If you have attempted to book an appointment with a physician lately, you know that it can take weeks or even months to get one. The problem is worse for specialists in rare fields or who are particularly well known.
In 2022, a study found that patients in DFW were waiting an average of three weeks to see one of five specialties: family medicine, OBGYN, orthopedic surgery, cardiology, and dermatology. DFW’s wait time was better than the national average of 27 days, as well as the most challenging places to book a physician, where it would take an average of 45 days.
But here is the thing: many of these physicians have room in their schedules that is never booked, and unless you are a friend of the doctor or VIP, the average patient cannot get past the administrator to access that time. The staff is likely well-meaning and trying not to overwork the doctor, but the founders of OverbookMD have found that many physicians would love to see more patients. So, they remedied the inefficiency with their platform.
Founded by Velasco Industries principal Addison Kim and Texas Back Institute neurosurgeon Dr. Blake Staub, OverbookMD added physicians to its platform for free in exchange for the physicians agreeing to see the patients they book within 48 hours of the request. Kim says they don’t guarantee every patient will have an appointment within 48 hours, but the company has met that standard with around 99 percent of all requests.
Patients pay $20-$50 depending on their needs to skip the line by entering their medical and insurance information into OverbookMD’s platform. The HIPAA-compliant notification goes out to in-network physicians who are eligible to see the patient, and one of the doctors books the appointment. Kim says the physicians aren’t below-average professionals who can’t fill their schedules with other appointments, and the board certified doctors are vetted with background checks, an interview with Dr. Staub, have two physician referrals, and they must be an established physician. “We are only putting doctors on the platform we would send our mother to,” Kim says.
OverbookMD launched last September with a presence in DFW but plans to expand to Austin, Houston, Chicago, and Denver. So far, the two founders have bootstrapped the company, and it isn’t in the market for a capital injection. The platform includes physicians in a few dozen specialties as varied as dermatology and neurosurgery.
Kim and Staub aren’t ready to leave their day jobs yet, but they saw a way to solve a problem and help patients find specialists while physicians can fill their schedules as much as they want. Right now, the company is looking to grow its customer base by connecting with med spas and fitness studios and is looking to be offered as an amenity with country club packages.
“People don’t know this is an option, but we have a pre-vetted list of doctors you can access,” Kim says. “OverbookMD is designed for those who are anxious and in pain, don’t know what doctor to see, and aren’t willing to wait.”
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