Q: What factors set elery apart from other telehealth platforms entering the Latin American market?

MC: elery is a platform that uses technology to provide a differentiated experience to patients. Through tech, we connect patients with surgeons or certified specialists and help them book an in-person appointment. Our services continue throughout the patient’s journey, whether this involves scheduling treatment, providing pre-operative or post-operative information, or helping with paperwork. We do not like to consider ourselves a telehealth platform because we are convinced that to properly provide care and transform the health system, care providers need to have an online and offline platform.

elery came to life after we realized, through our urology brand called Clinicasdelhombre.com (Men’s Clinics), that middle- to lower-income patients struggled with data connectivity and trust when offered a telemedicine appointment. They wanted in-person doctor appointments. This is our target patient and we are obsessed with offering a solution that suits them best.

As a patient-centric company, elery has three core principles: medical excellence, a differentiated online and offline experience, and accessible prices for our patients.

IL: elery is an online-to-offline (O2O) company that is reinventing specialty care for the middle class in Latin America. We attract patients online and treat them offline, while keeping every interaction connected to our platform. This model aligns with surgeons and specialists to form a true partnership.

Q: How do you approach your targeted population? Are your services only men-focused or are they open to the general population seeking a health specialist?

MC: We focus on specialties with minimally invasive procedures. Currently, we have Clinicasdelhombre.com, which is male-focused and offer treatments with urologists, and Clinicasdelacolumna.com (Spine Clinics), which target all genders and covers many specialties tied to back pain. We want to grow this base to at least another 10 specialties.

Our mindset is to treat people, not ailments, which allows us to maintain our differentiated, quality service with every patient.

Q: What opportunities do you see in growing your business on the B2B side?

IL: Among our investors are venture capital Kalei Ventures, international football player Keisuke Honda and a hospital system. The latter sees an opportunity for its own business to grow as we rent spaces whenever one of our patients needs a major clinical procedure.

We have agreements with insurance companies that benefit both patients and hospitals. As a result, that attracts more partners.

Q: Does the platform have a fixed base of specialists? How can more doctors join the platform?

MC: We have a fixed base of doctors that we have intensively certified to make sure they align with our principles and mission. Nonetheless, we have a list of affiliated doctors whom patients can approach if their case is beyond our fixed capabilities. elery is reaching out to more surgeons to increase this fixed base.

Q: Where are elery’s physical clinics located and how do they shape your business model?

IL: We have a urology clinic and a spine clinic in Monterrey, two clinics in Mexico City, one in State of Mexico and another in Guadalajara. These clinics are highly equipped to carry out minimally invasive procedures with state-of-the-art devices.

MC: We are hoping to obtain a seed investment within the next two to three months. Tech has enabled this business to be real, sustainable and profitable for investors. Our objective is to have a total of 40 clinics focused on urology and spine specialties by 2023 in the largest cities in Mexico. In the near future, we are also planning to open a new medical specialty. We will decide which specialty based on market needs.

After these 40 clinics are well established, we are looking at Colombia and Brazil to replicate this model. Both markets share some similarities with Mexico and we are familiar with these systems.

Q: Once a patient is using the service and undergoing treatment, how does elery foment engagement during follow-up for a successful health outcome?

IB: Through our online patient experience department, elery advises patients and orients them on their situation. Depending on the case, patients will attend the clinic and then continue to receive relevant, personalized information that will support them in regard to their condition and recovery.

Our O2O model, our alliances with surgeons and specialists and our online patient experience are what differentiates us the most among traditional and innovative care providers.

elery is an online-to-offline (O2O) platform that seeks to reinvent specialty care for the middle class in Latin America through a network of affiliated physician specialists who accompany patients throughout their treatment.