In an era where convenience often trumps care quality in digital medicine, Dr. William Cherniak, an emergency physician turned digital health innovator, is proving that virtual care can—and must—go deeper. As the founder and CEO of Rocket Doctor, Cherniak is leading a bold new chapter in Los Angeles, a city long challenged by healthcare inequality, fragmented systems, and digital divides.
With Rocket Doctor’s hyper-scaled virtual health infrastructure, Cherniak aims to do what many telehealth startups have failed to accomplish: build a decentralized, affordable, and doctor-led ecosystem for patients traditionally left behind.
Armed with a mission as ambitious as his company’s name, Dr. Cherniak isn’t just bringing virtual medicine to L.A.—he’s using it to rebuild access from the ground up.
What Is Rocket Doctor?
Founded in Canada and now rapidly expanding into the United States, Rocket Doctor is a physician-led virtual care platform that brings comprehensive medical services—including urgent care, chronic disease management, mental health consultations, and diagnostics—directly to patients’ homes.
Unlike most telehealth platforms that serve as scheduling middlemen or limited symptom-checkers, Rocket Doctor empowers independent doctors to run full digital clinics, enabling diagnostics, prescriptions, test orders, and remote monitoring—all without in-person visits.
“We’re trying to bring hospital-level care to the home, not just a 5-minute video call,” says Dr. Cherniak. “This isn’t transactional care—it’s continuity, led by real doctors with full accountability.”
The Los Angeles Expansion: Why Now, Why Here?
L.A. represents both a challenge and an opportunity. As one of the most diverse and medically underserved urban areas in America, its population of over 10 million is spread across economic extremes. Residents in South L.A., East L.A., and sprawling exurbs face long wait times, provider shortages, and limited transportation options.
Enter Rocket Doctor.
With support from state-funded innovation grants, nonprofit health coalitions, and private investors, the company is now embedding its services into underserved communities across L.A. County. Rocket Doctor has partnered with:
- Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) for referrals and data exchange
- Homeless outreach teams to provide teleconsults and remote monitoring kits
- Local pharmacies to serve as testing and medication access points
- School districts and community colleges for youth mental health care
The goal? Deliver 24/7 virtual primary care and urgent care access to over 1 million Angelenos within the next two years.
Not Just Doctors—Data and Devices
Rocket Doctor’s model goes beyond video chats. Through partnerships with medical device makers and logistics providers, the platform ships diagnostic kits to patients’ homes, including:
- Pulse oximeters
- Glucometers
- Digital stethoscopes
- Portable ECG monitors
- Tele-ultrasound tools
These devices sync directly with Rocket Doctor’s secure platform, allowing physicians to remotely assess conditions in real time—from suspected heart conditions to diabetes and respiratory illnesses.
The company also provides tablets and hotspots for patients without internet access—ensuring that no zip code or income level becomes a barrier to digital care.
A Physician-First Model in a Platform-First World
Dr. Cherniak, who still works shifts in emergency medicine, has designed Rocket Doctor to put clinical leadership back at the center of telehealth.
“Too many platforms prioritize investors or insurance efficiency. We prioritize doctors and patients,” he says. The platform doesn’t employ physicians directly but enables them to build independent digital practices within Rocket Doctor’s ecosystem—offering scheduling, billing, compliance, and tech support, while allowing clinical autonomy.
This model appeals to physicians burned out by bureaucracy and eager to reclaim control of their work without sacrificing care quality.
Funding, Scaling, and Staying Mission-Focused
Rocket Doctor has raised over $45 million to date, including a recent Series B round led by impact investors focused on health equity and decentralized healthcare. L.A. marks the company’s second major U.S. market after launching pilots in parts of Texas and the Midwest.
Cherniak says the key to scaling isn’t more marketing—it’s local partnerships and deep integration.
“We don’t drop into a city with a press release and a digital billboard,” he explains. “We sit down with community health leaders, listen to gaps, and build around their needs.”
The Los Angeles initiative includes multi-lingual onboarding, cultural sensitivity training, and partnerships with community health workers to build trust in historically underserved groups, including Black, Latino, immigrant, and unhoused populations.