????醫生們與其他任何人一樣喜歡新興科技和數碼產品，不過，從許多醫生管理其從醫活動的方式上可看不出這一點來：書架上堆滿了病歷；許多醫生還用手寫處方；為了預約看病時間，患者經常需要在電話這頭等到地老天荒。

????成立于四年前的科技公司ZocDoc正在著手解決上述其中一個問題，其網站和移動應用使患者可以根據專長和其他項目來搜索醫生，閱讀評論，并通過電子設備預約就診時間。（想想流行的餐館預訂應用OpenTable吧，ZocDoc與其頗為相似，只不過是應用于醫療保健領域。）消費者很喜歡這項服務帶來的便利。該公司稱，目前月度用戶已達到70萬左右。不過，事實證明ZocDoc的最大擁躉乃是醫生和醫院，通過該服務，他們不僅能吸引新的患者前來就醫，還可以更好地管理預約工作，同時減少患者所需填寫的文書。

????醫生每月向ZocDoc支付250美元會員費后，就可接受潛在患者在線或通過移動應用提交的預約。目前，部分醫院和私營診所已經應用了一些預約軟件，ZocDoc產品可與它們進行整合，如果患者通過ZocDoc對預約作出任何調整，信息將即時同步到原有預約軟件上。如果醫院沒有兼容的預約系統，只需訪問ZocDoc基于網絡的日程軟件，就可以便捷地管理所有相關預約，包括當面或通過電話進行的預約。

????紐約市Beth Israel醫療集團（Beth Israel Medical Group）的副總裁湯姆?普爾指出，ZocDoc減少了患者臨時放棄赴約的情況——對醫院來說這種現象代價高昂，因為患者現在只需點擊鼠標或輕點觸摸屏，就可取消預約。他補充說，“如果患者需要打電話的話，他們往往會覺得非常麻煩。”

????ZocDoc總部位于紐約，目前已在美國11個城市開展業務，迄今以來，該公司已籌集了9,500萬美元資金，投資人包括高盛（Goldman Sachs）、創始人基金（Founders Fund）、科斯拉創投（Khosla Ventures）和俄羅斯數碼天空科技（DST）等。這些投資者認為，隨著使用ZocDoc服務的醫生越來越多，這家公司屆時將得以向他們提供其他數碼服務。ZocDoc網站已經開始要求患者提供基本個人信息，掌握并存儲的數據達到一定規模之后，有朝一日，患者只需“刷”一下手機，就能辦好前往醫院或診所就醫的手續。

????不過，公司創始人塞盧斯?瑪索烏米和奧利弗?科哈拉茲博士指出，他們現階段的側重點是爭取進入更多的城市（服務即將覆蓋三個新的城市），并與更多醫生和醫院達成合作。在這個過程中，他們正幫助醫療行業實現數碼化，盡管步伐不算很快，一次只能針對一個候診室。

????譯者：小宇

????Physicians love gadgets and technology as much as anyone, but you'd never know it from the way many of them manage their medical practices. Shelves groan with patient files. Plenty of doctors still write out prescriptions. And patients can spend an eternity on hold waiting to book appointments by phone.

????ZocDoc, a four-year-old tech company, is solving one of those problems. Its website and mobile apps allow patients to search for doctors by specialty and other categories, read reviews, and schedule visits electronically. (Think OpenTable, the popular restaurant reservation site, only for health care.) Consumers like the convenience of the service -- the company says it has some 700,000 monthly users. But it turns out that some of ZocDoc's biggest fans are doctors and hospitals, which use the service not only to win new patients but to help their offices manage appointments and reduce patient paperwork.

????Doctors pay ZocDoc a monthly subscription fee of $250 to enable would-be patients to book online or via the app. ZocDoc's software integrates with existing appointment software used by hospitals and some private practices, instantly updating those schedules when a consumer makes a change on ZocDoc. Those without compatible appointment systems get access to ZocDoc's web-based calendar software, which helps them manage all their appointments, including those made in person or on the phone.

????For Tom Poole, a vice president at Beth Israel Medical Group in New York City, ZocDoc helps reduce costly no-shows because patients can cancel a visit with the click of a mouse or a tap on a screen. He adds, "When patients have to call, very often they get frustrated."

????New York-based ZocDoc, which now operates in 11 cities in the U.S., has raised more than $95 million in funding from Goldman Sachs (GS), Founders Fund, Khosla Ventures, Russia's Digital Sky Technologies, and others. ZocDoc's backers think the service could eventually offer other digital services to its growing network of physicians; the site already asks consumers to provide basic personal data, but ZocDoc could eventually capture and store enough data to allow patients to admit themselves into a hospital or doctor's office with the swipe of a cellphone.

????For now, though, company founders Cyrus Massoumi and Dr. Oliver Kharraz say they are focused on adding new cities (three more are in the pipeline) and signing up more doctors and hospitals. In the process, they're helping, in a small way, to digitize the medical profession -- one waiting room at a time.