The Virtual Travel Medicine Provider I
n 2013 Dyan Summers, a travel and tropical disease specialist, identified the first case of Zika virus in an American recreational traveler, a patient at her clinic who had spent time hiking in French Polynesia. At the time, the virus was little known outside the laboratory. But over the past year Zika, which can cause devastating birth defects in the fetuses of pregnant women who contract the mosquito-borne virus, has become epidemic in the Americas and the Pacific islands. With the increased focus on Zika, Summers, who practices in New York City, has emerged as an expert on the virus and advises many travelers and athletes on how to lower their risk of exposure. A natural entrepreneur—Summers founded two nonprofit organizations over the past 16 years—she decided to build on her expertise in Zika (as well as malaria, yellow fever and other health risks) to create what is the first online business to offer face-to-face video consultations on travel and tropical medicine. The market is ripe for her startup, says Summers, because so many people across the U.S. lack access to these services. “Being in NYC, it’s wonderful that we can have patients come into our private office and have a consult one on one,” says Summers. “But there’s a big gap for people who live in other parts of the country where there isn’t a good travel clinic established.” Her telemedicine business, called Mytraveldoctor.com, relies on a network of physicians and nurse practitioners around the country who are certified in travel and tropical medicine. Prospective clients log into an HIPAAapproved site and answer questions about
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Columbia Nursing Fall/Winter 2016
Dyan Summers ’01 ’16, DNP
Founder, Mytraveldoctor.com
where they live and plan to travel and provide a medical history. They receive a list of practitioners licensed in their state and can then set up a video consultation. After the consult, clients can pick up any necessary prescriptions and receive vaccinations at a local pharmacy. “You’ll have an online folder that is also HIPAA compliant and it will have all the health information about the area you’re traveling in,” says Summers, “including updated health alerts, disease incidence, and risks associated with particular recreational activities such as scuba diving or hiking.”
Summers believes that Columbia Nursing’s DNP program gave her both the confidence and essential background in policy and research to open her online business. “By the time I was done with my education, I thought, ‘You know what, I’m really good at working independently and I want to be my own boss,’” she says. She recently learned how important it is to put together a team to assist in areas outside one’s expertise—in her case, tech people, legal experts and marketing folks—to help build a successful business.