The AI-Informed Patient with Zocdoc Founder & CEO Oliver Kharraz

Summary

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Bloomberg Businessweek: "The AI-Informed Patient"

Guest: Oliver Kharraz, CEO & Founder of Zocdoc
Hosts: Carol Massar and Tim Stenovec
Date: March 26, 2026
Podcast Theme:
How AI is transforming patient engagement, doctor-patient interactions, and healthcare access, with insights from Zocdoc’s founder.

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Episode Overview

This episode explores the evolving role of artificial intelligence (AI) in healthcare, focusing on the surge of AI-driven patient engagement before, during, and after medical appointments. Oliver Kharraz, CEO of Zocdoc, shares how patients are increasingly using AI to become informed before seeing doctors, how doctors themselves are integrating AI into their workflow, and how platforms like Zocdoc help bridge the gap between online information-seeking and access to care.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. AI Disruption in Healthcare

[01:45 – 02:41]

• Tim shares a playground conversation on AI disrupting radiology.
• Both hosts discuss the reality of robotic surgeries and the future of AI-operated procedures.
• Raises the question: "Are all doctors at risk of being disrupted by AI?"

Notable Quote:
"Every doctor is going to get disrupted by AI."
— Tim Stanovec relaying a conversation (02:12)

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2. How Patients Use AI Before Seeing Doctors

[03:08 – 04:19]

• Oliver Kharraz explains Zocdoc's role as "access infrastructure" connecting patients to care.
• Zocdoc observes a significant rise in patients adopting AI and bringing AI-informed questions to doctor visits.
• This behavioral shift prompts new questions about the impact on patient-doctor relationships.

Notable Quote:
"Patients are increasingly adopting AI in the pre-care setting, and the number... bringing that third party into the patient-doctor relationship has gone up a lot."
— Oliver Kharraz (03:15)

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3. The Value and Limitations of AI Health Information

[04:19 – 05:44]

• Tim shares a personal story: AI gave him a wrong answer, but consulting his physician led to the right diagnosis. Other times, AI worked well.
• Oliver emphasizes AI's greatest value: increasing patient engagement, resulting in more prepared visits and better outcomes.

Notable Quotes:
"It made you more engaged in your care... you probably asked better questions of your doctor, and it ultimately led to you getting care versus deferring it."
— Oliver Kharraz (04:22)

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4. Doctors’ Adoption of AI for Workflow

[04:47 – 06:06]

• Tim recounts a pediatric appointment where the doctor used an AI app for note-taking, speaking aloud so the app could transcribe.
• He felt the resulting medical notes were more thorough and accurate.

Notable Quote:
"I actually got a more complete version of that visit than I would have gotten had the doctor sort of just taken notes in his or her head."
— Tim Stanovec (05:27)

Oliver's Take:
"This is some of the future—AI makes everyone more productive... patients want to get information from AI, but they want to get care from their doctor."
— Oliver Kharraz (05:44)

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5. Zocdoc’s Role Connecting AI-Empowered Patients and Providers

[06:13 – 08:36]

• Zocdoc isn't an AI company but benefits from AI-educated patients whose next step is seeing a doctor.
• The platform turns AI insights into actionable appointments by matching patients to the right healthcare professionals based on specialty, insurance, and availability.
• Noted an uptick in AI-informed patient queries and visits.
• Emphasis on healthy integration: "AI gives information, doctors give care."

Notable Quote:
"Connecting the queries to care."
— Oliver Kharraz (07:09)

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6. Impact of AI on Patient Volume and Behavior

[08:06 – 08:42]

• Zocdoc is witnessing rapid growth in AI-empowered patient engagement, from both user data and doctor feedback.
• Patients are more proactive about seeking care and earlier diagnosis.

Notable Quote:
"I think that's really where the value is, is that we maybe ignored a little bit less and a little bit more proactive about seeking care and hopefully finding things earlier."
— Oliver Kharraz (08:50)

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7. Zocdoc Business Update & Platform Stickiness

[09:14 – 12:22]

• Zocdoc celebrated approaching 20 years since founding (2007).
• Company is profitable, experiencing rapid provider growth, and is "master of our own destiny."
• Over 200,000 providers are on the platform; in NYC, 1 in 3 new doctor-patient relationships begin via Zocdoc.
• Emphasizes usability: Most patients see a doctor within three days (vs. 31 days by phone).
• High platform stickiness: patients and providers return due to convenience and efficiency.

