So far the service is available only in a few cities and the new funding will be used to expand the service. I tried the site myself and it is pretty straight forward as you can see the doctors, the insurance carrier contracts they honor and then set your appointment. The technology is built around SQL Server and Dot net.
The service is free for patients and doctors pay a small monthly fee to be listed. The doctors like it as cancellations can be filled quickly as the openings appear on the website. The video above from Health Tech Today gives a pretty thorough picture with Dr. Crounse from Microsoft interviewing the founder of the company. I can see this service growing as it is very simple and easy for the consumer to navigate and set their appointment. BD
A New York-based start-up called ZocDoc aims to expand its service of online doctor and dentist appointment bookings with a $15 million Series B venture round led by the Founders Fund. Existing investor Khosla Ventures also contributed.
The money will be used primarily to help ZocDoc expand geographically. Currently operating in New York, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., and Chicago, the company is soliciting users to vote on what its fifth city should be (the options include Boston, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and Seattle). But expanding requires complicated groundwork: ZocDoc aggregates participating doctors; lets users search for them by availability, location, and insurance plan match-up; and then enables users to book appointments online. The service is free for users. It's a big change from the status quo.
Big investors backing doctor-booking site ZocDoc | The Social - CNET News
photo: Thinkstock
A few weeks ago, my roommates and I ordered Thai food. We went to pick it up, and once we got home, we realized that we’d been given someone else’s order as well as our own. Rather than call and admit our error, we had a Thai feast, with enough leftovers for lunch and dinner the next day. You could say we went Thai crazy. So, I’m sorry, Pagoda Thai Food. And I’m sorry to the customer who probably had to wait for ten minutes while their food was remade. Even though you probably got some free spring rolls to make up for the error. (Consider that my gift to you.)
Phew. It feels good to have that out in the open.
Most of us have an apology lurking deep within us, but for whatever reason, we can’t say it. Whether it’s coming years too late, or if you wronged a stranger, feel guilty no longer: You can now call the Apology Hotline and get it off of your chest. It was conceived by Vocolo’s Amy Krouse Rosenthal, a writer who knows how good it feels to apologize, and keep the cycle of kindness going.
Call the hotline at 312-948-4662, and watch the video below. It was made from an essay Krouse Rosenthal wrote about kindness. It’s pretty feel-good. Okay, it’s super feel-good. So shoot us. Really. Please shoot us before we start moving people’s coffee cups like in that Liberty Mutual commercial.
via MISSion Amy K.R.
Post from: BlissTree
Mend Your Conscience: Call the Apology Hotline
When it’s a beach day, we definitely can use a little shelter from the sun, wind, and unexpected torrents of rain (Sometimes we forget to check the weather, okay?) If only we could have this beautiful Folding Beach Hut, created by design student Josif Neema. It neatly closes up into a portable, box structure.
We found this sweet little shelter while browsing The Alternative Consumer’s gallery of green architectural concepts. Check it out for some other innovative and eco-friendly design ideas.
image via Alternative Consumer
via The Alternative Consumer
Post from: BlissTree
Eco-Friendly Living: The Perfect Beach Tent
Obesity is a Risk Factor for Cognitive Decline: In post-menopausal women, for each point increase on the BMI scale, scores on a mental test decreased by a point. (via Reuters)
Post from: BlissTree
If sheep clones, designer babies, and face transplants aren’t enough to make you feel like you live in a science fiction novel, a French company is saying that it has the technology to begin standard artificial heart transplants. The New York Times reports that Carmat, a medical start-up backed by the European Aeronautic Defense and Space company, is conducting preclinical tests of artificial hearts for patients with heart failure, and hopes to begin human testing in France next year.
The artificial hearts are made of synthetic materials and animal tissue, with two small motors powered by pelectromagnetic induction through the skin or through a plug implanted behind the patient’s ear. (Whoah.)
Other companies have produced artificial hearts, but they’re only used as temporary life support or as a last resort for patients who are otherwise ineligible for a transplant. Though the idea of humans walking around with a plug behind their ear for powering up their heart is a little creepy, if a device like this were successful and made widely available, it would save several patients from death while waiting for heart transplant availability.
Post from: BlissTree
Artificial Heart: Coming to Your Chest Soon, In France
