Modern doctors' offices rely on technology

9/30/2011

Tom Lee, CEO of venture-backed primary care practice One Medical Group, recently completed doctors' office financing of $20 million to open five practices in the coming year, TechCrunch reports.

One Medical Group already operates nine offices in San Francisco and New York, and plans to expand to Silicon Valley and Washington D.C. Lee closed the financing deal with Maverick Capital, Benchmark, Oak Investment and DAG Ventures, increasing his overall capital to $46.5 million.

Lee's offices aren't typical. Most of the busywork is done online. Patients can schedule appointments, request prescriptions, receive lab results and view a personal health summary over the internet. Doctors can also use the electronic capabilities to access medical records.

New patients can also join and pay online, and use an iPhone app to schedule in-take appointments. Questions to physicians are conducted via email or iPhone.

This means Lee's offices are as minimalist as possible. They are typically "bright, airy and modern," and average 1.5 support staff or less. Lee notes this reduces administrative costs and improves the overall doctor-patient experience.

The Health Care Blog reports that all of these amenities are available for around $150 per year.