Notable Quotes:
"On Zocdoc you can see the doctor, typically after just three days, and a plurality of patients within 24 hours. So that's such a better experience..."
— Oliver Kharraz (11:34)

"We still have patients from the very first year that we started..."
— Oliver Kharraz (12:02)

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8. On Staying Private vs. Going Public

[12:22 – 13:03]

• Zocdoc remains private to maintain flexibility for business model transitions and strategic changes.
• Oliver expresses openness to an eventual IPO for transparency and discipline, but asserts now is the right time to stay private.

Notable Quote:
"There are chapters in every company's history that you want to do as a private company... we're certainly open to the idea of going public eventually."
— Oliver Kharraz (12:28)

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Memorable Moments & Notable Quotes

• "Patients want to get information from AI, but they want to get care from their doctor." (05:47)
• "Connecting the queries to care." (07:09)
• "On Zocdoc... a plurality of patients [see a doctor] within 24 hours." (11:34)
• "We are masters of our own destiny." (10:27)
• "We still have patients from the very first year..." (12:02)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 01:45 — Intro to AI in healthcare and the rise of AI-powered diagnostics
• 03:08 — How Zocdoc observes patient behavior changes due to AI
• 04:19 — Tim’s personal story on AI health advice and real doctor diagnosis
• 05:27 — Use of AI note-taking during doctor visits
• 06:35 — How Zocdoc leverages increased AI-informed patient engagement
• 08:06 — Measurable rise in AI-informed queries and appointments
• 09:14 — Zocdoc business update: growth, profitability, provider stats
• 11:34 — Platform stickiness and patient/provider retention
• 12:22 — Discussion on remaining private vs. going public

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Conclusion

This episode spotlights how AI's growing presence in the health information landscape transforms the patient journey—driving curiosity, proactivity, and smarter questions—while reaffirming the irreplaceable value of the human clinician. Zocdoc's power lies in converting AI-powered insights into real-world healthcare connections, supported by a robust, growing, and sticky digital platform. As AI evolves, Zocdoc intends to remain at the infrastructure heart of this new care paradigm, balancing innovation with human touch.

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Transcript

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[Tim Stanovec]

You're listening to Bloomberg Business Week with Carol Massar and Tim Stanovec on Bloomberg Radio. Well, at the playground this weekend, Carol, I'm talking to another dad. Yeah, he's got a startup that uses AI to read radiology. And I was saying to him, wow, radiologists, that's a, a type of doctor that is very, I guess, positioned to be disrupted by AI.

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[Tim Stanovec]

And he said, he responded with, every doctor is going to get disrupted by AI. And he started telling me about all the robotic surgery.

[Carol Massar]

Disrupted. Good. Disrupted.

[Tim Stanovec]

Well, this, this is the, like, hey, robots are going to be doing surgery on you soon.

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They are already, aren't they?

[Tim Stanovec]

Well, like, robots that are not operated by somebody, you know, I'm not talking about like the da Vinci robot, okay? Like, you know, that's operated by a single doctor. I'm talking like, yeah, like Elon's robot's

[Carol Massar]

going to come in and operate on me.

[Tim Stanovec]

I don't know about Elon's robot, but yeah.

[IBM Representative]

Just saying.

[Tim Stanovec]

I want to know what Oliver Karaz has to say about this. He's CEO and co founder of zocdoc. It's the platform that connects patients with doctors. It also provides telehealth and it's increasingly leaning into AI functions too. He joins us from Manhattan. Oliver, good to have you on the program. You know, zocdoc has been around for quite a while and seen many different iterations of technology. Bring us up to speed on where it is right now when it comes to integration with AI and how patients are using AI functions.

[Oliver Karaz]

Yeah, happy to, to be on the show. So what's interesting is ZOCDOC is access infrastructure that connects patients with good care. And for us, it was very interesting to study how patient behavior is actually changing in this age of AI. And what we're seeing is that patients are increasingly adopting AI in sort of the pre care setting. And the number of them that go in and bring that third party into the patient doctor relationship has gone up a lot. And so for us, it was interesting to know how do these behaviors change and what does it mean for the long term doctor patient relationship?

