Drchrono Is the iPad App That Could Transform Your Doctor’s Office

Neither of the founders are from medical backgrounds: https://drchrono.com/team/

They do have a "Senior Medical Director" who is currently a psychiatry resident, which means relatively few years practicing medicine. I don't want to discount his abilities just for that, but for instance, it seems unlikely he has really worked in a private practice which is what this seems whole package seems targeted to.

I know disruption can happen from outside the system, but in the case of physician's medical record systems, I feel like the main hurdle is trying to show/teach doctors that your system can be a more efficient system in day-to-day. And to do that you really need to understand that day-to-day workflow. Especially since they are targetting these small practices it seems.

The interface is a lot of small screens, with buttons connecting them. In the dictation screen, you can't reach anything else. You can't seem to look at labs, look at xrays. Similarly, the soap note interface brings up a large text entry with an iPad keyboard. Several of the other interfaces bring up these somewhat jarring iOS inputs. None of this seems to flow well.

I feel like you have this open 10" multi-touch device, but you are using interface paradigms from old point and click interfaces.

Here are some interesting possibilities:

- Use the fact that you can scroll infinitely on the iPad. A page could have a ton of data vertically, that you can scroll up/down.

- Maybe you can also scroll/swipe left/right to get to different sections. from Note to Xrays to Labs. Let there be a definite order of those pages. I'm thinking like the Wired magazine app for iPad. Swipe left a couple of times, I'm at labs. I can find what I want, swipe right a couple of times to be back where I started. Or at least short cut buttons for every section so you can jump back and forth easily.

- Current labs could be embedded in the current note/encounter page. It's obvious I'm going to want to see those. Scroll down to see them, swipe left/right to see older ones.

- Why are soap notes in full text input? Why not a large page of customizable Positive/Negative toggles? Most EMRs are like this, but having it on the touch screen seems like it might be nice, especially if you can scroll past ones you don't care about quickly. This also helps to minimize pulling up a full keyboard, which is an awkward event on the iPad. You don't want to be typing long passages if you can avoid it.

- Seems custom interfaces could be explored for making data entry easier. Be it medicines, or complaints etc...

anyhow, obviously those things are just top-of-the-head wild thoughts, but the abilities are there. I just don't see this as an "iPad EMR" but an EMR that was put on the iPad.

It works in Estonia so that all doctors are _forced_ to use that system, which results to a wonderful end result where _every_ doctor has access to _all_ data there is about you 24/7 - so for example when you lie unconcius on the street, 911 knows all your allergies, illnesses and treatments, everything that every doctor has ever written about you etc in that second.

However much like how another HN post showed us, the baseline market will eat this up even if the product is mediocre at best.

So take note readers, this segment is ripe for a competing startup.

I had a doctor tell me just last week, nextgen is shit. Which by the way would probably be your best corp competitor or prospective buyer as they're coffers are filling up.

Disclosure: I have many years experience in this field.

Update: when I say working with, I mean you need to tail and do the work as if you were an employee for some time.

I could see them augmenting their system with a tablet, but it would be software they build themselves, I'm sure.