As practicing physicians and frontline workers, my business partner and I were amazed to discover communications between surgical teams and the patient’s family members were not as frequent as they should be.

While it can be difficult to communicate with the patient’s family during surgery, because the surgical team is focused on the patient’s needs, we also came to the conclusion caregivers can improve their bedside manner with the patient’s loved ones by being more communicative. It didn’t seem right to make family members wait until the end of a surgery, which can last many hours, to get an update.

Stress on family members during this time is exacerbated when they’re kept in the dark. In an age when we can communicate quickly and efficiently via our cell phones, my partner and I wondered why communications aren’t clearer and more frequent during surgery?.

We discovered there is a need in the perioperative space to enhance communications with family members but also believed a solution already existed. But after exhaustive research, we learned that wasn’t the case.

We then decided to meet some technological engineers and geniuses to find a way to improve communications during surgery. Believing this would be easy, five years later we’re still in development. We do, however, plan to launch Doc-ORTM in 2021.

We learned it was difficult to come up with a meaningful solution that will really move the needle and provide a scalable product in hospital settings, ambulatory surgical units and outpatient surgical centers.

Then, when COVID hit last year, it made our solution an even more necessary product because family members are not allowed on hospital campuses nor permitted to sit in a waiting room during surgery.

Additionally, if their loved one happens to contract COVID, family members aren’t allowed to be by their side. The pandemic has really shown a spotlight on the necessity for a product like Doc-ORTM that can be used throughout the healthcare system.

We’ve had to be very innovative during the product development phase – especially with a solution that will be used in the healthcare industry. Open communication with the entire team was crucial to success.

Hospital administrators, the legal team, because of patient-privacy issues, and technology experts, among many others, needed to be in constant contact to ensure all potential problems were being addressed. Additionally, roll out has been difficult because we’ve had to gather feedback from all concerned parties to ensure everyone was kept informed.

Fortunately, people believe in Doc-ORTM and those same individuals continue to push for its viability throughout the healthcare system here in the greater Tampa Bay area and around the world.

Ultimately, that’s why we will be successful – because people are passionate about this product and pushing for it, and we’re really excited about their support for Doc-ORTM and the positive impact it will have on communications throughout the entire healthcare system.