4A- Forming an Opportunity Belief

An opportunity I believe exists is in the medical world. I believe that finding dermatologists, doctors, and orthopedics that are available in the near future is not always an easy task. I recently called 5 dermatologists in Gainesville that could not see me as a patient for a few months. Due to this recent annoyance, I rethought about all the times that finding a doctor, dermatologist, or orthopedic appointment have been stressful and time consuming. Anyone in search of medical help is affected by this unmet need. This unmet need has always existed and has been dealt with in the form of opening new practices so that more patients can be seen; yet I am still noticing the constant need for immediate medical appointments. Currently, people are calling multiple offices searching for an appointment.

#1: 25 year old female with knee problems

1. Do you ever have trouble seeking an immediate appointment for your medical problem?

“Absolutely. Usually when I go to book an appointment it is not very far in advance because I like to wait until last minute. For example, my knee was hurt about 8 months ago. I tried to let it heal on its own and when that did not happen, it got worse over time until I finally realized that I needed to go see a doctor immediately.”

2. Do you ever have to call multiple practices to find an appointment?

“Yes, and since I do not have a knee doctor I see regularly, I had to call about 6 different doctors before I could see one within a few weeks.”

3. Have you experienced the problem of needing a fast appointment in the past?

“Yeah, when I fractured my foot one time, my foot doctor I had seen before wasn’t available for a few weeks but I needed an MRI as soon as possible.”

4. When did you first become aware that immediate medical appointments are a problem?

“A few years ago I noticed this was an issue. It has been an ongoing issue and something I have discussed with other people as well.”

5. How are you currently dealing with the need of finding an appointment?

“I usually have to call 10 different doctors.”

6. How satisfied are you with your solution as it is now?

“I would like it if I didn’t have to wait so long. All I want and expect are appointments available in a week.”

Reflection: My interviewee, Ashley, had a lot of trouble booking fast doctor appointments. She was a prototypical customer that seemed to agree with my annoyance of not being able to seek medical help quickly.  I learned that my opportunity would be appealing to people in the orthopedic world, but surprisingly she thought medical appointments only became a problem a few years ago.

#2: A 53-year-old woman with skin problems

1. Do you ever have trouble seeking an immediate appointment for your medical problem?

“Yes, since leaving my old dermatologist’s I have had serious problems. I called some other dermatologists when I had a basil cell on my face because I knew I needed to seek doctor’s attention. If I weren’t a regular patient then they said they cannot see you for 4-6 weeks.”

2. Do you ever have to call multiple practices to find an appointment?

“Yes, I called 4 before I could find one that put me on a waiting list that would maybe get me in. They told me to call back the following week and so I did so.”

3. Have you experienced the problem of needing a fast appointment in the past?

“Mainly with dermatologists, yes. They seem to always be booked up for months on end. My regular dermatologists got sick at one point and that’s when it started getting bad.”

4. When did you first become aware that immediate medical appointments are a problem?

“Well with dermatology especially, I notice it being a problem. With other medical appointments I am normally fine.”

5. How are you currently dealing with the need of finding an appointment?

“My regular doctor did end up getting better after being sick for about 2 months and thank gosh I could go back with him.”

6. How satisfied are you with your solution as it is now?

“I am satisfied that my doctor is back and able to take me when I need. I was surprised how difficult finding a new doctor.”

Reflection: After interviewing Kathy, I started to think that dermatologists were a section of the medical field that specifically needed more specialists or a better way to deal with all the patients. I was surprised Kathy said that with all other doctors she had no problem getting an appointment. I learned that my annoyance with doctors might be strictly related to certain fields.

#3: 37 year old man with leg issues

1. Do you ever have trouble seeking an immediate appointment for your medical problem?

“It takes time most the time. It takes 2 to 3 weeks to find a doctor for my leg problems. I started having leg problems about 20 years ago, so I’ve been dealing with this for a long time. I guess it used to take a month to see a random leg doctor, but now they try to see me under 3 weeks.”

2. Do you ever have to call multiple practices to find an appointment?

“I always use my same doctor and they try to get me in right away, so that is pretty good.  I think I’ve made a connection with my doctor and they know they better get me in fast.”

3. Have you experienced the problem of needing a fast appointment in the past?

“With dermatologists I have, but nothing worse than 2 to 3 weeks.”

4. When did you first become aware that immediate medical appointments are a problem?

“Yeah mostly my whole life there has been an issue with finding an immediate appointment.”

5. How are you currently dealing with the need of finding an appointment?

“I have to plan ahead and I cannot really find them fast. Luckily I haven’t had any emergencies.”

6. How satisfied are you with your solution as it is now?

“Not very satisfied. I would definitely like this not be a worry.”

Reflection: Throughout my interview with Rick, I learned that making a connection with your doctor could result in faster appointments. Rick uses the same doctor and he says that he does not have to call many doctors because he has one that knows everything about him. It also surprised me that he only had trouble finding a fast appointment with dermatologists.

Summary:  My original opportunity seems to have lessened. I thought that there was a problem with wait time with any doctor, but it looks like only certain fields have it. Dermatology sticks out to me specifically because each interviewee said that it was a problem. I believe my new opportunity of decreasing wait time with dermatology and a few other fields is a more significant opportunity than looking at all medical fields. In order to decrease wait time and allow people to find a specialist in their area, I would create an app that allows you to pick your field of specialists and then a list of the soonest appointments available would appear at your finger tips. I think entrepreneurs should adapt their opportunities mainly off of customer feedback. If your customers do not want what you are supplying them than no money is going to be made and there is going to be no point of that product/service.