Help Patients Find and Book Care Instantly on your State’s Website

For nearly two decades, Zocdoc has built the technology that connects patients to available healthcare appointments in real time. Today, we bring that same infrastructure to public sector agencies working to close a persistent gap in access to care: the difference between what a provider directory says and what a patient can actually book.

Every state is required to maintain provider directories, yet these directories are structurally prone to inaccuracy. They rely on periodic attestations and manual updates in a world where provider phone numbers, addresses, and appointment availability change constantly. The result is “ghost networks” — directories full of providers who look available on paper but whom patients cannot actually contact or book. Federal oversight bodies have documented the scale of this problem: HHS OIG found that in more than half of Medicare Advantage plans, at least one-third of listed behavioral health providers were inactive; and a U.S. Senate Finance Committee secret shopper study found only 18% of listed providers were reachable for an appointment.

Zocdoc closes that gap by connecting directly to provider scheduling systems and EHRs, so agencies get continuously validated data instead of static listings. This approach aligns with CMS's Advanced Scheduling Pledge, which calls for real-time appointment discovery, booking, and management through open, standardized FHIR APIs. Zocdoc has signed the pledge and also serves as the infrastructure other organizations use to meet that same commitment, so agencies can fulfill CMS obligations without building from scratch.

States and their Managed Care Organizations can start with free, verified provider contact data requiring no integration, then layer on real-time booking so residents can search and schedule appointments directly from a state or agency website. Providers participate at no cost, filling unused appointment capacity and reducing administrative burden, while agencies gain a defensible way to demonstrate network adequacy to federal regulators.

This model already operates at scale: Zocdoc powers Blue Shield of California’s member-facing directory and the Department of Veterans Affairs’ scheduling platform, in partnership with WellHive. Built on a network of 200,000+ providers and 175+ EHR integrations, Zocdoc gives public sector agencies a way to deploy measurable improvements in access for underserved and Medicaid populations in weeks. Learn more about Zocdoc's public sector work at zocdoc.com/business/public-sector.