Fed-up doc creates app that connects MDs, patients

Michael Nusbaum is a bariatric surgeon at New Jersey's Morristown Medical Center, and he wanted patients to be able to reach him easily by phone or text. But then he found out that sending text messages to patients violates federal privacy laws. He teamed up with his wife, who is a neuroradiologist at New York University, and founded Giffen Solutions in 2010 with the intent to create a secure smartphone app that doctors could use to talk to patients without violating privacy regulations. If a doctor is subscribed to the product, MedXCom, after-hours calls get forwarded to his cell phone instead of an answering service. "Before I speak to you, it will push your entire health profile to my cell phone," Nusbaum says.