Lydia Graflund, founder of Estercare, has been nominated for the “Digital Rising Star of the Year” award at Consid Awards 2024. The prize recognizes an individual or initiative that has made a significant contribution to digital progress. All nominees are interviewed in the Digital Influencer podcast series and winners are revealed intermittently.
Together with her sister, Helena Graflund Lagercrantz, Lydia Graflund founded the healthtech company Estercare. The company operates on two main fronts: clinical care, offering both in-person and digital healthcare services for women in Sweden, and a preventive health platform tailored for workplaces.
“We saw a clear opportunity to increase access to gynecology specialists for women,” says Lydia Graflund in the Digital Influencer podcast. “In the north of Sweden, waiting times for a gynecology specialist can be up to two years, and in the south it can be a year. That felt like low-hanging fruit to address.”
The sisters based their business case on clear statistical needs.
“Many of the patients who come to us have been ill for years. According to the Swedish Social Insurance Agency, women are roughly 80 percent more likely than men to be on sick leave. That pattern has persisted from 1994 until today.”
She continues:
“All those women cannot be seen by gynecologists alone; we don’t have enough clinical appointments, so we need to divide the healthcare journey. We began by developing a preventive health screening, which is the first step when you enter our health portal.”
Through the annual health screening, Estercare can identify potential issues or deviations that warrant further investigation. Based on answers from the screening tool, a personalized health plan is generated for each woman using AI. The components of these plans were developed by a cross-functional team that considered the whole person. Lydia emphasizes that integrating more than just medical treatments is often missing in traditional care. Lifestyle changes and self-care have a major impact on women’s well-being, and there is strong demand for evidence-based information and guidance.
“It’s common for women not to realize that certain problems are related to female health,” she explains. “Many women entering menopause think they’re depressed, when in fact they’re experiencing treatable hormonal fluctuations. That’s the kind of journey we can support, guiding women to the right healthcare resources.”
Increasing healthcare efficiency
Looking ahead, Lydia Graflund sees significant opportunities to apply technology to improve women’s healthcare.
“There are many potential efficiencies in healthcare. Right now we’re implementing a tool that allows us to dictate clinical notes. That will greatly improve the quality of consultations, since clinicians can concentrate more on the patient.”
She adds:
“We’re also developing an innovative solution for women’s health as a whole. Our aim is to detect issues early with a preventive approach, then guide each woman along a personalized health journey. That hasn’t been successfully achieved before at this scale.”
The sisters continue to focus on improving women’s health in Sweden, while also seeing interest across the Nordic region.
“Workplaces we speak with want to apply this offering to their offices in other countries. The Nordics are the easiest first step, but there’s interest from other parts of Europe as well. I believe there will be good opportunities to expand internationally.”
Through her work and deep commitment to women’s healthcare in Sweden, Lydia Graflund has created an innovative and meaningful service, making her a strong nominee for the Digital Rising Star award at Consid Awards 2024. The nomination reads:
Estercare enables women to take control of their health in a simple and accessible way. With its pioneering contribution to digital healthcare, Estercare offers an innovative platform for digital consultations with gynecologists, midwives and sexologists. The service not only simplifies access to specialist care but also promotes a holistic approach to women’s health, improving quality of life across all stages.
Estercare’s dedication has provided inclusive, accessible care combined with a strong focus on educating and empowering women to understand their own bodies. Their work helps create a future where every woman can feel informed and confident about her health.