Singapore’s DocDoc and DoctorPage merge to expand Web-based doctor bookings across Asia

There is consolidation in Southeast Asia’s nascent digital health market after DocDoc and DoctorPage, two Singapore-based companies that make booking a doctor’s appointment as easy as a restaurant, announced that they have merged. The value of the deal is not being disclosed for now.

The new entity will be called DocDoc Pte Ltd. and will remain headquartered in Singapore. Both companies provide platforms through which patients can easily find and book appointments with doctors online, and they say that pooling their resources will create a stronger offering for both patients and doctors alike.

DocDoc says the combining of the firms will give the new company 500,000 active monthly visitors — including doctors and patients — of which the majority are in Singapore, with a smaller number in South Korea.

Merger deals between competitors are rare in Asia. Explaining how the collaboration began, DocDoc CMO Jon Samsel tells TNW:

The two companies started talks in early April after a casual meeting between executives unearthed possible synergies. We liked each other too.

Samsel adds that the potential to grow faster and enjoy greater access to capital and users, were among the primary driving factors.

DocDoc launched in August 2012, and its investors include Jungle Ventures and 500 Startups. DoctorPage was a later arrival. The company — which was started by Max Scheichenost, who founded DailyDeal, a site bought (and then sold back) by Google — went live in September of last year and got a dose of undisclosed seed-stage funding in November. Its backers include Rebate Networks founder Michael Brehm and Damian Doberstein, co-founder of Russian firm KupiVP.

DocDoc’s Grace Park has been named CEO of the new organization, Scheichenost will become President and DoctorPage CIO Dr. Dawn Soo will be COO. Daniel Endres — who was at DailyDeal and was COO of DoctorPage — has been made CIO and Interim CFO.

Scheichenost, who discussed his ambition to grow DoctorPage across Southeast Asia with TNW last year, said the deal will help the two firms move forward with expansion plans:

DoctorPage and DocDoc share a common goal to generate more business for local doctors and dentists while providing the best possible service to patients. By combining our complementary networks, we are well positioned for accelerated growth in a massive Asian market.

Companies like ZocDoc — which has raised $95 million in six years and serves 2.5 million users per month — have seen real success simplifying the patient-doctor process in the US, and that’s precisely the experience that the new DocDoc is aiming to provide in Asia.

The combined entity has approximately 30 staff, with operators in Singapore, South Korea and a third, as-yet-unnamed market. Samsel says new features and services will be introduced in the near future.

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