Mitchel Rothschild, CEO and founder of MDX Medical LLC, came up with the idea for the physician finder Web site Vitals.com while lying on the operating table waiting for minor surgery. The doctor performing the operation had just told him, "I don't get the opportunity to do this very often."
"I thought that was information I should have had earlier in the process," quips Rothschild. After returning home from the hospital safe and sound, he began researching doctors on the Web and was surprised at how difficult it was to get any details.
Enter Vitals.com, which Rothschild describes as "the eHarmony of matching patients with the right doctor." Vitals.com provides information on more than 700,000 doctors, including board certification, hospital afilliations, peer reviews, patient feedback, sanctions and insurance coverage. Visitors to the site can customize searches, factoring in and weighting the characteristics that matter most to them, such as patient reviews.
"Vitals.com provides the most comprehensive and accurate database of doctors out there, and it has an elegant consumer interface," says Todd Pietri, co-founder and general partner of Milestone Venture Partners, which is leading the startup's $4 million Series A round, which is being announced later today.
Launched in January, Vitals.com attracts 1 million unique visitors per month. "The need in the market is clearly supported by the significant traffic growth at Vitals in a very short period of time, all of which has been driven by natural search so far," says Drew Lipsher, partner of Greycroft Partners LLC, which is also participating in the funding round, along with Cross Atlantic Partners and Health Venture Group LLC, founded by Register.com co-founder Richard Forman.
In our Behind the Money video interview, Rothschild outlines his plans for continuing to develop the service, including partnering with insurance companies, healthcare providers and related Web sites. He views WebMD LLC and Everyday Health Network (the new company formed by the purchase of Revolution Health Network by Waterfront Media Inc.) to be potential partners, not competitors. - Mary Kathleen Flynn
