Africa’s first medical concierge service launched

Source: Supplied. David Adler, co-founder of Infinity Medical Concierge.

The service was founded by Johannesburg-based specialist physician David Adler and general surgeon, Martin Lebos.

“We created Infinity Medical Concierge because we realised that medicine in its current form – wherever you are in the world – is broken,” says Adler.

“After decades of treating patients, Lebos and I noticed a few key issues: people typically see doctors only when they're sick, skip screenings until symptoms appear – when it’s sometimes too late to intervene – and then struggle to find specialists, leading to months-long waits.

“Experience has shown that seeing your doctor when you’re healthy keeps you healthy.”

Infinity Medical Concierge – which works alongside a person’s medical aid – has been operating as an invitation-only service for the past three years. Although it is now launching to a wider audience due to demand, membership is still limited to allow for bespoke services to be offered.

“Medical concierge services are already quite popular in the US and Europe,” says Lebos. “What a service like this does is manage your health like you manage your wealth.

“You have a comprehensive medical assessment as soon as you join so that you’re aware of any risks on your horizon. Your concierge then starts planning your ‘health-wealth’ journey, as we call it, setting up appointments with relevant specialists as well as follow-ups and screenings. This is a continuous process, which is updated as you progress.”

Infinity Medical Concierge is based on four key pillars to help its members manage their health-wealth journeys:

• Proactive health planning, which dramatically reduces the chances of an unforeseen medical event.
• Curated access to peer-reviewed medical specialists from across South Africa.
• Holistic care, which allows one physician to oversee the care of specialists from different disciplines.
• Personalised emergency services, ensuring an emergency response with care that is tailored to a member’s medical history.

“Through Infinity Medical Concierge, we have managed to save dozens of lives using preventative medicine and a tech-driven approach, which allows our members to stay in constant contact with our concierge desk and ensures that their medical screenings and reports are reviewed by some of the country’s top specialists,” says Lebos.

Adler adds: “We already have remarkable success stories from our three years in operation. For instance, we detected and treated a rare form of cancer in an otherwise very healthy member long before the first obvious symptoms emerged.

“In another case, a member called our concierge about what he thought was indigestion, which turned out to be appendicitis. Surgery was arranged and he was discharged within 24 hours.”

Infinity Medical Concierge memberships also include a service for corporates looking to secure the health of their executive leaders, a temporary membership option for travellers visiting South Africa and a membership for families living elsewhere on the African continent.

“It’s what money can’t buy – the peace of mind that comes from knowing that your health is being managed by a concierge who knows you and understands your medical history, providing you with a proactive health plan and medical advice, answering queries, setting up appointments or helping you in an emergency, around the clock,” says Adler.