The process of being diagnosed takes some time. It includes waiting for an hour or two to see the doctor, several lab tests, and many trips back to the clinic. What if you can receive an initial consultation in a matter of minutes from not just one but as many doctors as possible?
This is the premise of Figure 1 app, named after the way illustrations and images are called in textbooks. Officially launched on May 2013, it is now called the Instagram of health care with more than 125,000 users in North America, New Zealand, United Kingdom, Australia, and Ireland. It is free to download in iTunes and Google Play.
The app was developed by Toronto internist Josh Landy who observed that many doctors are actually now using smartphones in relation to their jobs, including sharing medical-related images through e-mails. In fact, according to his survey, around 13% do that today.
Together with his partners Richard Penner who handles tech and Gregory Levy who manages the business side of the app, they developed Figure 1, which has already raised over $2 million of funding.
The app allows health care professionals to share medical images to obtain additional input or initial diagnosis. He likens it to a doctor asking his colleagues' medical opinion while in the hospital corridors. The app organizes images and cases to different categories such as emergency medicine, radiology, and dermatology.
More than 18% of the app users are young doctors, but the app is also being used by non-health care professionals or ordinary people who want to get quick opinion from various doctors.
Landy wants to keep the app professional, and thus, they have placed certain terms and conditions to its use. For example, while everyone from the abovementioned locations may share images, only professional doctors are allowed to post comments. They have a dedicated team who will verify the every user's credentials. They have also developed an algorithm that blurs the faces of patients for privacy. Moreover, doctors who wish to upload the images of cases should ask permission from the patients before they can do so. The app already includes a virtual signature form for permission.
