Andrew Vorzimer with Vorzimer Masserman Fertility and Family Law Center in Woodland Hills will lend his expertise to those seeking fertility advice on MedAnswers, a San Pedro-based online platform. The firm specializes in assisted reproduction rights, serving as an advocate for people struggling with infertility and guiding them through legal intricacies involved in starting or expanding their families through surrogacies, egg donations or sperm donations, Vorzimer said. “We primarily represent intended parents struggling with infertility to start their family, but also represent a number of IVF facilities, professionals, academic institutions, as well as insurance companies that are involved in this area,” added Vorzimer. The health tech company addresses questions from those struggling to conceive with a carefully curated network of fertility experts providing answers. The network has more than 1,000 specialists available across the United States, Canada, Europe and Latin America, according to a statement from the company earlier this month. Alice Crisci, co-founder of MedAnswers, told the Business Journal that most of the platform’s users are surprisingly young, with the peak age on the application being 27; more than 90 percent of MedAnswers’ user base is between 25 and 30 years old. The application is free for users, Crisci said, with the site making money through a premium network model for the site’s experts to generate patient relationships. Each question answered has a link to schedule a consult with the professional that answered the question, so people that are just viewing the answer rather than asking the question can connect with that same expert. Legal questions are more common nowadays than one might think too, Crisci said. For Vorzimer, becoming a trusted source on MedAnswers will hopefully help people make informed decisions. “Like in any industry, there are bad actors out there that may not be ethical, or competent,” explained Vorzimer. “They may be seeking to exploit them because anyone struggling with infertility is particularly vulnerable, anxious to start their families and are easy prey for agencies looking to exploit their infertility.” Through MedAnswers, legal experts like Vorzimer can help people spot the pitfalls easier, in an industry not regulated on the federal level. Only some states have regulations, while others have no laws at all pertaining to assisted reproduction. Other San Fernando Valley specialists involved in MedAnswers include embryologist Catherine Welch in Glendale, and Drs. John Norian and Michael Feinman with HRC Fertility, which has locations in Encino and Westlake Village.
