BlackDoctor is backing its digital health ambitions with more clinical expertise.
The health and wellness platform announced last week that it has launched its first Medical Advisory Board, bringing together eight physicians representing specialties including oncology, psychiatry, cardiology, ophthalmology, dermatology, orthodontics, and pediatric nephrology. The move comes as BlackDoctor expands beyond its roots as a health media platform into a broader digital health business. The company says it reaches more than 30 million people annually and maintains a database of more than 30,000 Black and culturally sensitive healthcare practitioners.
The new advisory board will help shape the company’s clinical strategy, product development, and health content. Members will also conduct medical reviews, contribute to BlackDoctor.com and BlackDoctor.pro, represent the company at industry events, and help develop relationships across the healthcare ecosystem.
“Our Medical Advisory Board reflects who we are as a company — built by and for the community we serve, with real clinicians in the room,” Akinwole Garrett, BlackDoctor’s CEO, said in a press release. “These eight physicians will help shape every part of BlackDoctor, from the products we build to the content our readers trust every day.”
The board includes Dr. Craig Emmitt Cole, Dr. Chikelue Oragwu, Dr. Nicole Christian-Brathwaite, Dr. Yele Aluko, Dr. Kristen Harris Nwanyanwu, Dr. Adam Friedman, Dr. Beatrice Williams, and Dr. Keisha L. Gibson.
The advisory board also connects its clinical expertise to a growing technology strategy. The company has launched AI-powered tools including WellBot, which uses simulated patient interactions to train providers, and Health on Point, designed to help patients prepare for medical visits
. Dr. Craig Emmitt Cole, an oncology and hematology specialist and advisory board member, said his experience treating Black patients with multiple myeloma helped inform his work on the company’s technology.“We’re not just adding another AI product to the market — we’re building something that actually understands who it’s talking to,” Cole said.
BlackDoctor said the advisory board will serve as the “clinical front door” to its provider
network as the company develops future partnerships, products, and initiatives. The launch is part of a broader rebrand and push into health services, positioning BlackDoctor at the intersection of culturally informed health information, technology, and professional healthcare networks.RELATED CONTENT: BlackDoctor Launches AI-Powered Update to Improve Health Access for Black Communities