Meet our medical director Esther Chung, MD

Esther, can you briefly describe your professional background?

I am a California native, educated at Harvard for undergrad and medical school, followed by OB/GYN residency at Duke, and now finishing up REI fellowship at Stanford. I first ventured into the world of innovation and startups in college. Even as a busy resident, I continued to work with excellent founders in the fertility tech space because the shared enthusiasm and creative out-of-the-box thinking were so much fun. The goal has always been to have impact and to add value--what better place for an REI to do it?

Why did you join LEVY Health??

I met Caroline at PCRS (my favorite conference) where we got into a lively discussion on the value proposition of LEVY to OB/GYN and REI clinics, as well as the algorithms behind what makes for an appropriate referral to REI. My conversations with her and her cofounder Silvia were insightful, energizing, fast-paced, and open to feedback/change. Joining LEVY Health would align with my goals to work with excellent female founders interested in adding value to the fertility tech space. Together, we hope to dramatically improve the inefficiencies in our health system and thereby increase access to care for our patients.

What excites you most about LEVY Health’s software?

Interestingly, I acted as a "human LEVY" for my current clinic -- in other words, educating patients via a weekly egg freezing seminar, answering scheduling questions manually via direct email, and obtaining patients' workup in an expedited fashion prior to the initial visit with an REI. From a quality improvement perspective, our patient retention or conversion from the initial visit to completing an oocyte retrieval reached 40% vs. 20% without my efforts as a human LEVY Health. Time to treatment or therapy plan placement was greatly minimized, with providers being able to place the treatment plan at the very first visit. This really maximized the clinicians' and patients' time, as well as the clinic's administrative time in scheduling patients for their workup and return visits to discuss results. I am excited because LEVY promises to perform this for REI clinics with the goal of improving our clinic inefficiencies, educating patients, and making the onboarding process a smooth experience. LEVY Health and its team holds itself to a very high standard and commits to provide the best experience for patients, REIs, and clinics.

What do you think sets LEVY Health apart from other Startups in reproductive health??

LEVY Health is ambitious. It is led by people who are undeterred, smart, and thoughtful. There is a real need to improve inefficiencies in the delivery of fertility treatment. LEVY Health is setting a high standard as a comprehensive, thorough product that is being built to meet the needs of clinicians, clinic operations, and patients.

In what ways can LEVY Health contribute to advancements in reproductive medicine??

There is continuous innovation and advancements in the field of reproductive medicine. LEVY Health strives to stay up-to-date with the most recent recommendations by ASRM, ESHRE, and ACOG, and with the literature. It will be a strong bridge for patients to understand the why behind the tests and treatments that we are recommending. It will also improve work flow for clinicians and make the time they spend with each of their patients high-yield and efficient.

Thank you, Esther. We are thrilled to welcome you to our team.