VoteIt collaboration tool finds unlikely customer base in physicians

An entrepreneur looking for a way to make meetings and decision-making less painful ended up […]

An entrepreneur looking for a way to make meetings and decision-making less painful ended up helping doctors collaborate by sharing patient records and opinions on the best treatment option.

Taylor Beery of VoteIt said that as he started to promote the company, he met a doctor who was using Yahoo Groups to share files with colleagues.

“He was frustrated because his in box was filled with messages and he didn’t have time to sort through everything to find the important information,” Beery said.

VoteIt allows users to set up a poll: what printer to buy, where to go on vacation, or how to treat a person with knee problems. The user can attach documentation to the poll so that everyone can read it before they vote. Participants can also leave comments on the poll.

Beery presented at the Hatch 2012 Pitch Competition at SXSW. He competed against 14 other startups covering everything from video platforms to eye tracking software to a ride-sharing mobile application.

He closed his pitch with a perfect demo of his site: VoteIt  poll that asked audience members to select the winner of the competition.

He said he was hoping to raise $5 million and to spend 45% of that on marketing. One judge asked about liability of handling medical records.

“We are just replacing a system that they are currently using, not asking them to use something new,” Beery said. “In terms of HIPPA, they follow certain protocols, such as not using the patient’s name, to make it compliant.”

VoteIt lost the competition to Distil.it, a content protection service that prevents data theft from web sites. The ride sharing app won second, and third place went to a software-as-a-service company that allows people with dyslexia to change the display of a web site to make it more readable.

Veronica Combs

Veronica is an independent journalist and communications strategist. For more than 10 years, she has covered health and healthcare with a focus on innovation and patient engagement. Most recently she managed strategic partnerships and communications for AIR Louisville, a digital health project focused on asthma. The team recruited 7 employer partners, enrolled 1,100 participants and collected more than 250,000 data points about rescue inhaler use. Veronica has worked for startups for almost 20 years doing everything from launching blogs, newsletters and patient communities to recruiting speakers, moderating panel conversations and developing new products. You can reach her on Twitter @vmcombs.

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