Are you a patient frustrated with the amount of time it takes to talk with a doctor?

Are you a doctor that wants an efficient way to connect with patients?

The innovation:
QDoc is a North Forge Founders Program Ascent Stage MedTech startup. They have created an application that connects patients to doctors in real-time. Currently, 20+ doctors use QDoc, and they are on a path to recruit 100-150 in Manitoba.

Its mission is to allow equal access to medical care for all Canadians, regardless of their economic status or geographic location.

Co-Founders Dr. Norman Silver and David Berkowits developed a service distribution model that uses a custom algorithm to quickly connect local doctors with local patients. They are creating partnerships with under-serviced segments of the population that have a difficult time seeing doctors:

• Northern communities,
• single parents,
• the homeless,
• and the elderly.

“We met with the College of Physicians and Surgeons and are aligned with them regarding providing quality virtual care and ensuring continuity. Both QDoc and the College want to do what is best for the population,” Norm explained.

Using their complementary skill sets in medicine, technology, and software development, Norman and David developed this innovative MedTech application to:

• enable patients to connect with the doctors that match the patient’s medical issues,
• help doctors to match with patients that are in the doctor’s specialization,
• enable health information to flow between doctor and patient securely and easily via video, and audio,
• decrease emergency room visits,
• decrease wait times for doctor appointments,
  

“This solution, which any resident in Manitoba, Nunavut, or North Western Ontario can access right now, at no cost, is a game-changer,” explains Norm. “I have referred QDoc to several people who cannot believe the ease, service, and peace of mind it offers.”

 

The technology:
“We plan to leverage artificial intelligence to bring medical services to under-serviced areas. QDoc improves patient and physician experience by connecting the patient with the doctor quickly; it’s easier for the physician and optimized for the patient. This service reduces doctor burnout and efficiently helps patients get the medical attention they need,” David said.

The funding:
This physician-designed cutting-edge patent-pending technology securely matches and connects patients with the best Canadian doctors in their area. QDoc has raised more than $1 million through the North Forge Angel Network in its first seed round, has obtained IRAP funding, and has a $5M valuation!

The genesis:
Dave and Norm have an incredible friendship that has quickly translated into entrepreneurship. “We often talk about how customer pain points could be solved while working out at the gym together,” Dave remembered. “QDoc came out of one of those conversations during one of those gym sessions a couple of years ago. Norm is the only person I would build an application like this with.”

 

How North Forge supports founders:
“North Forge has helped us bring our idea to market, raise capital and make an impact! The Founders Program was integral in helping us with the market valuation and business model canvas to ensure that patients and doctors would adopt this application and doctors,” Norman explains. “We have brought the Uber concept of ‘connecting service providers to customers to the medical field; connecting the right patient to the correct physician.

The medicine and technology industries are accessible arenas for Norm and David to navigate. Though it came down to the details of building the product, “the biggest thing I learned, with the help of the North Forge mentors and EIRs (entrepreneurs-in-residence), is that even though you can build it, should you,” Norman said.

“We don’t see pivots as hurdles or something to troubleshoot,” shared Dave. “We change based on environmental factors and what works best for the customers and the ecosystem. For example, recently, some doctors don’t have a clinic to work from, so by creating QDoc, we created that space for them.”

The supportive entrepreneurs in the Founders Program were a welcoming surprise for the duo. “It was unexpected to have so many people rooting for us. We love the community aspect of the program. Everyone wants to see you succeed and is there to help when you need it,” Dave shared.

“Don’t be embarrassed by your failures; learn from them and start again.” – Richard Branson
“The most successful people have the most failures. Entrepreneurship is something that you need to try – the worst thing that can happen is that you learn a lot,” Norm chuckled. “You can keep trying businesses and fail, but that one success will pay dividends to cover the others.”

Next Steps:
To learn more about QDoc, visit qdoc.ca, 1.833.736.2362 or email Norm and Dave.

Are you thinking about turning your idea into a business?

We would love to hear from you!

Tell us about your idea (don’t worry if you don’t have the answers to all the questions yet), and our Programming Team will contact you to set up a meeting to chat about it.

* All North Forge employees sign non-disclosure agreements.