DocFlight, a New York City-based startup, is using telemedicine technology to provide patients in China with access to U.S. physicians, according to NBC News.
"In China, people get just a few minutes with the doctor," Sally Wang, cofounder and CEO of DocFlight, told NBC News. Ms. Wang, who was born in Nanjing, China, and raised in New York City, added, "It's also hard to access the best doctors in China. It takes a lot of connections."
Ms. Wang cofounded DocFlight in 2015 to provide Chinese patients with access to second opinions from physicians in the U.S. The service, which charges a few thousand U.S. dollars, uses an intake system to learn about a patient's condition. It then matches the patient to a relevant specialist from a network of physicians from various institutions like Boston-based Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and New York City-based NYU Langone Medical Center.
Prior to a video consultation with the physician, DocFlight uses a computer system to translate the patient's medical records, which are subsequently reviewed by staff for accuracy. At a scheduled video appointment, a patient, physician and DocFlight translator meet online to discuss the patient's condition. The typical consultation lasts about 45 minutes.
The DocFlight physicians do not write prescriptions or provide treatments. However, they do provide second opinions and may arrange trips to the U.S., should the patient be interested in seeking medical treatment outside of China. "Generally in almost all the cases, our physicians have recommended a change, at least a tweak, in the course of therapy," Ms. Wang told NBC News.