Web site helps doctors find office mates

A New York ophthalmologist has developed an online site for physicians to find and advertise practice space to share.

By Pamela Lewis Dolan, AMNews staff. March 3, 2008.

Making sidelines pay
Doctors who branched out beyond running their practice tell why they did it, how they did it, and what you should know before you do it. Contribute

Name: Ari Weitzner, MD

Specialty: Ophthalmology

Location: Brooklyn, N.Y.

Company: Share Medical Space LLC, which runs a Web site (www.sharemedicalspace.com) where doctors can search for or list available office space to share with other doctors.

Annual revenue: There is no revenue right now. The Web site launched in October 2007. Dr. Weitzner said his initial goal was to make people aware of the site and to generate traffic, and so far the response has been "great." He plans to start charging for listings within a few months and might add advertising later.

Why he started the business: "As most doctors know, it is getting harder and harder to make ends meet. Reimbursement keeps falling and expenses keep going up," Dr. Weitzner said. There are days or times when most physicians have to leave their offices vacant either because they are in surgery or doing hospital rounds. "It's really insane to leave your office empty" when it could be generating revenue, he said.