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Cost Control is Possible Through Technology

Javier Pinzón - doHealth
Director General

STORY INLINE POST

Sofía Garduño By Sofía Garduño | Journalist & Industry Analyst - Fri, 03/24/2023 - 13:23

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Q: What key trends has doHealth recently identified in the medical industry and how does the company help its clients to leverage these trends in the Mexican market? 

A: There is a strong demand for cost control when complying with patient safety, clinical results and clinical and ethical protocols. This is a worldwide trend and players are seeking to generate profit outlets. For example, they are looking for strategies to associate costs with clinical results, a process that involves the analysis of large amounts of information. Unlike the EU, the US and several countries in Latin America, Mexico does not collect large amounts of information but this data is essential to generate a cost-benefit analysis of clinical performance. The demand for healthcare is so high that there is no way to continue on this path if new care mechanisms are not generated.

Q: How does doHealth ensure the accuracy and reliability of the insights it provides?

A: We are a highly trained team made up of engineers, professionals with master's degrees and Ph. D.s, actuaries and physicians. Some of our consultants are academics and we have a technical staff with years of experience. We carry out research and create databases, collecting information from many public sources to generate valuable insights. We offer more accurate insights than a company that only focuses on market strategy because of the integration of technical knowledge and market information.

Q: How has the nearshoring effect impacted doHealth’s operations?

A: Nearshoring is growing, which was reflected in the arrival of Tesla in Mexico. But the healthcare field has not increased nearshoring investments to develop medical technology in recent years. For over 50 years, proximity and low labor costs have made Mexico a strategic partner to the US. While an immediate rebound of the medical device industry has not taken place, we hope to see significant growth in the next six years.

Q: What are the main challenges associated with supporting foreign companies in expanding their presence in the Mexican market, given the lack of transparency in regulatory practices?

A: The lack of regulation in digital technology relates to the maturity of the market. New digital trends are barely being adopted in Mexico, despite their rapid adoption in the US. In Mexico, most are concerned about clinical records or IoT, which is now basic technology. Mexico does not even use 35% of its installed systems to their maximum capacity and many hospitals do not even have electronic records. 

By investing, adopting and developing technology, the regulatory environment will improve but the slowness in the adoption of digital technologies has made regulation move slower. This problem is related to a lack of vision regarding the use of new technologies.

Q: How does Mexico compare in the integration of all supply chain stakeholders compared to other Latin American countries?

A: It is worth comparing Mexico with Colombia, Chile and Argentina, which are smaller but are as advanced in information systems as Mexico, or even more. Chile is much more advanced than Mexico in information systems, such as medical records and purchasing software, since its information system has been fully integrated for years; Mexico has not managed to do this. Colombia has 60% more progress in information systems, while Chile has strict regulations but has managed to avoid overregulation. Chile also has an open market for Asian products, which generates competitiveness. Both Colombia and Chile have highly standardized costs nationally. 

Q: What have been the results of your work with the pharmaceutical industry?

A: We have experienced consistent growth with projects involving medical devices companies where we offer software, strategy, and information. Regarding the pharmaceutical industry, we are starting to compete with larger companies and have a couple of projects. We have also allied with insurers as they can play a much more active role in generating information.

Q: DoHealth aimed to launch a platform that would provide customers with up-to-date market data. How has this initiative evolved and what have been its results?

A: We launched the platform with some clients and in a month it will be launched to the general public. Current clients use it for traceability, control and other market issues. Last year, we generated statistics, analysis and some market access models for the medical segment. We want to launch this platform with much more content from clinical, insurance and industry points of view.

Q: What priorities will doHealth be focused on throughout 2023? 

A: Since its second year of existence, doHealth has reinvested about 50% of profits in technology development, which will allow us to offer more products. We seek to continue investing to expand our product portfolio and to continue growing together with our strategic allies. We are creating an area for data science to generate more specialized information. We will focus on the generation of information alongside academics from the Universidad Anáhuac and Universidad Iberoamericana. We are focusing on delivering a value offer that includes hardware and software with advanced analysis methodologies that can differentiate our clients. In addition, we are looking to create a forum on market access issues, as market access is limited in the pharmaceutical and medical device fields. 

 

doHealth is a research, consulting and technology firm that aims to improve healthcare by providing information to health professionals working at institutions, companies and hospitals.

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