1. Echo Reach runs Qera
Qera is a service of Echo Reach ("we", "us"), a business operating in South Africa. You can reach us at support@qera.co.za. By agreeing on WhatsApp, or by using the website, you accept these terms. If you don't accept them, don't use Qera.
2. Qera is triage, not a diagnosis or treatment
Qera uses software, including an AI model, to sort a photo and your answers into GREEN (care at home), AMBER (have it checked within 24 hours) or RED (get help now), and to suggest first aid. It does not diagnose, prescribe or replace an examination by a doctor, nurse, pharmacist or vet. Nobody at Qera is your doctor or your animal's vet.
The result can be wrong. Photos hide things: depth, smell, temperature and how the person or animal is behaving. If you are worried, or the problem is getting worse, get it seen whatever colour Qera shows. Never delay or stop treatment that a health professional has given you because of something Qera said.
3. Emergencies need a phone call, not Qera
Don't use Qera in an emergency. Call 10177 for an ambulance or 112 from a mobile, or go to the nearest emergency unit. For an animal, go to a 24-hour emergency vet. Qera may not answer straight away, and WhatsApp can be delayed.
4. You must be 18 or older
You may use Qera for yourself, for a child you are the parent or guardian of, for an adult who has asked you to help them, and for animals in your care. When you send information about another person, you confirm that you are allowed to share it and that they, or you as their guardian, consent to it being processed as the privacy notice describes.
5. Send only photos that belong in a health check
- Send photos of the wound, bite, burn or skin problem and nothing else you don't need to share.
- Don't send photos of genitals, or of a child's private areas. If a problem is in an intimate area, see a clinic in person.
- Don't send photos of other people without their permission, or anything unlawful, abusive or unrelated to a health check.
- Don't try to reverse-engineer, overload or misuse the service, or use it to give health advice to others for payment.
We may stop responding to a number that breaks these rules.
6. Each case is tracked for 7 days
A case starts with your first photo and stays open for 7 days. You can send new photos of the same problem in that time and Qera compares them. We send one reminder on day 3 if we haven't had a new photo. Reply STOP to turn reminders off and START to turn them back on.
7. The Clinical Intake Brief costs R30, and is free for RED cases
The brief is a PDF summary of one case. Triage itself is free. We show the price before you pay. When a case is RED we send one brief for that case free of charge.
Payments in rand are processed by Paystack, and payments in other currencies by Stripe. We never see or store your card or bank details. Your download link works for 30 days; reply HISTORY on WhatsApp for fresh links during that time.
The brief is made for you and delivered as soon as payment clears. If it hasn't arrived within 24 hours, or it is unreadable or wrong, email us with your payment reference and we will remake it or refund you in full. A payment taken twice for the same brief is refunded. Nothing in these terms limits your rights under the Consumer Protection Act or the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act.
8. Clinics only hear about you when you ask them to
For AMBER and RED cases, Qera can ask a nearby clinic or vet to call you. We only do this after you confirm on WhatsApp. Partners first see the case without your name, phone number or photos. The first partner to accept pays us a fixed fee and then receives your phone number, the case summary, the photos and the brief, so they can call you.
Partners are independent practices. They are not employed by us, we don't supervise their clinical decisions, and they are responsible for the care they give and for their own records. You decide whether to go ahead with them. The fee they pay us does not change what you pay them.
Every partner has signed the Fair-Fee Covenant, which caps what they charge to see you. The cap covers the consultation and any admin, facility or after-hours fee, added together. Medicines, dressings, procedures and tests aren't capped. If you think a partner charged more than the cap, reply OVERCHARGED on WhatsApp within 60 days and send a photo of the invoice.
9. You can delete your information at any time
How we handle your information is set out in the privacy notice. Reply DELETE MY DATA on WhatsApp, or sign in at My cases, to erase your profile, cases, photos and briefs.
10. What we are and aren't responsible for
We take reasonable care to keep Qera accurate, secure and available, but we can't promise it will always be available or error-free. It depends on WhatsApp, mobile networks and other providers outside our control.
As far as the law allows, we are not liable for loss that results from relying on a triage result instead of getting care, from the acts or omissions of a partner clinic, or for indirect or consequential loss. Nothing in these terms excludes or limits liability for gross negligence, or any liability that South African law does not allow us to exclude.
11. Changes to these terms
We may update these terms. When a change matters to how you use Qera, we will tell you on WhatsApp and ask you to agree again before you send another photo. You can stop using Qera at any time.
12. South African law applies
These terms are governed by the law of the Republic of South Africa. Please raise any complaint with us first at support@qera.co.za and we will answer within 10 business days. You may also approach the Consumer Goods and Services Ombud or the National Consumer Commission, or a South African court.