Brentwood Resident Starts Company to Ease Health Care Crisis

While most recent college graduates spend their time tirelessly scouring the Internet for job openings, Brentwood resident Jordan Michaels opted for a less conventional route to employment.

The USC alum, who graduated magna cum laude in 2009 with a degree in neuroscience and biological sciences, started RingADoc, a service that connects patients to physicians for a complete medical consultation over the telephone.

The doctor can even prescribe medication during the phone consultation.

The business is Michaels’ response to the health care crisis facing millions of uninsured Americans who cannot afford in-office care.

“I was simply frustrated with a lot of issues within the medical industry and thought there were better ways to improve access, affordability and quality,” he said.

Michaels joined forces with business partner Dr. David Gonen to create RingADoc.

Patients call a toll-free number to get connected to a doctor who is licensed to practice in the state from which they are calling. RingADoc employs physicians who speak a multitude of languages.

The consultation costs $39, which Michaels said mirrors the average co-pay.

The 23-year-old entrepreneur believes RingADoc shines among competitors because of the immediate accessibility it offers to callers.

“There's no need for high-speed Internet or webcams, there's no scheduling, appointment times or waiting rooms—you simply call and are connected.”

Although many individuals still hold a personal doctor-patient relationship in high regard, Michaels says RingADoc does not intend to replace that special dynamic, but rather to “bridge the gap between urgent care, emergency rooms and hospitals."

"It’s hard these days to access a physician, and we are here to make that easier by removing the hassles attached to the traditional process of receiving care," he said.

Michaels said RingADoc patients come from all walks of life and call for any number of reasons.

“RingADoc is used by college students, senior citizens, business travelers when they can't get to a doctor's office, those who live in rural areas and are too far from a health center, and even those who have an embarrassing question about sexual health or STDs,” he said.

“It’s also popular for second opinion questions as well as patients who want to make sure they actually need to visit a hospital or emergency room.”

Michaels used his own company to successfully treat a case of swimmer’s ear over the summer.

“I used RingADoc and also tried to get an appointment with an ENT [ear, nose and throat] doctor. The appointment with the ENT doctor took me three days to get, and when I went in, he prescribed the same drops as the RingADoc doctor, yet charged me four times the price. Meanwhile, I had already received the drops within 20 minutes of my RingADoc phone call,” he explained.

While RingADoc is still a relatively new company gaining momentum and popularity among consumers, Michaels has high hopes for the future of both his company and the American health care system.

“The RingADoc model presents a realistic solution to many health care problems as we have figured out how to provide unparalleled access to physicians while managing them as valuable resources and incentivizing them to treat patients with telephonic medical consultations,” Michaels said.

“Once the big players take note of companies like us, that's when [the medical and health care industries] will get very exciting.”

More information on RingADoc is available at www.ringadoc.com.