Frequently asked questions

Rootwise makes doctor's appointments easier and the instructions clearer. Before the visit you jot down your symptoms and what you want to get out of it. During the visit you can record the conversation. Afterward, Rootwise turns it into a plain-language summary plus a color-coded list of what you need to do next — labs, medications, referrals, and follow-ups — which you can push to your phone's calendar.

Rootwise, LLC is a Michigan company founded by Elise Matichak, DPM, MHSA, MSMEd, a physician who leads clinical direction and platform vision, and Stephen Matichak, HMC, USN (Ret.), a Navy Hospital Corpsman Chief with 24 years in Navy Medicine who runs operations and deployment.

Three companies under Rootwise, LLC, with one mission — connecting people to what actually helps.

• Rootwise App organizes the whole arc of an appointment, from the daily check-in beforehand to a task list on your calendar afterward.
• Rootwise Marketplace matches you to vetted products by symptom rather than by diagnosis.
• Rootwise Media publishes patient narratives and condition-specific education.

Not yet — the App is in development and the early access list is open. Join it on the home page and you will hear from us on launch day. No spam and no marketing blasts.

Pricing has not been announced. Everyone on the early access list will hear the details before launch.

Checking in most days builds a 30-day picture of which symptoms actually show up and how often — the difference between “I have been tired lately” and “fatigue 21 of the last 30 days, chest pain 4.” That ranked summary is added to your pre-appointment notes automatically, so your doctor hears the pattern rather than only your worst day.

Your day-to-day entries are kept on this device. Generating a summary sends the ranked counts along with it as context — the optional note you write on a check-in is never sent.

The summary and task list are generated by Claude AI and can get things wrong or miss nuance. Treat them as a helpful set of notes, not a medical record. Always check them against what your clinician told you, and use “Fix Something? Edit This Summary” to correct anything that is off before you rely on it.

No. Rootwise does not diagnose, treat, or advise. It organizes what was said at your appointment into clearer language. Never delay or change care because of anything you read here. If you think you are having an emergency, call 911 or your local emergency number.

On the home screen, tap the trash icon on any appointment, or press and hold it. That permanently removes the appointment and its summary. It cannot be undone.

No — recording is never required, and neither is recording all of it. Choose whatever you are comfortable with:

• Record nothing. Tap “Type what happened instead” and write the visit in your own words. If typing is slow, use the microphone key on your phone's keyboard and just talk — that is speech-to-text on your device, not a recording.
• Record only the part that matters. Most of what you need to remember is the instructions at the end — what to take, what to book, what to watch for. Start recording when your provider gets to that, and stop when they are done.
• Record the whole visit, if that is easier than taking notes while you are trying to listen.

Rootwise builds the same plain-language summary and task list either way. You can also paste in what a clinician wrote down for you.

It depends where you live. Many states and countries require every person being recorded to agree first; others let you record a conversation you are part of without asking anyone. We recommend asking either way. It is not required by law everywhere, but it is the courteous thing to do, and a provider who was asked first is far more likely to say yes and to keep explaining things plainly. Rootwise asks you to confirm you have told everyone in the room and that they agreed before recording starts, but the responsibility to get consent is yours. If anyone objects, do not record — use the typed recap instead. Our state-by-state guide has the detail for the US.

Yes — that is what the Pause button is for. Pause when the conversation turns to something you would rather not capture, or while you undress for an exam, or when someone steps out of the room, then tap Resume when you want to pick it back up. Everything you recorded lands in one recording, with the paused stretches simply not in it.

It is also the easy way to capture only the instructions: leave it paused for most of the visit and resume when your provider starts telling you what to do next.

Usually an incoming call or another app taking over the microphone. Rootwise keeps whatever was recorded up to that point — you can process what you have, or discard it and start over. Processing also pauses safely if you switch apps, and picks up where it left off when you come back.

The audio is captured on your device, sent over an encrypted connection to be transcribed, and deleted as soon as your summary is saved. The transcript is deleted at the same time. Only the finished summary is kept, in your private account. Nobody at Rootwise listens to your appointments.

Only you. Summaries are stored in your own account and protected by row-level security, so no other user can reach them. We do not sell or share your information. If you want to hand a summary to a family member or another clinician, use “Save or Print as PDF” and share it yourself.

No. HIPAA governs health plans, healthcare clearinghouses, and healthcare providers — along with the vendors who handle health information on their behalf. Rootwise is none of those. It is a tool you use directly, for your own records, and it is not acting for your doctor, your insurer, or your health system.

That is a statement about which law applies, not about how carefully your information is handled. Audio is deleted as soon as your summary is saved, transcripts are never kept, summaries are readable only by you, and nothing is sold or shared. The Privacy Policy sets out the whole of it.

That is exactly who Rootwise is built for. Because your summaries live with you and not inside any one health system's portal, appointments across VA community care and civilian providers all land in the same place, in the same plain language.

Yes. Caregivers coordinating appointments for a parent, partner, or child are one of the three groups Rootwise is built around. Capture the visit so you can be present in it rather than trying to write everything down, then export the summary as a PDF to share with whoever else is helping.

A product marketplace you search by symptom rather than by diagnosis. Instead of guessing at a condition name or combing through forum threads for reviews, you describe how you feel in your own words and get matched to vetted products using the language of lived experience.

Ordinary product search expects you to already know what you are looking for — the diagnosis, the category, the right keyword. Rootwise Marketplace starts from the symptom instead, so you do not need a diagnosis to find something that helps.

It has not launched. A waitlist is open at rootwise.market.

Rootwise Media publishes patient narratives and condition-specific education for people navigating complex health — storytelling and advocacy journalism aimed at closing the information gap. Read it at rootwise.media.

Email info@rootwisehealth.org or call +1 (855) 814-7668 and a person will get back to you.