[Tim Stanovec]

I've had such mixed results using AI as sort of like for health care. Yeah, for healthcare, in the sense of like asking questions of AI. Uh, you know, I had something recently where the, the, the answer that I got was totally wrong after I saw my doctor and I talked to my doctor for literally two minutes and he diagnosed me correctly. And it was something that the AI didn't at all pick up. But other times it's worked really well. Where, where are we in your view about not necessarily AI replacing doctors, but at least supplementing what they can do?

[Oliver Karaz]

I think what's very interesting and what you just said is that it made you more engaged in your care. Right? Like you researched it, you were more interested, you probably asked better questions of your doctor, and it ultimately led to you getting care versus deferring it and, or going into that visit less prepared. And that's exactly the function that I can have. And it's actually something that doctors want.

[Tim Stanovec]

You know, what I found too recently. And then I'm going to let Carol ask a question at some point.

[Carol Massar]

You keep going. I'm kind of loving it.

[Tim Stanovec]

Here's what I found. Recently, I was at a doctor's appointment with my daughter and increasingly what we're finding. Finding. What I'm finding is, and I don't know if you're seeing this too, Carol, but you know, the doctor comes in and has a smartphone or a tablet with them and says, is it okay with you if I use this AI app to sort of transcribe for notes and for charts. And. And I said, yeah, it's a. It's. It works. And she was examining, you know, my daughter as part of her checkup. And what she did was she communicated in a way out loud, where she was describing everything that she was doing and the results of what she was doing. And I realized after I went and read the notes, the reason she did this was so it was picked up and transcribed by AI. And what I felt like is I actually got a more complete version of that visit than I would have gotten had the doctor sort of just taken notes in his or her head and then just written that transcription up later when they sat down to do the notes. I mean, to me, I was happy to have sort of this technology in the room with us.

[Oliver Karaz]

Precisely. I think what you saw is some of the future where we actually connect the benefits of AI and the ability to see a doctor and make maximum use of this time. We believe that that's precisely where AI should be going. Patients want to get information from AI, but they want to get care from their doctor. And that is enabled by AI making everyone more productive.

[Tim Stanovec]

I thought she was talking to me. Carol.

[Carol Massar]

Who?

[Tim Stanovec]

The doctor. But I realized she was just talking to the computer.

[Carol Massar]

She's like, no, be quiet, dad.

[Tim Stanovec]

Exactly.

[Carol Massar]

Hey, Oliver. So take it back to your platform. So I'm trying to understand. So then how does this fit into what you guys are doing? This is a platform used by patients to find care and make appointments. Doctors are on it. So how is AI kind of fitting in to that? And does it create ROI for you guys?

[Oliver Karaz]

Yeah, so we benefit from it, even though we're not directly an AI company, obviously. But what happens is that patients do research, you know the situation or, you know, as Tim said, like, they get more engaged, maybe they get a diagnosis that worries them, or they understand that they should take early action, but the AI can only give them information. Ultimately, they need to see a doctor to find care. And this is where we help them make that insight that they got from the AI actionable and translated into a visit. So connecting the queries to care.

[Carol Massar]

So you have AI on the platform where people make queries about something and trying to figure out who they need as a professional healthcare professional. And then you make that connection.

[Oliver Karaz]

So we make the connection, but they could start their search anywhere. We're really an infrastructure platform where you start your search on an AI layer or Google or anywhere else. You can ultimately turn that into a visit using ZocDocs infrastructure that immediately show you which doctors are available, which ones accept your insurance, which times they could see you, and then you can make an appointment very easily with just a couple of clicks.

[Carol Massar]

Okay, so in other words, people are doing some research on AI, they're figuring something out and they're like, okay, now I know what I need to do or what I need to ask. On your platform, have you seen an increase of patience as a result of kind of the rise in AI and chat bots and generative AI specifically that have resulted in more people then coming to your platform? Can you make that connection?

