Software promises serenity for sleep doctors

What: Sagittarius Software, Lynnwood. It does business by the name of iDocLocker, its flagship product.

Who: Jeff Cox, 48, president and CEO

Mission: Provide an efficient electronic medical-records system for small practices, specifically those treating sleep disorders.

Paper chase: Cox estimates that only about 13 percent of health-care providers who are sole practitioners have an electronic records-management system; the rest still rely on a paper-based process. Not only are these systems subject to inaccuracies and imprecision, he said, but a previous patient who returns after a few years will have no history.

"After a few years, old paper records are put into long-tern storage, which is impossible to retrieve," Cox said. "So you're lucky if they can find an old chart at all."

Employees: Two full time. The company relies on rented servers and a network of consultants.

Financials: The private company was approaching profitability until this year, when it decided to free some marketing dollars. "We need to spread the word," Cox said. "We only have about half a dozen customers and have determined it is time to expand our reach."

Savings plan: The company's iDocLocker is available in two forms: a version that businesses can install on their own servers, and an online subscription model. Cox expects most customers to choose the latter, as it obviates the need for an IT staff and requires little more than existing computers and a DSL connection.

Clients need to invest about $2,000 in upfront costs and about $300 per month for each doctor. A transcription module can turn back the $2,000 to $4,000 a month small offices spend on that service.

Snore or less: Sleep clinics represent the target market. In many clinics, someone has to stand at the fax machine and feed in a pile of paper after a sleep study, Cox said. "We allow them to send all the records immediately and electronically," he said.

— Charles Bermant