Editors’ Note

Prior to joining WorldDoc, Inc., Dr. Rahul Singal served as Vice President and Medical Director for Southwest Medical Associates, a managed health care organization under the umbrella of Sierra Health Services. A graduate of Stanford University School of Medicine, he completed his residency training in internal medicine at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

Company Brief

Las Vegas-based, privately owned WorldDoc, Inc. (www.worlddoc.com) was founded in 2000 by a group of 20 board-certified, practicing physicians who shared the vision of creating health management systems that empower consumers, payers, and providers to make better health care decisions. They accomplish this through their Care Management System, an integrated system of three modules that provide a single repository for medical, prescription, and laboratory information into a dynamic personal health record.

You’ve noted that even though 95 percent of WorldDoc’s clients are based outside of Nevada, WorldDoc’s headquarters will remain in Las Vegas. Why?

Las Vegas is a great place to headquarter a high-growth company that markets nationwide to businesses for a number of reasons. First, existing and prospective clients are always coming to Las Vegas for business meetings, conferences, or recreation, so we get face-to-face meetings at a much higher frequency than if we were located somewhere else. As a world-class city, access to and from Las Vegas is excellent. Also, Nevada has a very business-friendly environment. Las Vegas has an excellent infrastructure for technology, financing, and health care. Finally, the dynamic growth and lifestyle of Las Vegas gives us an advantage in recruiting and retaining excellent employees.

How does WorldDoc utilize the Internet to assist doctors and patients in forming partnerships that improve health through preventive care?

WorldDoc is a consumer-focused product that engages members in improving their health. We take a unique, Web-based, symptom and database approach to provide individuals with answers to their health questions and allow them to share that information with their health care providers. In addition, we are proactive in reaching out to individuals regarding their current and future health concerns and in providing them with behavior modification programs that promote health.

Besides your track record of improving customers’ health, WorldDoc is also demonstrating that it can save clients significant amounts of money. Will you elaborate?

We provide a value proposition to employers and health places through our ability to engage members and thereby improve health and reduce costs. Our software educates people on their personal health goals relating to blood pressure, cholesterol, weight, etc., and helps them modify their behavior to achieve these goals. We have shown improvements in people’s health metrics that result in a reduction in hospital admissions and pharmacy costs as a result of our programs.

What was the genesis of the WorldDoc concept?

I went to medical school with the goal of helping people. I enjoyed meeting with patients on a one-on-one basis. It was a true epiphany, however, when I realized that I could help improve the health of millions of people through the Internet. The Internet provides an unprecedented opportunity to improve efficiency in healthcare, improve individual lives, and lower the cost of health care.