Doctors' Social Network Can Help Save Lives: LinkedIn Co-Founder

Doximity, a professional social networking site specifically designed for doctors, may help physicians save lives, LinkedIn co-founder Konstantin Guericke tells CNBC.

The fifth most common cause of death is doctor error, which often come from miscommunication among doctors, said Guericke, who recently joined Doximity's board of directors.

With Doximity, doctors are better connected with people in their industry and can collaborate to improve treatment and save lives, Guericke said on "First on CNBC."

"When you look at what doctors are doing and how they are communicating, it's still primarily by fax and pager, so I think there is some room for improvement," said Guericke.

One reason communication can sometimes be poor among doctors is because of medical privacy laws like HIPPA, which limits the way patients health information can be shared.

Doximity addresses privacy concerns by allowing doctors to share information via the website or mobile app with HIPPA compliant encrypted messages.

Like LinkedIn, Doximity is a professional social network, but it's only available to doctors.

"LinkedIn has professional profiles, but I think doctors, at least the ones I've spoken with feel a little bit like a fish out of the water. It's all business there and doctors don't feel entirely comfortable, they're mingling with lawyers, insurance agents and patients, so they want something more focused," Guericke said. "Doximity offers a HIPPA compliance solution and allows them to do their business, for example, referrals."

So far, there are over 700,000 physicians in the United States signed up for Doximity, according to the company website.

email: [e-mail]