MyAppointment.org-Entrepreneur of the Year Nominee - WICU12/WSEE Erie, PA News, Sports, Weather and Events

MyAppointment.org-Entrepreneur of the Year Nominee

We all know the hassle we have to go through when we make a doctor's appointment. It's a sea of paperwork.  We have to fill out forms revealing who we are.  Forms to outline our medical history.  Then there's the forms for insurance, and the ever-present HIPAA confidentiality form.

John Shaffer looked at this paper and ink ritual and decided to do something about it.

"Even though those doctor's offices had transitioned everything else electronically, their process was still starting with a piece of paper. So we started development of an application so patients would be able to complete those online from home. It kind of snowballed from there," he said.

Shaffer created MyAppointment.org. The web site has everything patients and their doctors need. It makes the appointment process, and the forms that go with it, less tedious.

"The nice thing is, by submitting them electronically to the medical office, when you show up for your appointment, your charts are already made. Your insurance is already verified, and hopefully, you're walking into the next available exam room instead of filling out forms for a half hour," Shaffer said.

Shaffer had test customers use the system last year with positive results. Now, in 2013, he's aggressively marketing MyAppointment.org from his new office at the Gannon Incubator Site.

"I always wanted to own my own business and I always wanted to develop a product," Shaffer said. "So I always kept my eyes open for things that weren't being served by other people. I think MyAppointment.org might be the one we've been looking for."

Shaffer has been involved with local Internet services since the old dial-up days. Now, he remains on the cutting edge, and is a nominee for Entrepreneur of the Year.

The winner will be announced at the Erie County Economic Development Corporation Dinner on January 17.