform, eliminating unnecessary paperwork and lost business due to inefficient management.
It took Tejeda a year to take Physicians Global Network from concept to its current beta launch. The company is currently focused on building their initial network in the Miami area, where they're currently based, while accepting memberships from early adopters and tech-savvy participants around the globe. Tejeda expects a full launch of the site once 10,000 physicians are using the beta version.
Joining the site is free. An annual membership fee allows physicians to receive referrals, a cost that would be recouped after the first referral.
"We're here to grow and we want to grow together with our customers," Tejeda said. "It's a big switch to how doctors use their office, so we're starting off with that personable, face-to-face interaction before we try to go viral to the world. Our users are going to make us successful, and we want to make sure they're equally successful. That's what we're here to do, offer a platform to talk and a platform to grow their practice."
Along with its HIPAA compliance, Online Tech's same focus on customer satisfaction is what convinced Tejeda to partner with the Ann Arbor-based data center.
"I spent a couple weeks reading through sites and talking to representatives," Tejeda said. "What I liked about Online Tech was the fact that HIPAA specialist Bill Ryan was so transparent. I was impressed by the knowledge base that Online Tech brought to the table and by the documentation that Online Tech had. All these things transfer to the reputation of my company, as well. I'm looking at this as a long-term partnership and Online Tech was willing to work with us, a small startup saving every penny to be successful. Service is very important. I plan to provide that service to my physicians, it's important to us. So the fact that Online Tech gave us that attention, it was huge for us."
Online Tech's data centers and services feature backups for everything -- from multiple back-up generators and backup systems to locations straddling two power grids and even two CEOs. Backed by independent HIPAA, PCI, SSAE 16, and SOC 2 certifications, Online Tech delivers the security, privacy, and availability expected from world class data center operators. For more information, call (877)740-5028, email contactus@onlinetech.com or visit www.onlinetech.com.
