Figure 1 was built to serve members of the medical community. It was developed to share unique medical conditions and discuss diseases amongst doctors, nurses, and students.
Healthcare professionals, from all levels, doctors to even students, are invited to share and discuss conditions and diseases.
The Figure 1 website does not specify how the development of the system was funded.
Verified members can post pictures of patient's, tests, equipment, or images as long as there is not patient identifying information. All members of figure one are encouraged to comment and discuss the condition or test in the picture.
Users can access the site from a computer or there is an app available for smart phones.
This system would be difficult to work with because it publicises patient's conditions even if it does not directly identify who they are. Some of the diseases or conditions these patients are faced with can be considered humiliating and while the intent of the app is to be educational, a healthcare professionals are faced with the ethical decision as to whether or not post the picture of their patient. A guideline Figure 1 outlines is that before taking and posting a picture the provider should have consent from the patient. Hospitals, clinics, agency, ect. are also faced with whether to allow their members to engage in these activities as patient confidentiality could be called into question.
Figure 1 was developed as a platform to serve medical professionals and students by providing widespread access to information on medical cases and enable discussion among medical professionals.
In 2013, Figure 1 launched with $2 million (CDN) in seed money invested by Rho Canada Ventures and Version One Ventures. In 2015, the company added $5 million (USD) to its Series A financing round, which was invested by Union Square Ventures, bringing the total investment round to $9 million (USD).
The platform enables sharing of medical cases and discussion through a HIPAA compliant system.