Doximity.com, a physician-only website, is drawing 5,000 new members monthly

While there are numerous websites or social media platforms set up for physicians to interact with each other, Doximity.com stands out, in the opinion of its president, Jeff Tangney, as the only one that requires authenticated licensing credentials to participate: a doctor needs to enter their NPI number (or comparable qualifying identification) to join. Over the past two years, the site has drawn 100,000 physicians, and is currently gathering new ones at more than 5,000 per month. Last September, the company, based in San Mateo, CA, garnered $17 million in Series B funding from a private-equity firm.

Most of the emphasis of the site currently is on building physicians’ private forums, networking and a referral service. Communications are secured in a HIPAA-compliant manner. The site does not accept pharma advertising at present, but one way that the industry can participate is through sponsorship of studies that garner honoraria for participants. “The quality of our individual profile data combined with the ability to map physician colleague connections allows us to make unique observations with the potential to identify physician KOLs and KOL networks,” says Tangney.