Local Doctor Making Major Moves in the Technology Field

There's a running joke between Salem practicioner Dr. Azar Korbey and his brother-in-law John Alders that Korbey invented the Internet.

Long before Korbey and Alders teamed up on a business venture that started as an idea and has since stretched across the country, Korbey was already making moves to establish the online presence of his medical practice.

"I was one of the first doctors around to have a website," said Korbey. "I wanted it to be useful to the practice so it cut down on phone calls."

Prescription refill requests, non-urgent appointment requests and secure online bill pay were all available at the click of a mouse.

The concept was unique for the late 1990's, and Korbey later learned that other doctors shied away from an online presence because web designers were simply charging too much.

According to Korbey, that changed almost seven years ago. He decided to add another branch to his medical empire, which now includes Salem's All Care Medical, Express Med Clinic and the North Andover-based All Care Laser Center.

Korbey sat down with Alders, who at the time was an information technology guru at MetLife but was taking an early retirement because the company was moving out of state.

"I said, a lot of doctors out there need websites, why don't we start a company and see what we can do with it," said Korbey.

DocWebTRC was born, and it didn't take long for the business to walk – even run – after it did some crawling.

According to Alders, the two started working with physicians in late 2007. He joked that after spending Korbey's last dollar to purchase a booth for a medical event in Boston, the two did some great networking and eventually landed about a half a dozen sales.

"It was really this referral business," said Alders. "Our web base just blew out. We just started expanding across all of the small business spectrum."

DocWebTRC now services all sorts of other clients, from lawyers to golf courses.

Korbey noted that their prices were – and still are – about one third of the competition, and they never lock clients into any sort of contract.

As the 7-year anniversary of docWebTRC awaits in September, the Korbey-funded, Alders-managed company has branched out to a customer base that is 85 percent outside of the region. In some instances, clients are even outside of the country.

The success comes with other perks. Just this year, Korbey moved Alders and the rest of the business to a new office, located on the second floor of the 163 Main St building.

But despite the autonomy, Alders said that having someone like Korbey to bring into the fold when trying to ink a customer looms large.

"A huge piece of credibility is to say 'hey, here's a practicing (doctor) who has been in business for 30 years. He knows what he's talking about.'"

Korbey, who was born and raised in Methuen, Mass., has spent most of the last 30 years in Salem.

He launched his practice in Lawrence, Mass. in 1984, moving it to Salem in 1986.

Korbey later opened up a cosmetic laser center in town before moving that to Massachusetts.

More recently, he built a partership with Cynosure, a company that develops light-based aesthetic and medical treatment systems.

After purchasing a Cynosure machine, Korbey began a pilot program with the company to direct Cynosure clients to DocWebTRC.

"When they sell a $150,000 laser to somebody, they package our product in as a value add and then (the client will) pay for six, 12 months worth of service. We design the site, and after a year or so the client takes over the payments and everyone is happy."

Alders and Korbey are now working on not just websites, but software, including a means for businesses to deliver secure, HIPAA-complient lab results as well as appointment reminders.

For Korbey, the one thing he wants his peers in the medical world to know is that DocWebTRC is not just a side project.

"They look at it as a nice little hobby that I have, and not realizing that I have a company that's playing up there with the big boys."

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For more information on docWebTRC, visit here.

For more information on All Care Medical, visit here.