Zocdoc Announces Record Year-Over-Year Growth in Mental Health Provider Participation, Offering More Choice and Better Access to Patients Seeking Care

Mental health provider growth driven by the company’s business model transition and the nation’s continued rise in demand for mental health care

Zocdoc, a leading healthcare marketplace that makes it easy for people to find and book in-person or virtual care across +200 specialties, today announced record-setting year-over-year mental health provider and appointment booking growth. While Zocdoc experienced provider growth across specialties from September 2020 to September 2021, mental health was the company’s fastest-growing segment; Zocdoc saw approximately 128% growth in mental health providers joining its platform, offering more choice and better access to people seeking care.

Zocdoc’s provider growth across all specialties, including mental health, has primarily been driven by the company’s successful transition to a new business model. This transformation moved Zocdoc from a subscription pricing model to a transaction model in which the company charges providers a fee per each new patient booking it facilitates — a change that lowered the barrier to entry for providers.

As a result of this transition, Zocdoc has seen accelerating growth in new providers, from solo practitioners to large care organizations, have joined the marketplace, and the company has deepened its relationships with existing provider customers. In the mental health space in 2021 alone, notable mental health organizations such as Choosing Therapy, Grow Therapy, Headway, and Thriveworks have all joined Zocdoc to reach new patients seeking care via its marketplace.

At the same time, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a sharp and continued rise in demand for mental health care. With more than 40% of US adults reporting symptoms of anxiety and depression in 2020, and providers reporting a 93% increase in patients seeking anxiety resources from patients, it is critical that people can easily find and book the mental health care they may need.

In addition to making it easier to find and book care, Zocdoc also strives to make it faster, significantly decreasing the average wait time to see a provider. This is particularly notable for mental health: patients wait an average of 25 days to see a psychiatrist, with some waiting more than 90 days, and wait times for mental practitioners overall continuing to grow.

Speed of access is critical in ensuring people who are motivated to get care do not “drop out” along the way: citing a recent study from the National Council for Behavioral Health (NCBH) and the Cohen Veterans Network, NCBH President and CEO Linda Rosenberg said, “For every one day of wait time, you lose 1 percent of the patients — so if you have a 21-day wait, 21 percent of the patients seeking care just will give up and not show up.”

“Our rapid provider growth has been fueled by our business model transition; by making it easier for more providers to join Zocdoc, we can offer more choice and availability to patients,” said Oliver Kharraz, M.D., Zocdoc founder and CEO. “Our North Star has always been ‘Patients First’ and thanks to our comprehensive offering, our marketplace allows us to offer the type of care patients want, when they want it, from the provider who best meets their needs.”

Zocdoc’s rapidly expanding provider network uniquely positions the company to be the everything store for healthcare. Zocdoc’s marketplace eliminates the need for patients to go to the insurers website to check who is in-network and use the telephone to book an appointment. With Zocdoc, users can easily find and book in-network care for +200 specialties across +12k insurance plans all in one place.

Zocdoc’s marketplace distinctively offers patients the ability to book in-person or virtual visits at their preference. This strengthens the patient’s relationship with a local provider and allows for greater flexibility and convenience in how patients access care.

Altogether, Zocdoc is uniquely positioned to help every type of patient find and book every type of care. The company will continue to grow and deepen its provider network, add new care types to its marketplace, further streamline the search and booking experience, and extend its offerings to improve more aspects of patients’ healthcare experience.

If you are a healthcare provider who wants to reach new patients and offer seamless access to care, you can learn more at zocdoc.com/join.