Medicine Will Never be Completely Digital: Wellmedic

Q: How has Wellmedic Health Center’s service transformed and adapted to the new normal?

A: Wellmedic Health Center is the world’s first coworking model specialized in the health sector. We initially aimed to provide health professionals the complementary tools they needed to focus solely on patient care, while leaving everything else in our hands. We started with physical health spaces that focused on providing convenience. This infrastructure seeks to facilitate access to top quality medicine. 

Our model aims to connect health professionals with patients and to offer doctors the infrastructure they need to easily reach different markets. By acquiring a membership, doctors get access to different plans that grant them use of the facilities for a certain number of hours. But to obtain a membership, doctors have to prove they have the credentials to practice.

We also help health professionals to furnish offices, since each specialty requires different instruments and equipment. We have serviced over 700 professionals in 50 different specialties, who care for an average of 100,000 patients a year. We also assist them through our staff, which includes 130 associates, including secretaries, nurses and general practitioners. Our network reaches Nuevo Leon, Mexico City and Merida. We have more than 120 equipped offices and two operating rooms that are specialized in ophthalmology. 

Q: How does the company provide a unique experience to its patients and their doctor’s appointments through a modern service approach ?

A: Healthcare is a multimillion-dollar sector but many geographical areas are neglected, especially rural communities with limited accessibility. Not all Mexicans have access to the public health system. They have to turn to private medicine for primary care. However, patients do not seek large hospitals for a first contact; instead, they can visit a clinic near their home. 

Long before the pandemic, we sought to democratize access to first-rate healthcare through technology. We are the most equipped health organization in telemedicine. When the pandemic hit in 2020, we offered free consultations through telemedicine, treating 3 million people in over 150 countries. We developed electronic clinical records and prescriptions and we are making alliances with organizations to create health ecosystems. 

Prevention can be achieved through timely diagnosis but the high costs of the latter are a great barrier. For example, breast cancer is the leading cause of death among Mexican women, while cervical cancer is the second-leading cause of death. However, death from both cancers can be prevented. To have appropriate diagnoses, the infrastructure and doctors must be brought closer to the population. 

Q: What is the role of Wellmedic’ health professionals in helping reduce the problems associated with self-diagnostics?

A: People self-diagnose because it is easier and costs nothing to get information from the internet. Google has transformed the world through the demonetization and democratization of information. Similarly, we seek to democratize health, which will be achieved when we have a network that crosses borders. However, health will never be 100-percent digital because it is linked with humanity. There will be many technological advances but the physical part will have to keep pace. Wellmedic is promoting this closeness. The challenge will be to stop money from being a barrier to access. 

Q: How can Mexico become a key medical hub in Latin America and what are the main challenges to achieving this goal? 

A: It is key to provide the necessary tools to increase accessibility and timely diagnoses. Infrastructure should help us to connect better. At Wellmedic, we are continuing to support democratization efforts. For example, we have donated 6,000 visual health checkups with the support of the best health professionals using state-of-the-art technology. We also offer free dental checkups and we aim to start offering Pap tests. After being given a timely diagnosis, patients have the freedom to decide whether to continue with their paid treatment at Wellmedic.

Q: What are Wellmedic’s expansion plans in Mexico?

A: We seek to grow our infrastructure to continue boosting democratization. We are building a unit in Ciudad Mayakoba, Quintana Roo, which will be the first medical tourism hub in the Riviera Maya. The unit includes eight operating rooms, a wellness tower and a 40-room hospital for recovering patients. It will connect with Cancun International Airport, which receives 30 million tourists a year. The international link will allow us to connect Mexican talent with the world. Few cities are benefiting from medical tourism but the Riviera Maya has enormous potential for this sector. We are also building another unit in Arboleda, Nuevo Leon, and another in Angelopolis, Puebla. The latter is oriented toward senior wellness co-living and seeks to ensure the quality of life of its residents and visitors. 

We will continue expanding in Mexico and we are consolidating the entry of new capital funds to open in international markets, specifically in the US. Our goal is to become promoters of the hospital of the future, which should focus on caring for and maintaining people's quality of life. We seek to build a health ecosystem where people learn that health is in their own hands and depends on their habits.

Wellmedic Health Center is an empowerment platform for health and medical professionals with a 4.0 smart rental scheme. The company offers integral wellness and exercise services to its patients through the largest private network of telemedicine practitioners in Mexico.