[Oliver Karaz]

Yes, absolutely. We see that happening. We see it growing very fast from a low base, but it's something that is becoming more and more popular. We see that on our platform. We hear that from patients when we ask them. We also get this confirmed by doctors in terms of what they see in their practice. What fraction actually has seen patients that come pre informed with AI? I think that's an inevitable trend and I hope more folks find sort of a healthy way to deal with that, as Tim did in his example.

[Carol Massar]

How many come to a doctor and the doctor's like, yeah, no, that was a wrong diagnosis, you got an AI.

[Oliver Karaz]

So yeah, we're not clinicians to sort of say what's right or wrong. We really connect the patients to care. But obviously we all know that in areas where we have expertise, the AI doesn't always get it right, but it always gives you something to think about and to explore. And I think that's really where the value is, is that we maybe ignored a little bit less and a little bit more proactive about seeking care and hopefully finding things earlier and leading to better outcomes all around.

[Tim Stanovec]

Oliver, give us an update on the business. I mean this is a company that's been around at this point. It's hard to even imagine. Just means I'm getting old for close to 20 years at this point. You started this back in 2007. This is a company that, like I said, it's been through many iterations of technology and this economy and it's seen a lot through the COVID pandemic, through sort of like Web one to Web two and now into what people are considering, Web three and the AI revolution. Give us an update on the business as it still is a venture backed startup where you are in that and if you're going to raise more money anytime soon, if you're going to go public anytime soon, what can you tell us?

[Oliver Karaz]

So we're a private company, so it's limited what we disclose, but we are growing quite quickly. We're profitable. We are masters of our own destiny. And we're really focused on building a fantastic company that helps sort of solve healthcare access, which is one of the biggest problems in our healthcare system. A lot of the problems that we then measure and react to are downstream from that. And so we want to fix health care from the first step.

[Tim Stanovec]

And I know you were profitable last year. Are you still profitable, consistently profitable?

[Oliver Karaz]

Yes, we are, you know, as I said, masters of our own destiny. And we want to be able to invest in sort of the future, but we can do that out of our own strength.

[LifeMD Narrator]

You know, one of the things I'm

[Carol Massar]

curious, though, can you give us an idea of how many patients are using the platform, how sticky it is? Like, once they're on, do they stay? And I'm also curious how many doctors are on the platform? And the same thing for them. I know. Do they still pay to be on the platform?

[Oliver Karaz]

They pay when they receive a booking. On Zocchart.com, there's also ways to be on the platform that's free for providers. We have over 200,000 providers on the platform, and that number is growing quite rapidly. We don't disclose the number of patients, but it's a very material part. So to give you sort of a point of reference, in New York City, where we got started, 1 in 3 new doctor patient relationships get formed on Zocdoc.

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[Carol Massar]

Is it sticky, though? Do patients stay on it and go, okay, got one doctor go back there? And same thing with providers. Do they stay on the platform?

[Oliver Karaz]

Yeah. You know, if you just think about how complicated it is to get access to care from the time that a patient picks up the phone and starts dialing for doctors till they actually see one. Even a primary care doctor on average takes 31 days. On Zocdoc, you can see the doctor typically, on average, after just three days and a plurality of patients within 24 hours. So that's such a better experience than why would you ever go back into calling the doctor and playing scheduling Tetris with someone in a call center? So it's very sticky. As you said, we're over a decade old. We still have patients from the very first year that we started using the platform, and it's been sticky for every generation after. So it is just a better mousetrap. If you want to get access to care, SocDoc is the place to go, and the patients keep coming back and proving us right on that.

[Carol Massar]

Just curious, before we wrap up, why why stay private and not go public?

[Oliver Karaz]

We're really focused on solving, you know, a very important problem. Now. I personally think that being public is long term the right answer for most companies. It brings more transparency, it brings more discipline, but they're chapters in every company's history that you want to do as a private company. In our case Tim mentioned, we did a big business model transition that was certainly better to be done as a private company and there might be more things that we want to do in the future, but we're certainly open to the idea of going public eventually.

[Carol Massar]

All right, interesting. Great conversation. Thank you so much Oliver. We appreciate it. Oliver Karazi is CEO and co founder of zocdoc, joining us right here in Manhattan.

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