{"id":653574,"date":"2026-11-07T06:34:09","date_gmt":"2026-11-07T06:34:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/653574\/"},"modified":"2026-11-07T06:34:09","modified_gmt":"2026-11-07T06:34:09","slug":"wecare-doctors-the-christchurch-brothers-using-ai-to-rethink-the-family-practice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/653574\/","title":{"rendered":"WeCare doctors: The Christchurch brothers using AI to rethink the family practice"},"content":{"rendered":"

For now, the AI tool covers 40 common complaints, from acne and shingles to urinary tract infection and Wegovy and Mounjaro-treated weight loss. <\/p>\n

It launched two months ago and the plan is to increase its menu of ailments and, next year, extend its use to taking and summarising patient complaints and histories before clinician appointments, easing the time constraint of consults, typically 15 minutes, and reducing the cost. <\/p>\n

\"DrDr John Ko (third left) and Dr Brian Ko (right), brothers, GPs and co-owners of the WeCare medical clinics in Christchurch, at the opening of their Faringdon clinic in October 2025.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve created a different model… we don\u2019t have enough GPs and I believe that problem is going to get worse, so rather than ask, how do we get more GPs, we thought about what should a GP do? We think that GPs should focus on things that they really need to focus on, which is diagnostics and solving complex problems,\u201d Brian says. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s a question he\u2019s been worrying about since setting up the practice in 2016, when the brothers \u2013 South Korean-born, University of Otago-trained doctors \u2013 bought a retiring GP\u2019s patient roll of 1300, took it to the BNZ bank and leveraged it to build and fit out their first clinic in Wigram.<\/p>\n

Since then, the practice has grown to four clinics \u2013 Wigram, Ilam, Faringdon and Lincoln \u2013 and a fifth is due to begin construction in Belfast shortly.<\/p>\n

The move into AI took shape this year, largely through a chance meeting. The brothers encountered the Auckland-based healthcare entrepreneurs SunKee Hong and Jerry Kim at a conference. <\/p>\n

The duo are co-founders of Kea, a small business that builds software and AI tools for primary healthcare, and are now external consultants to WeCare. <\/p>\n

To build the Quinn platform itself, WeCare hired two in-house AI engineers who got to work about four months ago. <\/p>\n

The clinics\u2019 staff already reflect the Ko brothers\u2019 mini-revolution. <\/p>\n

\"GeneralGeneral Practice Owners Association chairman Dr Angus Chambers has concerns about WeCare’s AI use sitting atop a model that already makes spare use of general practitioners. Photo \/ George Heard<\/p>\n

Currently three GPs, one of them part-time, and two nurse practitioners oversee the care of more than 30,000 enrolled patients. <\/p>\n

Brian is the part-timer, juggling clinical work and operating and building the business (a fourth GP is on parental leave). <\/p>\n

Under their supervision sit more than 30 other clinical staff, including six physician associates, 17 registered nurses, five nurse prescribers and three extended care paramedics. Some 20% of consults at WeCare are conducted by doctors. <\/p>\n

The brothers\u2019 practice is, in many ways, a creature of government policy past and present, but it\u2019s nevertheless controversial. <\/p>\n

New Zealand has had a long-running shortage of general practice doctors and, to compensate, successive governments have pushed family medicine towards care delivered by multidisciplinary teams \u2013 including the likes of paramedics, pharmacists and nurses. <\/p>\n

The coalition has also been enthusiastic about an expanding role for AI in healthcare. <\/p>\n

Its best-established uses in family medicine are in note-taking and documentation, but it is more broadly deployed overseas, according to Maura Thompson, chief executive of General Practice NZ, an advocacy group whose members are primary health organisations. <\/p>\n

However, others are wary of the WeCare model, especially in view of its light-touch use of general practitioners. <\/p>\n

General Practice Owners Association (GenPro) chairman Angus Chambers counts himself among them, despite the fact WeCare is a member. <\/p>\n

Chambers told the Herald there is no evidence large multidisciplinary teams do a good job of matching the primary care successes of good general practitioners. \u201cAll the international evidence is that good general practitioner care keeps people out of hospital, costs the system less and patients live longer. We have no evidence that this outcome is delivered by large multi-disciplinary teams where there is minimal GP contact with patients; it\u2019s possible but there\u2019s no evidence.\u201d <\/p>\n

While the trend towards wider use of non-doctor health practitioners in general practice is now well established, Chambers says it has been driven, in large part, by failures in workforce planning by Health New Zealand, the Ministry of Health and politicians from both sides. <\/p>\n

\u201cSome of the team additions are very helpful, but some of it just papers over the cracks,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n

Chambers is also concerned about the expansion of AI use at Wigram sitting atop a model that already makes spare use of general practitioners. \u201cThis appears to be going down the road of a digital-first model of health care and what I think we want is a patient-first approach, that\u2019s a concern.\u201d <\/p>\n

