Oklahoma Doctors Use Online Network Similar To Facebook

Deanne Stein, News 9

OKLAHOMA CITY -- It's considered the largest and fastest growing online network for physicians. It's called Doximity, a sort of Facebook for doctors only. And several doctors in Oklahoma already "Like" it.

"There's Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn," said Dr. Vikas Jain, a sleep specialist at Integris. "But none of that is secure; anybody can access that and view it. So, when you're talking about patients and privileged information, you can't really post to those."

Through Doximity, however, doctors can. The online network includes 75,000 physicians across the country in its database, providing a secure platform for doctors to communicate.

"When you look at how we communicate pagers and fax machines, those are outdated technologies," said Dr. Jain. "This is a lot nicer because most physicians have smartphones or access to the Internet."

The application offers doctors a place to send secure emails and faxes, stay up to date on the latest medical news through articles and journals as well as use iRounds, a place to securely post questions and advice on challenging cases. Sometimes that advice can come in real time.

"It can be instant," Dr. Jain said. "As soon as I post, it's up there and whenever another physician is on there and they see it, it can be just a matter of minutes."

Which Dr. Jain said can help bridge the communication gap between doctors.

"When you look at the leading causes of death in America, medical errors are maybe in the top five, and one of the most common causes of medical error are miscommunications between physicians," he said.

But through Doximity, Dr. Jain says he's hopeful that will change.

"I've saved a lot of time in being able to find physicians and gain access to information," he said. "That all translates into better patient care because I feel like I'm well informed about what's going on."

Through Doximity, doctors also can go online with mobile apps for iPhone, iPad, or Android smartphones.