Communicating across our profession with fellow physicians and ophthalmologists has never been as critical as it is today. On a daily basis, we grapple with issues such as rapid health-care changes, information evolution, questionable data, public health crises, large-scale information saturation and our patients’ needs.

At the same time, communication and coordination between physicians has become disjointed, with the use of archaic email chains and overly public social media accounts to discuss physician-led issues and complex patient cases. Within ophthalmology alone, every subspecialty seems to utilize a different service to communicate.

TeamedUp is a new platform for doctors to help solve these challenges and provide a source for secure communication.

ABOUT THE PLATFORM

TeamedUp is a password-protected, free mobile app for iPhone and Android. One way physicians can use it is to discuss interesting clinical cases or surgical videos. For example, many rare retina cases have been posted with inquiries about suggested work-up or differential diagnosis, and other specialists typically reply in less than 24 hours.

Similarly, doctors can assist each other with issues, including practice management, advocacy, billing and coding. The app also allows for non-medical channels, such as medical humor and personal finance. More recently, established medical societies have used the platform as a forum for their members.

TeamedUp can be used to facilitate medical conversation at the highest level. In this secure platform, every physician that registers is evaluated individually and verified.

This app offers a space for comprehensive ophthalmology discussion, but it also groups fellows and fellowship-trained docs together to discuss subspecialty topics. In addition, residents in any field can freely discuss training difficulties or interview trail matters with their colleagues in separate channels, welcoming physicians of all levels. Such targeted groups enable users to search for research collaborators or mentors with more experience in certain areas.

A NEW FORM OF LECTURES

In the last couple years, we all sorely missed the quality of lectures that were available before the COVID era. TeamedUp filled this void by offering a free, virtual ophthalmology lecture series from world-class educators that were open to residents/fellows and practicing ophthalmologists. Lecturers who have participated include Drs. William Mieler, Joel Sugar and Edwin Stone, with topics ranging from corneal dystrophies to inherited retinal degenerations.

This lecture series style will continue even while in-person meetings are re-emerging.

OTHER UNIQUE FEATURES

One of the frustrations with existing platforms is the prevalence of paid advertisements. The TeamedUp app includes no ads or built-in bias that may detract from the experience.

Another issue that has prevented other apps from gaining traction is the inclusion of nurses, nurse practitioners and physician assistants. While it’s important to educate these fields as well, nurses likely cannot offer helpful advice on tackling a complex diabetic tractional retinal detachment. As such, TeamedUp does not allow medical students, secondary providers or other unverifiable providers to maintain the highest quality experience.

CONCLUSION

There is true power in the idea of crowd sourcing knowledge, especially in this age of medicine where no one physician can know every diagnosis, study, clinical trial and statistic. To have this at one’s fingertips each day in clinic, on the hospital floor or in the operating room can be a game changer.

Download “TeamedUp App” in the Apple App Store or on Google Play for free, and visit the website to learn more (www.teamedupapp.com ). OM

Michael Andreoli, MD, specializes in vitreoretinal surgery at Northwestern Medicine in Naperville, Ill., and is the co-founder of TeamedUp.

Bradley Sacher, MD, specializes in comprehensive ophthalmology and cataract surgery at Wheaton Eye Clinic in Wheaton, Ill., and is the co-founder of TeamedUp.