Brian asks that WeCare\u2019s model be compared to the status quo in family medicine, characterised by significant wait times for patients to see a GP and rising costs. \u201cWhat New Zealand primary care needs is innovation, not preservation of the status quo.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brian also argues WeCare frees up GP appointments for those who need them, typically those with complex problems, either acute or chronic. <\/p>\n

For enrolled patients who don\u2019t mind which clinician they see, same-day care is widely available. WeCare provided more than 100,000 consults last year, over 60% were for same-day care, Brian says. <\/p>\n

\u201cIf your child has an ear infection, do you wait a few days for your usual GP, or do you want them seen today by a nurse prescriber who can prescribe exactly the same antibiotics that GPs will prescribe? We built WeCare for that gap.\u201d <\/p>\n

\"WeCareWeCare co-owner Dr Brian Ko says greater use of AI will help free up doctors and other health practitioners to make better use of their time and reduce paperwork. Photo \/ 123rf<\/p>\n

Brian declined to discuss WeCare\u2019s finances in detail; it\u2019s a private business though, like all family medicine, much of its revenue is public money, provided primarily for enrolled patients on a per capita basis. <\/p>\n

The practice has increased enrolment significantly by moving into underserved Christchurch suburbs, with fast-growing populations. <\/p>\n

And growth has been financed through a combination of cashflow and debt. <\/p>\n

Chambers is also wary of WeCare\u2019s financial model. \u201cThere could be concerns here about underservicing,\u201d he told the Herald, describing an issue that looks like \u201cover-enrolling patients\u201d whereby the practice gets the same government-funded capitation regardless of whether a patient is seen by a GP or a registered nurse or paramedic. <\/p>\n

\u201cIf you don\u2019t have the right staff there to provide the service then it could cost the practice less, which could maximise profit,\u201d Chambers says. <\/p>\n

Doctors earn the top primary care salaries; a GP\u2019s annual salary runs from $200,000 to $250,000, according to the Medical Assurance Society\u2019s last survey. <\/p>\n

In contrast, registered nurses (who form the backbone of the WeCare practice) are paid about $77,000 to $110,000, which is the Health NZ benchmark. <\/p>\n

But Brian argues WeCare pays market-leading salaries and patients \u201cvote with their feet\u201d; WeCare is growing fast and organically and managing to do so in a competitive area with other large practices open to new patients. <\/p>\n

He says he is interested in lowering costs, but not at the expense of care and that the practice hasn\u2019t increased fees in four years, while profits are invested back into the business.<\/p>\n

It is worth noting the brothers own three of their clinic properties, in Wigram, Faringdon, and Belfast, where construction has yet to begin.<\/p>\n

These are held through Wigram Health Property (89.5% owned by the brothers), WeCare Faringdon Property and Belfast Health Hub, the latter both wholly owned by the brothers.<\/p>\n

The WeCare practice business is separately held under Wigram Health.<\/p>\n

Quindlee is also held under Wigram Health, though as a brand it is distinct from WeCare. It is available to WeCare-enrolled patients for $9.90 per consult (free for enrolled children) and otherwise costs $29.90. The first use is free. <\/p>\n

Brian says Wigram is subsidising Quindlee for enrolled patients and its use is not funded by capitation. <\/p>\n

Unsurprisingly, the practice has caught the attention of large corporate players, a couple of which have been particularly active in consolidating GP ownership \u2013 Tend Health and Tamaki Health.<\/p>\n

A roll of 30,000 patients puts WeCare among a handful of large, independent practices not operating under a corporate umbrella or otherwise tied to a charitable or not-for-profit structure. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve definitely been approached, yes, but we haven\u2019t had any in-depth discussions,\u201d says Brian, declining to cite names. <\/p>\n

\u201cIf selling the business is going to result in benefits for our patients then maybe, but we\u2019re not rushed to get out or to make a quick buck.\u201d <\/p>\n

Stay ahead with the latest market moves, corporate updates, and economic insights by subscribing to our Business newsletter<\/a> \u2013 your essential weekly round-up of all the business news you need.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For now, the AI tool covers 40 common complaints, from acne and shingles to urinary tract infection and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":653575,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[365,320253,363,364,1863,9442,5159,1565,20438,4487,69252,3528,211841,2109,8829,38114,202859,130,111,139,69,24808,6293,2170,320254,8467,52871,145925,137658,87100,19862,145,223,4504,61,25809,3382,320252,6923,1316,4741,80],"class_list":["post-653574","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-artificial-intelligence","tag-ai","tag-ails","tag-artificial-intelligence","tag-artificialintelligence","tag-back","tag-better","tag-brian","tag-bridge","tag-brothers","tag-christchurch","tag-clock","tag-doctors","tag-dose","tag-family","tag-fewer","tag-gap","tag-kos","tag-more","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-older","tag-patients","tag-plan","tag-plentiful","tag-population","tag-practice","tag-realism","tag-remedy","tag-rethink","tag-supply","tag-technology","tag-the","tag-theres","tag-to","tag-turning","tag-using","tag-wecare","tag-what","tag-when","tag-young","tag-zealand"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/653574","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=653574"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/653574\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/653575"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=653574"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=653574"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=653574"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}