Tech Startup Secures $14M Funding to Streamline Communication for Healthcare Professionals in Latin America

Revolutionizing Healthcare Communication with Leona Health

Caroline Merin, a trailblazer in the on-demand services industry, saw a glaring gap in healthcare technology after her extensive experience with Uber Eats and Rappi in Latin America. Recognizing the disparity between patient expectations for quick responses and the outdated communication methods used by medical professionals, she founded Leona Health to address these challenges.

Merin observed that while patients could easily reach their doctors through WhatsApp, this method had become overwhelming for physicians. Juggling numerous messages without access to patient health records, doctors struggled to provide timely and personalized care.

Two years ago, Leona Health was born, introducing an AI-copilot that integrates with doctors’ WhatsApp accounts to streamline communication. Recently, the startup announced a successful $14 million seed funding round led by prominent investors like Andreessen Horowitz and General Catalyst.

With Leona’s innovative solution, doctors can now manage patient messages efficiently through a mobile app that prioritizes messages, suggests responses, and allows team members to assist in replying to patients. The platform caters to doctors across 14 Latin American countries and 22 medical specialties.

In the near future, Leona Health plans to launch a fully autonomous agent to handle scheduling and intake processes, further enhancing the doctor-patient communication experience.

Leona Health’s impact goes beyond convenience; it addresses a fundamental aspect of healthcare in Latin America. Patients often choose doctors based on their willingness to communicate via WhatsApp, highlighting the significance of this platform in the region.

By filtering and alerting doctors to urgent health requests, Leona enables physicians to reclaim valuable time previously spent on routine or administrative queries. Users have reported significant time savings, with some doctors saving up to three hours a day.

While initially focused on Latin America, Leona Health has global aspirations to revolutionize healthcare communication worldwide. The company’s team, currently based in Mexico City and Silicon Valley, aims to expand its services to regions where patients prefer WhatsApp over traditional electronic medical records systems.

With a team of 13 dedicated professionals and a visionary leader like Caroline Merin at the helm, Leona Health is poised to transform how doctors and patients interact, paving the way for a more efficient and patient-centric healthcare experience.