Zocdoc, which partners with electronic health records and practice management software vendors to give providers real-time online scheduling and other free tools that complement their existing workflows, announced a new partner program Tuesday that it said can drive revenue and growth for scheduling software companies and providers.

WHY IT MATTERS

EHR and PM vendors enable providers to seamlessly integrate their scheduling software with Zocdoc to surface their real-time appointment availability and facilitate instant online scheduling. 

A basic partner can offer providers and care groups a calendar integration to enable online patient scheduling, while a mid-tier partner adds online scheduling integration through search engines, websites or the Zocdoc Marketplace.

Under full partners, providers can access the full suite of Zocdoc Practice Solutions tools and all of the company's software partners and get new Zocdoc features and product improvements automatically. 

Zocdoc is "working to build the connective tissue of healthcare," Dr. Oliver Kharraz, founder and chief executive officer, said in a statement.

"We introduced this program to incentivize deep and valuable relationships with our scheduling software partners, with a shared goal of delivering an integrated, streamlined experience to providers and their patients."

Elation and DrChrono by EverHealth have joined the Zocdoc Integration Partner Program as Advanced Integration Partners, the company said.

"Partnering with Zocdoc has enabled our users to effectively expand and enhance their patient base, ultimately improving their experience with DrChrono by EverHealth through our seamless integration," Matt Madden, DrChrono's market executive, said in the statement.

Zocdoc said its marketplace aggregates real-time, in-person or virtual care medical appointments across more than 250 specialties. The company also said its EHR-agnostic appointment scheduling software has completed more than 175 calendar integrations and works with more than 18,000 insurance plans.

THE LARGER TREND

Elation Health, a cloud-based EHR vendor that serves more than 24,000 independent primary care clinicians and care groups with options for a full tech stack, began collaborating with Zocdoc in June.

The company said the collaboration could help support physician practices and reach new patients in the marketplace by streamlining online patient scheduling. Providers’ existing scheduling software integrated with Zocdoc automatically adds appointments booked online to providers' schedules in their Elation EHRs, the vendor said.

More recently, Zocdoc announced new guided search capabilities that give patients results based on their symptoms and what they are seeking treatment for.

Kharraz said earlier this month that the guided search feature gives patients "greater control, more confidence and ultimately peace of mind that they're selecting a provider who is able to see and treat them for their specific needs."

ON THE RECORD

"We believe that delivering a great patient experience and supporting providers’ growth is contingent on strong and mutually beneficial partnerships with leading EHR and PMS organizations," Kharraz said in the tiered partner program announcement.

"Thanks to our Advanced Integration partnership with Zocdoc, Elation has accelerated its ability to build out market-leading EHR solutions that reduce clinician burden, strengthen the patient-physician relationship, and drive primary care success," Kyna Fong, Elation Health, cofounder and CEO, added.

Andrea Fox is senior editor of Healthcare IT News.
Email: afox@himss.org
Healthcare IT News is a HIMSS Media publication.