A social media platform made for medicine: Figure 1, how this one app is paving a new way for doctors to communicate.

Instagram…but just for doctors. Bizarre, right?

Dr. ?? Joshua Landy MD , a critical care medicine specialist and co-founder of Figure 1 , along with his co-founders, has created an application that is democratizing medical education and prognosis across the world. Figure 1 evolved from a very basic observation made by Dr. Landy. It was that doctors were already sharing case details with their colleagues on text, asking for an informal consult on their case; and that observation evolved into Figure 1, the prototype for which was actually created in his co-founder's basement.

Since its launch in 2013, Figure 1 has amassed over 3 million users across 190 countries. A major achievement for the company came in 2014, when an X-ray of a patient displaying MERS symptoms was uploaded on to the app. (Source)

Figure 1 is not only a way of sharing medical information and solving cases, it has evolved into a learning platform for medical students and enthusiasts. What better way to learn medical practice than experiencing a case being solved in front of your own eyes, on your screen, right!?

With an innovation like this, a plethora of data privacy concerns also follow. However, Figure 1 has ensured that the privacy of the patients whose information is being uploaded on the app is not infringed, by implementing a thorough and rigorous data privacy moderation mechanism.

Geoffrey Ching sat down in a conversation with Dr. Josh Landy, where he delves into his career as a critical care specialist, how he along with his co-founders developed Figure 1 and the various challenges they had to face to bring the platform to where it is today.

To learn more about Figure 1 and what it does, listen to our conversation with Dr. Landy here: https://plnk.to/howitsmed/e/1000577465630!